WOD:
1600m run
30 goblet squats
1200m run
25 goblet squats
800m run
20 goblet squats
400m run
15 goblet squats
This was actually our WOD from Wednesday, but I was out of town with my daughter. I met a CrossFit couple up at the box and the wife and I did the workout and her hubby kept time for us and was our cheerleader. I love working out with this couple. They are both as sweet as the day is long, and they make an incredible team. They truly seem to enjoy being in each other's company and bring out the best in each other. When I see them together, the term "best friends" really does come to mind. The icing on the cake for me, though, is how hard they workout. She is this cute, petite little lady who is quite glamorous when she's all made up, but put some weight on a bar and she turns into a machine! I love it! She really gets me charged up. I really love working out with other women who have a little testosterone flowing through them. Her husband is this nice, friendly guy who completely takes you off guard with how much weight he can move or how fast he is. What a great team!
Thursdays are generally rest days at the box. There was really no one else there but us. Someone else came in later to work on skills, but she was mainly doing her own thing. This workout, while not being the hardest in the world, was a real grinder. It was definitely one of those where you needed to have at least one other person out there working with you. When we started off, my workout buddy and I were literally shoulder-to-shoulder for the first leg of the workout (1600m or one mile run). We finished our squats more or less at the same time, but she pulled ahead of me for the run. I knew she would, and that was fine. I was having the worst cramps in my abs. This wasn't like getting a stitch in your side. This was like muscle cramps from muscles that haven't been used in waaay too long. I was trying all my tricks of trying not to hunch over, looking forward instead of down, taking large, open-mouthed breaths of air to oxygenate, etc., but those abs were just crampy right in the middle of my body just under my ribs. Was it more of a diaphragm thing? Certainly could've been. Definitely in the right area. Who knows. I had to stop and walk several times, more times than I wanted to. But there were also times when I forced myself to run, and not just trot up and down, but try to open my stride and focus on forward movement and not up and down movement.
The whole time I was running today I was fretting about how much worse the Army Ten Miler is going to be in October, wondering why in the name of all things sane I signed up for that!?!!! Then my mind wandered to how hard it would be to do a WOD like this in the neighborhood I'm moving to this summer. I will have no choice for 6-12 months than to CF by myself in my garage, and the subdivision is very hilly. I've been trying to really get all I can out of my last months here at CF Centex, because you don't realize what a sweet set-up you've got until you haven't got it anymore.
At any rate, watching my buddy as she hopped along in front of me was motivation to keep moving. She wasn't so far ahead of me that I couldn't have caught her if I had really pushed hard, balls to the walls. I appreciated again today something that I think about often, and that is the value of having someone to chase, almost like the greyhounds chasing the mechanical rabbit at a dog race. Whether or not I catch up to or pass someone is not the point. For me, the point is to have someone to follow, thinking if they can do this I know I sure can, and not wanting them to get so far ahead of me that they lap me. Had she not been there today, I would've had no way to gage my pace and would've slowly winded down instead of trying to keep up a steady pace and put this miserable WOD behind me. Now that I think about it, I'd rather be the chaser than the chasee!
Posted time: 29:49
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Don't Be A Jerk
WOD: Split jerk 1RM, 10 min. of HSPUs, 10 min. of ring rows
So, yet again, I've been back out of the gym. I'm tired and jet lagged, yet again. Ad nauseum. I am getting so tired of popping in and out of my workout routine. I went on a "business" trip out of state, didn't work out for five days, ate like a pig and drank like a fish, and I wonder why I'm worn out?!?
I am fairly certain I've strained my back somehow a few weeks ago when we were working on push press maxes. I can feel a very specific spot, somewhere around T7 or so, something that feels like a spot where I could just crack in half. It doesn't bother me at all until I'm doing things at the gym, and then it only bothers me during specific lifts or ranges of motion. I'm trying very hard to be aware of it, intentionally engage my core, and know my limits. I suspect that I have lost a lot of core strength. I think this has been happening gradually, just like my shoulders seem to have lost some strength. I can't really tell what's been going on or just what my "problem" is these days with my core and arms. I just know that things don't seem right. Considering where my back is hurting, T7 would make a lot of sense. It might be worth taking a stop into a chiropractor's office sometime soon to further investigate.
At any rate, the split jerk was a new one for me. I've done plenty of clean and jerks, so this was a little bit less work on the rest of my body. I was soooo close to 95# but just either didn't explode fast enough, get under the bar quick enough, or a combination of the two to complete the lift at 95#. I think I would be able to tell what was lacking had I seen a playback, but as I don't tape this stuff, I can't look at it objectively. I suspect it was explosion that was lacking.
The ring rows were much harder than the modified HSPUs. Again, there is a lot of core involved in the ring rows, and I think that made it the harder of the two for me. I was only able to get about 35 ring rows but got around 65 modified HSPUs.
I made a point to do some ab mat sit ups, kettlebell swings, and pull ups with the green band before I left for a little bit of skill work to make up for missing class yesterday as I was travelling. YET AGAIN I will miss tomorrow to chaperone a field trip for one of my kids but will make it up on Thursday, God willing. It looks like a doozie...
Posted Split Jerk Max: 90#
So, yet again, I've been back out of the gym. I'm tired and jet lagged, yet again. Ad nauseum. I am getting so tired of popping in and out of my workout routine. I went on a "business" trip out of state, didn't work out for five days, ate like a pig and drank like a fish, and I wonder why I'm worn out?!?
I am fairly certain I've strained my back somehow a few weeks ago when we were working on push press maxes. I can feel a very specific spot, somewhere around T7 or so, something that feels like a spot where I could just crack in half. It doesn't bother me at all until I'm doing things at the gym, and then it only bothers me during specific lifts or ranges of motion. I'm trying very hard to be aware of it, intentionally engage my core, and know my limits. I suspect that I have lost a lot of core strength. I think this has been happening gradually, just like my shoulders seem to have lost some strength. I can't really tell what's been going on or just what my "problem" is these days with my core and arms. I just know that things don't seem right. Considering where my back is hurting, T7 would make a lot of sense. It might be worth taking a stop into a chiropractor's office sometime soon to further investigate.At any rate, the split jerk was a new one for me. I've done plenty of clean and jerks, so this was a little bit less work on the rest of my body. I was soooo close to 95# but just either didn't explode fast enough, get under the bar quick enough, or a combination of the two to complete the lift at 95#. I think I would be able to tell what was lacking had I seen a playback, but as I don't tape this stuff, I can't look at it objectively. I suspect it was explosion that was lacking.
The ring rows were much harder than the modified HSPUs. Again, there is a lot of core involved in the ring rows, and I think that made it the harder of the two for me. I was only able to get about 35 ring rows but got around 65 modified HSPUs.
I made a point to do some ab mat sit ups, kettlebell swings, and pull ups with the green band before I left for a little bit of skill work to make up for missing class yesterday as I was travelling. YET AGAIN I will miss tomorrow to chaperone a field trip for one of my kids but will make it up on Thursday, God willing. It looks like a doozie...
Posted Split Jerk Max: 90#
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
A Full Measure of Grace
After watching the affiliate team tryouts on Sunday, I have been supermotivated to push harder and go the extra mile, regardless of what my body is whining about. I will say that I refuse to ignore pain that is on the verge of injury -- I'm not that extreme. But taking breaks and stopping in the middle of an intense workout has got to stop. Today. Actually, yesterday.
It's been a long time since we did any of the named WODs, and I have to admit I was a little apprehensive about how this one would go today.
WOD: "Grace"
30 reps of squat clean and jerks, 85# Rx for women
I've really been trying to push myself to do everything as Rx'ed lately, so I was pumped to do that today. I really had to get my mind in the zone: I was trying to envision myself going through the movement, listening to my motivational, fast tempo, metal workout music. One thing about my class that is a mixed blessing is the level of intensity. On one hand, I love this group because they are awesome and supportive. No one makes you feel like you are too slow or aren't working hard enough. It's a very positive environment. On the other hand, sometimes I really need the loud, frenzied environment to help me play off the adrenaline rush. I need someone telling me to hurry and get back on that bar, or keep getting one more, or 3-2-1-GO! When I don't have that for a WOD like this, I feel heavy and slow. No good on a day when you're cashing in on your explosive power.
So I started off with 85#. I remember thinking to myself, "Geez, this feels sooo heavy!" Regardless, I did about five of them with the 85#, and let me tell ya, they weren't pretty. I really detest going down in weight during a WOD, but today was a day when I could tell that I would have to in order to complete this WOD with speed and intensity. So I did the rest at 75#, which felt much better. I still had to fight for it, and there were several times when I was as mentally tired as I was physically tired when I let my elbows point down, which dropped the bar down too low onto my chest. Thankfully my coach came over there and told me I had better get my elbows out. I just kept getting them one at a time, and for some reason, the number 30 didn't bother me so much. I was pooped at the end of the WOD, but not devastatingly so.
We went out and jogged a half mile when it was all said and done, and I hopped on the rower after that. I've been making a point to do some 500m sprints on the rower at the end of the day. Yesterday I logged 2:05, and today I dropped to 2:12 since I was already pretty smoked. On Monday I rowed 1150m in 5:00. Slowly but surely improvements will come.
Thank God tomorrow is a rest day!
Posted time: 10:15
It's been a long time since we did any of the named WODs, and I have to admit I was a little apprehensive about how this one would go today.
WOD: "Grace"
30 reps of squat clean and jerks, 85# Rx for women
I've really been trying to push myself to do everything as Rx'ed lately, so I was pumped to do that today. I really had to get my mind in the zone: I was trying to envision myself going through the movement, listening to my motivational, fast tempo, metal workout music. One thing about my class that is a mixed blessing is the level of intensity. On one hand, I love this group because they are awesome and supportive. No one makes you feel like you are too slow or aren't working hard enough. It's a very positive environment. On the other hand, sometimes I really need the loud, frenzied environment to help me play off the adrenaline rush. I need someone telling me to hurry and get back on that bar, or keep getting one more, or 3-2-1-GO! When I don't have that for a WOD like this, I feel heavy and slow. No good on a day when you're cashing in on your explosive power.
So I started off with 85#. I remember thinking to myself, "Geez, this feels sooo heavy!" Regardless, I did about five of them with the 85#, and let me tell ya, they weren't pretty. I really detest going down in weight during a WOD, but today was a day when I could tell that I would have to in order to complete this WOD with speed and intensity. So I did the rest at 75#, which felt much better. I still had to fight for it, and there were several times when I was as mentally tired as I was physically tired when I let my elbows point down, which dropped the bar down too low onto my chest. Thankfully my coach came over there and told me I had better get my elbows out. I just kept getting them one at a time, and for some reason, the number 30 didn't bother me so much. I was pooped at the end of the WOD, but not devastatingly so.
We went out and jogged a half mile when it was all said and done, and I hopped on the rower after that. I've been making a point to do some 500m sprints on the rower at the end of the day. Yesterday I logged 2:05, and today I dropped to 2:12 since I was already pretty smoked. On Monday I rowed 1150m in 5:00. Slowly but surely improvements will come.
Thank God tomorrow is a rest day!
Posted time: 10:15
Friday, April 9, 2010
This-N-That
Obviously I've neglected my blog as of late! I don't know if there's a soul left that reads this, but that's OK. This is mainly for my accountability and to shed some light for anyone out there who is CrossFittting as well or considering it.
Since I last posted, I have had tons of life going on outside of the box. My family went out of state for two weeks over the holidays (didn't work out then), I had various out of state visitors (didn't work out then), GOT MARRIED (surely didn't work out then!), and have been sick here and there. Needless to say, I have really struggled to get back into the groove and push for more improvements. Nothing is more frustrating to me that seeing myself make such great gains and backslide so quickly. Mentally it is quite defeating to realize that your max one day is a good ten pounds lighter that your personal best several months ago. I've been back at it regularly now for two or three weeks, and as Celine says, it's all coming back to me now.
Before I launch into the WODs I've been doing lately, I thought I would make public the crazy committments I have recently made. In May I will be participating in the Warrior Dash at their Texas location. I have to admit a few things:
1) I'm totally in it for the awesome viking hat.
2) I'm scared to death about being able to do some of the obstacles, and I don't know if any of my friends are in the same heat as me.
3) I've never been in any kind of race or fun run before, so the fear of the unknown is killing me!
As if that wasn't enough, I have also registered to run the Army Ten Miler in October in Washington, D.C. My husband will be running as well, albeit he will finish hours before I do! He's a great runner, despite what he may tell you. I run around an 8:50 mile or so, and you have to keep at least a 15:00 mile pace, so I think time is on my side. I have never run further than two miles at once, so I have some serious training for endurance to work on. Thankfully I have a friend who is a triathlete who said she would develop a running program for me. Now I just have to convince myself to get out there and run.
Back to CrossFit. I have made a point this week to push myself and do all the WODs as Rx'ed. Somehow I have been able to do this and survive with relatively little damage or soreness!
MONDAY, 05 APR 10
WOD: 3 rounds for time of 30 wall balls (14#) and 30 SDHPs (65#)
Posted time: 17:39
TUESDAY, 06 APR 10
WOD: 1RM (rep max) front squats, 4x10 deadhang pull-ups, 3xL-holds for max time w/ 1 min. rest between attempts.
Posted results: New PR for front squats of 120#. Back to using colored bands for pull ups -- GRRR! Best time for L-holds was 0:40. This last exercise is harder than you think!
WEDNESDAY, 07 APR 10
"SUCKFIT"
2 rounds for points, 1 min. at each station, 1 min. rest b/w each round of:
Double unders
Lateral jumps (over bars w/ weights on them)
Push press (65#)
Kettlebell swings (1 pood or 35#)
Rowing for calories
I think I ended up w/ a 30# kettlebell b/c that was all I could find. Otherwise, done as Rx'ed.
Posted points: Round 1 -- 101; Round 2 -- 94
FRIDAY, 09 APR 10
WOD: 3x400m run for time, 3xheavy prowler pushes for length of building and back
Posted time for runs: 1:43, 1:45, 1:46. This was five to ten seconds slower than my last time; however, last time we were running on a slight downhill grade the entire way. This time was partially up and downhill at times. And the last time I even had to stop so some lady in a minivan could go get her glut on at the local donut shop. Ick. :)
We did a WOD last week that LAID.ME.OUT. It was 4 rounds for time of 10 box jump burpees, 20 air squats, 50 yd. broad jumps. It was probably all the broad jumps that did me in. I could hardly walk all week. Lastly, on Friday, we had to run a mile for time. I posted 8:50, but was really hurting most of the time in my quads. I suspect that: a) had I not been sore and had lactic acid already built up in my muscles, and b) had I been drinking more water all week, I would've been closer to 8:30, but it's still a decent time to post for me.
There we go -- all caught up! We'll see how long this lasts...!
Since I last posted, I have had tons of life going on outside of the box. My family went out of state for two weeks over the holidays (didn't work out then), I had various out of state visitors (didn't work out then), GOT MARRIED (surely didn't work out then!), and have been sick here and there. Needless to say, I have really struggled to get back into the groove and push for more improvements. Nothing is more frustrating to me that seeing myself make such great gains and backslide so quickly. Mentally it is quite defeating to realize that your max one day is a good ten pounds lighter that your personal best several months ago. I've been back at it regularly now for two or three weeks, and as Celine says, it's all coming back to me now.
Before I launch into the WODs I've been doing lately, I thought I would make public the crazy committments I have recently made. In May I will be participating in the Warrior Dash at their Texas location. I have to admit a few things:
1) I'm totally in it for the awesome viking hat.
2) I'm scared to death about being able to do some of the obstacles, and I don't know if any of my friends are in the same heat as me.
3) I've never been in any kind of race or fun run before, so the fear of the unknown is killing me!
As if that wasn't enough, I have also registered to run the Army Ten Miler in October in Washington, D.C. My husband will be running as well, albeit he will finish hours before I do! He's a great runner, despite what he may tell you. I run around an 8:50 mile or so, and you have to keep at least a 15:00 mile pace, so I think time is on my side. I have never run further than two miles at once, so I have some serious training for endurance to work on. Thankfully I have a friend who is a triathlete who said she would develop a running program for me. Now I just have to convince myself to get out there and run.
Back to CrossFit. I have made a point this week to push myself and do all the WODs as Rx'ed. Somehow I have been able to do this and survive with relatively little damage or soreness!
MONDAY, 05 APR 10
WOD: 3 rounds for time of 30 wall balls (14#) and 30 SDHPs (65#)
Posted time: 17:39
TUESDAY, 06 APR 10
WOD: 1RM (rep max) front squats, 4x10 deadhang pull-ups, 3xL-holds for max time w/ 1 min. rest between attempts.
Posted results: New PR for front squats of 120#. Back to using colored bands for pull ups -- GRRR! Best time for L-holds was 0:40. This last exercise is harder than you think!
WEDNESDAY, 07 APR 10
"SUCKFIT"
2 rounds for points, 1 min. at each station, 1 min. rest b/w each round of:
Double unders
Lateral jumps (over bars w/ weights on them)
Push press (65#)
Kettlebell swings (1 pood or 35#)
Rowing for calories
I think I ended up w/ a 30# kettlebell b/c that was all I could find. Otherwise, done as Rx'ed.
Posted points: Round 1 -- 101; Round 2 -- 94
FRIDAY, 09 APR 10
WOD: 3x400m run for time, 3xheavy prowler pushes for length of building and back
Posted time for runs: 1:43, 1:45, 1:46. This was five to ten seconds slower than my last time; however, last time we were running on a slight downhill grade the entire way. This time was partially up and downhill at times. And the last time I even had to stop so some lady in a minivan could go get her glut on at the local donut shop. Ick. :)
We did a WOD last week that LAID.ME.OUT. It was 4 rounds for time of 10 box jump burpees, 20 air squats, 50 yd. broad jumps. It was probably all the broad jumps that did me in. I could hardly walk all week. Lastly, on Friday, we had to run a mile for time. I posted 8:50, but was really hurting most of the time in my quads. I suspect that: a) had I not been sore and had lactic acid already built up in my muscles, and b) had I been drinking more water all week, I would've been closer to 8:30, but it's still a decent time to post for me.
There we go -- all caught up! We'll see how long this lasts...!
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