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...!
Showing posts with label SDHPs. Show all posts
Showing posts with label SDHPs. Show all posts
Friday, April 9, 2010
Monday, October 12, 2009
A Little Bit O' Everything
Warm up: 1000m team row, 2x5 deadlift
WOD: AMRAP in 15 minutes of: farmer walk, 21 SDHPs, 12 pull ups
Holy smokes, where did Wednesday and Friday go from last week?!? Things were outta-control-crazy last week, and I did well to get to the gym those days. To be real honest, I can't even think back that far to remember what we worked on. I do know that we worked on some power cleans on Friday in lieu of what had been programmed due to inclement weather, but I'm at a loss for Wednesday's WOD. I'll go back and blog separately about Friday -- hit a personal best, so it's worth recording!
Today I was tired and had the kids with me since the local school district was having a holiday today. But I got up and got moving, and I brought the kiddos along! We got them on the rowing machine, and my son eventually found the boxing gloves, so it was all good. I'm also trying to get my younger brother to "drink the Kool-Aid," and he came up there to check out the facility. His timing rocked, too -- he showed up near the end of the WOD, and it perked me up a little bit to see he had actually come out.
Team row was a smoker but a good warm up. I need to build up speed on this for sure for the short distances, but swapping out every 250m did afford you a little recovery time. We had a new face in class today, and it was her first WOD after Elements -- what a way to get broken in! She worked hard and kept moving and did a great job.
We also had another new face drop in today -- a brave soul, indeed. My class is prodominantly women, so when a guy shows up, I always feel a little badly for him. We may be working our butts off, but so many of these guys move a lot of weight around and work a level of intensity that would drop me dead. I feel as if they don't have anyone else working on their level to challenge or push them. On the other hand, my competetive nature comes out, and I find that I don't want to fall too far behind these guys and give them a decent run for their money. It's just fun to have new people every once in a while.
Working with the deadlift was a new one for me. For the warm up, we only did a few, but I came back to it after recovering from the WOD. I found my max at 165#! That's actually more than I weigh! I was really astonished that I was able to work that far. I'm definitely feeling the muscle soreness in my paraspinal muscles, but nothing that screams injury, just good old fashioned hard work.
The farmer walk (with 30#) was an area where I was able to make up time today. My grip didn't start to go until my third round, so I did a super fast walk with it to get through it quickly. I probably could've gone up to 35#, so next time I'll go up in weight for sure.
You all know how "fond" I am of sumo deadlight high pulls (SDHPs). Just not my favorite lift. However, I was able to perform that one as prescribed at 65#! Another milestone for me! As for the pull ups, I did them assisted with the red rubber band, but looking back I think I should've pushed myself to do this just jumping sans band.
Overall, this wasn't a bad little WOD, but I think I could've challenged myself more on the farmer walk and pull ups. The SDHPs were easy enough to do, but I need to build up consistency of speed, and 65# will be a good place to work on that.
Posted rounds: 3 rounds completed, farmer walk and 5 SDHPs into round four when time was called.
WOD: AMRAP in 15 minutes of: farmer walk, 21 SDHPs, 12 pull ups
Holy smokes, where did Wednesday and Friday go from last week?!? Things were outta-control-crazy last week, and I did well to get to the gym those days. To be real honest, I can't even think back that far to remember what we worked on. I do know that we worked on some power cleans on Friday in lieu of what had been programmed due to inclement weather, but I'm at a loss for Wednesday's WOD. I'll go back and blog separately about Friday -- hit a personal best, so it's worth recording!
Today I was tired and had the kids with me since the local school district was having a holiday today. But I got up and got moving, and I brought the kiddos along! We got them on the rowing machine, and my son eventually found the boxing gloves, so it was all good. I'm also trying to get my younger brother to "drink the Kool-Aid," and he came up there to check out the facility. His timing rocked, too -- he showed up near the end of the WOD, and it perked me up a little bit to see he had actually come out.
Team row was a smoker but a good warm up. I need to build up speed on this for sure for the short distances, but swapping out every 250m did afford you a little recovery time. We had a new face in class today, and it was her first WOD after Elements -- what a way to get broken in! She worked hard and kept moving and did a great job.
We also had another new face drop in today -- a brave soul, indeed. My class is prodominantly women, so when a guy shows up, I always feel a little badly for him. We may be working our butts off, but so many of these guys move a lot of weight around and work a level of intensity that would drop me dead. I feel as if they don't have anyone else working on their level to challenge or push them. On the other hand, my competetive nature comes out, and I find that I don't want to fall too far behind these guys and give them a decent run for their money. It's just fun to have new people every once in a while.
Working with the deadlift was a new one for me. For the warm up, we only did a few, but I came back to it after recovering from the WOD. I found my max at 165#! That's actually more than I weigh! I was really astonished that I was able to work that far. I'm definitely feeling the muscle soreness in my paraspinal muscles, but nothing that screams injury, just good old fashioned hard work.
The farmer walk (with 30#) was an area where I was able to make up time today. My grip didn't start to go until my third round, so I did a super fast walk with it to get through it quickly. I probably could've gone up to 35#, so next time I'll go up in weight for sure.
You all know how "fond" I am of sumo deadlight high pulls (SDHPs). Just not my favorite lift. However, I was able to perform that one as prescribed at 65#! Another milestone for me! As for the pull ups, I did them assisted with the red rubber band, but looking back I think I should've pushed myself to do this just jumping sans band.
Overall, this wasn't a bad little WOD, but I think I could've challenged myself more on the farmer walk and pull ups. The SDHPs were easy enough to do, but I need to build up consistency of speed, and 65# will be a good place to work on that.
Posted rounds: 3 rounds completed, farmer walk and 5 SDHPs into round four when time was called.
Monday, October 5, 2009
F.O.R.M.
Warm up: practice proper form for today's WOD
WOD: AMRAP in 20 min. of -- 5 thrusters, 7 hang power cleans, 9 sumo deadlift high pulls (SDHPs)
I was happy to be doing some weights today. I'm tired of being sore and tired all the time, and not just simply "sore" and "tired," I mean muscles afire and completely exhausted like being newly pregnant. Plus I really like learning all the proper form for the weightlifting because it's a good feeling to know that I can move around weight that I never thought possible.
Which leads me to the title of my blog today. I was trying to come up with some catchy title in the form of a mnemonic device or acrostic that would help me to remember to focus on proper form today. I came up with this:
Focus On coRrect Movement, or "FORM."
During warm ups today, we practiced the basic movements for each lift with a PVC. We would find out firsthand during the WOD how utilizing proper form really helps to move the weight. The times I was needing a quick rest, I could feel it if I wasn't in proper alignment.
This WOD seemed to go by so quickly. The hardest part for me was the thrusters, but not for the reasons I thought before starting. I figured it would be hard going down into the squat, but it was actually my wrists supporting the weight that really hurt. I've always had pretty wimpy, weak wrists, but that was really keeping me from cranking out reps today... until I figured out that I needed to be using more power from my hips. Once I powered up through my hips more, it was a lot easier to propel the weight up. The last two sets of thrusters I did were by far my best.
I heart power cleans. Now that I understand how important it is to throw my elbows under the bar, it's a whole different ballgame. They are actually lots of fun, at least, compared to thrusters. :)
SDHPs are OK just not my favorite. I always feel like I'm trying to find the right place to put my hands so that the bar is balanced when I bring it up. This is one of those moves you just cannot do if you're trying to pull the bar up the wrong way. (This one and the cleans, for that matter.)
Something I tried to experiment with today was wearing flatter shoes. I'll admit: I've got a LOT of shoes. Ridiculous amounts of them. But many of them were chosen for a certain function. I was finding that, when I wore my cushiony running shoes when we were lifting weight and doing lots of squats, I felt like I was floating and noticed that I rocked around a lot. By finding some training shoes that offered good arch support but were pretty flat on the bottom, I felt solidly grounded today and I think that helped a lot.
I really made a mental note today to focus on my form. Yes, I wanted to move weight quickly today, and I definitely made up time when I got to the power cleans and SDHPs, but I made a point to get that lumbar curve back at the end of each exercise. I tried to lift the weight safely to get up to a hang position for the cleans, and really had to fight for that curve when going down on my thrusters. I also waited at the top of my thrusters to be sure that I had the weight in the right position over my head if it didn't feel right, and racking it out near my collarbone was really uncomfortable but I need to develop the wrist flexibility to get there so my elbows can come out far enough. As a result, my back feels fine, and my shoulders and hip flexors are warm but not tightening up or sore. I'm sure I'll have a little residual soreness, but nothing like the neck injury I had a month ago!
I told my coach I'd rather go a little slower and get the right form down that rep 'em out and hurt myself. I see so much of that at the regular gyms I've gone to in the past. I hate to say it, but it's usually guys moving around a lot of weight. They're hyperextending their backs, swinging or rocking the weight so much that they don't have a lot of control over where the weight is going, and I'm just waiting for the look on their face that says, "Oh crap! I just pulled something and now I've got 135# swinging through the air and it's gonna land on my foot -- watch out!" Yeah, no thanks. I'd rather remember "F.O.R.M. -- Focus On coRrect Movement" and get stronger and faster, thank you very much.
Posted Results: 5 rounds at 55# and had finished 5 thrusters in round 6 when time was called. (Rx for women is 65#, so that will be my goal for next time!)
WOD: AMRAP in 20 min. of -- 5 thrusters, 7 hang power cleans, 9 sumo deadlift high pulls (SDHPs)
I was happy to be doing some weights today. I'm tired of being sore and tired all the time, and not just simply "sore" and "tired," I mean muscles afire and completely exhausted like being newly pregnant. Plus I really like learning all the proper form for the weightlifting because it's a good feeling to know that I can move around weight that I never thought possible.
Which leads me to the title of my blog today. I was trying to come up with some catchy title in the form of a mnemonic device or acrostic that would help me to remember to focus on proper form today. I came up with this:
Focus On coRrect Movement, or "FORM."
During warm ups today, we practiced the basic movements for each lift with a PVC. We would find out firsthand during the WOD how utilizing proper form really helps to move the weight. The times I was needing a quick rest, I could feel it if I wasn't in proper alignment.
This WOD seemed to go by so quickly. The hardest part for me was the thrusters, but not for the reasons I thought before starting. I figured it would be hard going down into the squat, but it was actually my wrists supporting the weight that really hurt. I've always had pretty wimpy, weak wrists, but that was really keeping me from cranking out reps today... until I figured out that I needed to be using more power from my hips. Once I powered up through my hips more, it was a lot easier to propel the weight up. The last two sets of thrusters I did were by far my best.
I heart power cleans. Now that I understand how important it is to throw my elbows under the bar, it's a whole different ballgame. They are actually lots of fun, at least, compared to thrusters. :)
SDHPs are OK just not my favorite. I always feel like I'm trying to find the right place to put my hands so that the bar is balanced when I bring it up. This is one of those moves you just cannot do if you're trying to pull the bar up the wrong way. (This one and the cleans, for that matter.)
Something I tried to experiment with today was wearing flatter shoes. I'll admit: I've got a LOT of shoes. Ridiculous amounts of them. But many of them were chosen for a certain function. I was finding that, when I wore my cushiony running shoes when we were lifting weight and doing lots of squats, I felt like I was floating and noticed that I rocked around a lot. By finding some training shoes that offered good arch support but were pretty flat on the bottom, I felt solidly grounded today and I think that helped a lot.
I really made a mental note today to focus on my form. Yes, I wanted to move weight quickly today, and I definitely made up time when I got to the power cleans and SDHPs, but I made a point to get that lumbar curve back at the end of each exercise. I tried to lift the weight safely to get up to a hang position for the cleans, and really had to fight for that curve when going down on my thrusters. I also waited at the top of my thrusters to be sure that I had the weight in the right position over my head if it didn't feel right, and racking it out near my collarbone was really uncomfortable but I need to develop the wrist flexibility to get there so my elbows can come out far enough. As a result, my back feels fine, and my shoulders and hip flexors are warm but not tightening up or sore. I'm sure I'll have a little residual soreness, but nothing like the neck injury I had a month ago!
I told my coach I'd rather go a little slower and get the right form down that rep 'em out and hurt myself. I see so much of that at the regular gyms I've gone to in the past. I hate to say it, but it's usually guys moving around a lot of weight. They're hyperextending their backs, swinging or rocking the weight so much that they don't have a lot of control over where the weight is going, and I'm just waiting for the look on their face that says, "Oh crap! I just pulled something and now I've got 135# swinging through the air and it's gonna land on my foot -- watch out!" Yeah, no thanks. I'd rather remember "F.O.R.M. -- Focus On coRrect Movement" and get stronger and faster, thank you very much.
Posted Results: 5 rounds at 55# and had finished 5 thrusters in round 6 when time was called. (Rx for women is 65#, so that will be my goal for next time!)
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