Ora et Labora

Friday Fun

2012-01-13T20:52:00.000-08:00

Friday, January 13, 2012

2 Power Cleans+ 2 hang cleans
2 Power snatches+ 2 hang snatches

Power snatches are still light, but they feel great!

WOD
AMRAP in 10 minutes
Move odd objects, team wod
1 round is to move the following from one side of the gym to the middle of the gym
1 sled with 50#
2 sand bags 35/25
2 KB 53/35
2 Dballs 25/25

Fun wod! I was partners with Liz, and we tried several variations of moving our objects.
First, we loaded everything onto the sled and each took one side and pulled. That lasted 2 rounds, and it was hard from the very beginning. Not only was it heavy, Liz pulled faster than I did, so we had to try too much to stay in sync. So we took on the KBs, and one person took the sled, the other the KBs. That was better and lasted a few more rounds. Then we also took off the Dballs. At that point, having 1 person make 2 trips for the KBs and balls, while the other person took the sled was our best bet. We kept this up and managed to just finish 15 rounds.

Getting back into the swing of things...

2012-01-10T20:54:00.000-08:00

Tuesday, January 10

Snatch Balance
43x2, 48x2, 53x2, 63x2, 73x2

WOD
4 Rounds
5 Thrusters 25# DB
10 Ball Slams 20#
20 Sit ups with the ball

Time-7:53
I like ball slams, no when it comes to gym movements I love ball slams, so with the low number of thrusters (which I don't like), I was ready and willing to do this wod. I have done a ton of sit ups lately, in wods and for extra fun after class, so I knew those would get tough quickly. They did.

After regular class, I went to our new Stretching and Mobility Class, a sorely needed class. Morgan is doing a great job leading us through a variety of mobility exercises and stretches. There is no doubt that we are a bunch of not-so-flexible CFers as each new pose elicits moans, groans, or gasps from someone.

Diet is getting better and better. Headaches and general grumpiness from completely cutting out that sugar that had allowed in over the last month seem to be over. My stomach is adjusting to less food, and so is my mind.

Working Out in 2012

2012-01-09T22:39:00.000-08:00

Sunday, January 7th

Deadlift
215#x5x2

WOD-
5 rounds
250 m row
7 bench press 43#
12 set ups (16")
Time: 10:34

I basically loved this wod. Admittedly I went very light on the BP, but I am just adding those movements again after my shoulder trouble. Light or not, I felt like I was able to work hard this entire wod, moving quickly from one movement to the next. And my shoulder felt great during the wod, after the wod, and still feels great the next day.

On the diet front, I am logging everything I eat into My Fitness Pal, using the handy iPhone app. Being committed to logging everything that goes into my mouth helps in two ways:
-it keeps my very accountable to my calorie, protein, fat and carb goals every day
-it keeps my from eating very small bites of random, maybe not so ideal food items. I have no desire to log 2 french fries that I swipe off some one's plate or one dried apricot, so it is better to pass.
There is no doubt that logging makes me more mindful and deliberate about my food choices. There are plenty of people who don't need this, but I have settled on the fact that I do need it right now.

Monday, January 8th

1 push press + 1 push jerk
53, 63, 73, 83
then push jerks
93, 103x2

Again, my shoulder feels great. I really focused on finishing the lift with my head through, and there is no doubt that all of my shoulder work, and the great help of Marcus, has increased my mobility. I am still not a supple leopard, but improving...

WOD
800 m row
40 hang power cleans 63#
40 sit ups
6 prowlers (10 yds)
100 m row
Time: 11:12

Another good wod. I made sure I sprinted the 100 m row under threat of having to row an 800 if I didn't actually sprint. The threat might have been a joke, but I would likely be the one called on it in the event that it wasn't a joke. So I sprinted.

Ah, look who's back!

2012-01-09T10:07:00.000-08:00

It's a new year, I have some new goals, and I am going back to the good old method of writing about the process.

I am fully resolved that this is the year I finish losing this weight. I am so thankful for how far I have come so far, but I am ready to just finish this. This means that I want to lose 35 lbs this year. At times that sounds like so much, but at other times it sounds like so little compared to the 65 already lost. And yes, that will equal 100 lbs when all is said and done.

So with the new year, I renewed my commitment to paleo-zone. There are a few things I had to grasp:
-I am eating too many calories to lose weight
-I am letting too much sugar creep back into my diet
-I am simply going to have to re-adjust to weighing and measuring
-I am going to have to eat simply to better manage my intake
-I am going to have to go back to the hard-nosed, no exceptions wacko who orders odd things at restaurants, eats before parties instead of at them, and packs food every day

It's not easy, but that is ok.

Week one was hard. But week one is done, and week 2 is starting off much better.

Bear Crawls are Evil

2011-10-04T22:40:00.000-07:00

Bench Press 5x5
Power Snatch 3x5

Blech! I am really, officially one of those frustrated gym-goers that we all have known. Up until recently, I would sympathize with this person or that person as they told me of their pains and injuries, as they bemoaned the work they were unable to do, or expressed frustration with the constant subbing of movements that they had to ask for. But I never really understood them. I would have a minor pain hiccup here or there-a bit of lower back trouble when I first started (squats fixed that), some knee pain when I first started (squats fixed that), some minor shoulder pain when I snatched (squats didn't fix that), lots of muscle soreness, plenty of bruises, and of course my famous box jump induced staph infection. But I have had very little pain over the last 2 years of CrossFit.

I am officially in a grumpy mood because of pain now.

I shouldn't have benched at all tonight, but my shoulder felt SOO good. Everything else has been just fine for my shoulder over the last couple of weeks, so I wanted to bench. 2 reps at 103 and I knew I needed to stop. Bleh. My shoulder just hurts a lot right now, and I am not happy with myself.

WOD
30 yd bear crawl before each triplet
15-12-9-6-3
deadlift 110#
pull ups (ring rows)
box jumps (subbed to 16")

Time-12:20

I would have loved this workout if I could have scaled out the bear crawls. :)

Back Squats x20

2011-10-04T08:22:00.000-07:00

The New Back Squats
Week 1
20 reps at 60%
I went with 165#.

I went little on the lower side, but I am a little timid about a 20 rep program. This is going to be a whole new back squat ball game, pushing my endurance and commitment. The breathing alone on 20 squats is exhausting. :)

WOD
Baseline
500 m row
40 squats
30 sit ups
20 push ups
10 pull ups (GB)
time-6:18

When I get better at push ups, I will definitely be able to cut some time off of this one, as that is where I wasted A LOT of time. Of course, my pull ups always need work, but I clearly need to work on getting more push ups in a set. I was doing them in 5s. Not good.

Sunday Open Gym

2011-10-04T06:52:00.000-07:00

Press
58x3, 63x3, 73x3, 83x3, 83x3
Deadhang Pull ups 3 (VB), 3, 3 (GB), 3, 3

WOD
Hang Power Clean 73# 10-8-6-4-2
Airdyne 20-16-12-8-4

My quad was still really bothering me from last week, as in it had been on fire for about 6 days straight, no matter what I did. So I really wanted to do something that wouldn't hurt anymore than it already was. That is why I pressed. Pressing is super boring and I would never just choose to do it at open gym unless it seemed like the very best option. And it was probably a good thing I did press, since those sets at 83 were way harder than they should have been.

This wod was a lot better than I thought it would be. Descending reps are always good for the mind. It was suggested that I do 83#, I did a few at that weight, and decided I wanted to do 73#. I could have done 83, but we'll just say that I was able to cycle those cleans a lot faster with the 73, and that was my goal for this wod, ok?

Couch to 5k plan

2011-09-28T12:45:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I decided that I needed to tackle this running problem with some clear goals and tasks. When I have something that I really want or need to accomplish, I need a plan. I can't do varied and random very well. It just isn't in my nature to do a lot of random work with a random schedule. This certainly does not mean I don't like CF. I like and need the challenge of doing new things, doing the unexpected, and doing the things that I would never program for myself. I just need both-the plan and the varied.

So I am doing the Couch to 5k running program. I just finished up week 3 this morning.

I have attempted this program twice before and I have never made it past week 2 because it was so painful to run. There is no pain so far this time, and that makes this all infinitely more doable.

My run this morning was beautiful: warm weather, the smells of the apple orchards, the dahlias and roses, and lots of nice people who drive past and wave. Having people drive past with a wave is extra motivation to keep my happy face on while I run. :)

2011-09-27T20:37:00.000-07:00

Overhead Squat
53x2, 73x2, 93x2, 108x2, 113x2

And my shoulder felt strong the whole time. Progress, progress!

WOD
AMRAP in 7 minutes
Thruster 1, 2, 3, 4...
Box Jump 1, 2, 3, 4...

Rounds-7 plus 8 thrusters

I decided to take it easy on the thrusters since I still really don't want to tweak my shoulder any more. After probably a year of having it get tweaked on snatches, thrusters, and kipping pull ups, I am determined to work carefully. So I went with 53#, admittedly nice and light, and everything felt great. I do notice that my right shoulder, the one that I have always had trouble with, starts to fatigue much earlier than the left and I start to feel lop-sided. There you go, more than you ever wanted to know about my shoulder!

I went with the 20" box since it was a low number of box jumps each round. No misses. That is notable for me.

Then after class I decided to be brave and work a tiny little bit on my kipping swing again. The last time I tried this was about 2 months ago and my shoulders HURT immediately. So in the meantime, I've been doing more mobility work, getting some work done on my shoulders by Marcus, and icing every once in a while. No pain this time.

Love lifting heavy

2011-09-26T23:20:00.000-07:00

I am going to give this another try...

Today-
Deadlift
213x5x2

These weren't as tough as I thought they would be. I must stay focused long enough to complete my second rep with the same form as the first. Good idea, right? It is easier on the back when I do that too.

WOD
800 m run
then 4 rounds:
8 hang snatches
8 burpees
finish with:
400 m run

Time-15:38

So the good things in a wod like this-
The 400 m turn around gives you some downhill running.
The final run was 400 not 800.
I kept the snatches light, super light and my shoulder doesn't bother me at all.
I finished.

I probably don't even need to mention the bad things in a wod like this.

Yesterday I did some squats.
Back Squat
213#x7x3

Then 5 rounds-
Butcher sprints 50#
rest 1 min

I love back squats.

Squat Cleans and Burpees

2011-08-03T09:55:00.000-07:00

Monday, 8/1
Snatch
53x5
73x4

Still working on my 2nd pull and the starting position and tonight it really started to come together a bit more.

WOD
5-4-3-2-1 Squat Clean 103#
5-4-3-2-1 Burpees
Time-4:22

This was a wonderfully short wod, but each of those last squat cleans was a fight. When you make the mistake of catching one in the power clean position and then have to squat with it, the motivation to catch each and every clean in the squat position sky rockets!

I finished this wod thinking that I had done an awful lot of clean variations in the last few days, but then it just wouldn't be CFWest without those cleans!

Have I Been Doing Anything?

2011-08-03T09:44:00.000-07:00

Quick recap-
Friday, July 29
Class with Ian
Lots of time working on the Snatch-starting position, 2nd pull, and some great coaching and feedback.

WOD
200 m run
15 power cleans 93#
15 wall balls 12#
200 m run
12 power cleans
12 wall balls
200 m run
9 power cleans
9 wall balls
Time-12 something,

I am really trying to stay committed to using the Rx'd weights more times than not, even if it means that it will take me a bit longer. I am strong, I have no doubt about that. Can I move weight quickly or for an extended period of time? That I do not do so well, so that I must work on.

Saturday, July 30
Back Squat 3RM
235x5
Whoot! It was even pretty fast and easy.

WOD
5-4-3-2-1 rope climbs (subbed 3 DH pull ups with GB for each)
5-4-3-2-1 Clean and Jerk 103#
Time-11:15

Super happy that I can't really do rope climbs when a wod like this shows up!!

Sunday, July 31
Weighted good mornings 113x7x3
Wt'd box jumps 30# DB, 16 " box

Practially Paleo Chocolate Cake

2011-08-02T12:56:00.000-07:00

Tuesday's Workout, July 26
Deadlift 5x3
I was having a hard time settling on a working set...
203x3, 173x3, 183x3x3

WOD
400 m run
then 5 rounds of-
10 hang power cleans 63#
20 walls balls 12#
finish with 400 m run
Time: ??? too long

This wod beat me down and that was particularly frustrating after finishing the class the day before feeling pretty great about everything. I was basically *this* close to sitting down on the floor during those wall balls and just stopping. I didn't sit down, but I sure walked around a lot. It was one of those "just try to think about this and get the work done" wods.

Wednesday I was just sore everywhere and had desire at all to go to the gym. I also had a lot of work to get done, and a paleo chocolate cake to bake. Sometimes you just have to do what needs to be done!
Morgan and I got together and adapted this cake from Elena's pantry. And yes, we used honey, a sweetener, and chocolate chips. Sometimes, like for a birthday party, you just do what you need to do to still have fun and enjoy your food. :)

Practically Paleo Chocolate Cake
¾ cup coconut flour, sifted
¼ cup cacao powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
10 eggs
1 cup coconut oil
1 ½ cups honey
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon orange zest
2 tbsp orange juice

In a small bowl combine flour, cacao, salt and baking soda
In a large bowl using an electric hand mixer, blend eggs, oil, honey, vanilla and orange zest and juice.
Add dry ingredients into large bowl and continue to blend
Oil (2) 9 inch round cake pans and dust with coconut flour
Pour batter into pans and bake at 325° for 35-40 minutes
Remove from oven, allow to cool completely then remove from pans
Frost and serve

Frosting
1 ½ cup dark chocolate chips
½ cup coconut oil
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
pinch salt
In a small saucepan over very low heat, melt chocolate and oil
Stir in vanilla and salt
Place frosting in freezer for 15 minutes to cool
Remove from freezer and whip frosting with a hand blender until it is thick and fluffy
Frost over cake

An 800 m run?

2011-07-25T22:01:00.000-07:00

Overhead Squats
53x2, 73x2, 93x2, 103x2, 108x2

WOD, partnered with Alvin
800 m run
Split-
50 front squats 103#
60 pull ups (scaled down from 12 rope climbs)
Time: 10:21

Sometimes it is hard for me to believe that Cliff actually likes me when I see a wod like this. In fact sometimes I feel like he just comes up with these things to torture and test ME. And then I have to admit that I am ashamed that I can be that narcissistic. The wod is not about me, I just feel like it is because I choose to exercise very little mental fortitude at that moment.

And I know that's a problem. I need to work on the way I allow myself to think about things that are hard. Honestly, sometimes that is one of the most challenging parts of CrossFit: the realization that I slip quite easily into fear and anxiety, or I begin to waver in my commitment to do what I know I should.

I could come up with a bunch of reasons for why I didn't want to run 800 m, especially with a partner, but none of them were good reasons. They were things like-it is hard, I have never run 800m in a wod before, I hate running, I will be embarrassed, I will hold someone back...

But none of those reasons are valid reasons to not do the run. I go to CF to do hard things. I go to do things I have never done before. I need to stop hating running because there is absolutely no reason for my disdain of it. Why would I be embarrassed now? Everyone there knows I am a slow runner. The people who started CF yesterday might now know yet, but I am pretty sure everyone else knows. It is common in a partner wod for each person to work differently, and that is one of the benefits of that type of wod. It happens, we all know it.

So even though I had that horrible pre-wod feeling in my gut, once I left the door, I determined to run the 800 m without walking and keeping a good pace (for me), so I knew I was going to have to relax, stop being irritated, and just put a smile on my face and keep my head up.

And as much as this post is about me, I also have to say that my partner was great!

And under Sam's advice and his faithful reminders, which I need since I quickly "run out of time" to complete mobility work-
Good Mornings 108#x7x3
Lots of shoulder mobility

A week of not much work

2011-07-24T10:53:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was open gym and I thought about skipping it since I was still nice and tired from not sleeping much at all for the 5 nights before, but I do love open gym and I wanted to make up my back squat 1RM.

Back Squat 275x1

And then last Tuesday's Wod-
July 19
Push Jerks 5x2x93#

WOD 3 rounds
9 DL
6 hang power cleans
3 jerks
400 m run
Time-felt like an eternity, but was something closer to 11 something.

Several people were talking about subs with Chris before this wod, so I tried to just slip in my own sub note-"Oh, yeah, I am going to row too, ok?"

It didn't work...I ran.

I will climb the rope...

2011-07-18T22:38:00.000-07:00

all the way to the top.

Front Squats 4x3
I made it to 133 and just used that for three sets.

I was far more consumed with the rope climbs we were to complete in between our front squats...As someone who can't complete even ONE gymnastic move without assistance, the propensity of trainers to super-set pull ups, dips, rope climbs, HSPU, (cartwheels or some other totally crazy movement that they don't actually make us try, but I need some more stuff here to make it sound worse than it really is) is not fully appreciated by me. Sometimes I just ignore the instructions and sometimes I try.

There was no escaping the rope climbing attempts this week. I could not hide, and really while part of me wanted to hide, part of me didn't want to. I want to climb that rope! Why do I want to climb it? Because it is there, and because I go to a CrossFit gym to be pushed and encouraged out of my comfort zone into trying and accomplishing things that I couldn't do before. This is why I need all of my CF trainers, someone has to hold me accountable sometimes and not let me give up.

Attempt 1-clamp on and try to move, no movement
Attempt 2-clamp on and try to move, maybe 2 inches of movement
Attempt 3-clamp on and try to move, and I moved! This time when I willed my legs to move up the rope, they did it! So I made it half way up the rope. And then I kind got pretty worried about how I was going to get down, so I decided to stop there.

But I climbed the rope, even if it wasn't all the way to the top. I'll save that for next time. :)

It is amazing just how dramatic I can make a partial rope climb, isn't it?!?

WOD
3 rounds
6 power cleans 83# (subbed these for the power snatches)
12 push ups
24 box jumps 16"
Time: 8:11

What could have made this wod better? Probably some 400 m runs and burpees, and then this would have been all kinds of awesome wodness. But fortunately for me, the runs and burpees were left off, and probably only Golden would ever be mean enough to put all of these things into one wod that I had to do.

the good and the bad

2011-07-17T20:49:00.000-07:00

Open Gym
Back Squats
7x3 at 185#

400 m run with 3 min rest
x3

Weighted Box Jumps
16 in box
25# DB
5x3

I knew I needed to run. I knew I needed to do some box jumps. I wasn't sure what else I should do, so I wandered around for a little bit. My quads were still a little sore, so I suddenly knew what I needed to do! Squat. As hard as it was to start and as much as my legs complained during that first set, I knew that my legs would feel back to normal after I was done. And it worked.

Doing squats on a day that I run and jump is also good for my morale. You can't just do what you struggle with or it gets pretty tedious!

The end of the week

2011-07-17T16:24:00.000-07:00

Last week was a good week at the gym, even though I wasn't very good about blogging.

Thursday
Back Squat 3RM
255#

Super happy with this. I am currently in a great place in my training, with time and effort given to strength and time and effort given to conditioning. I love being strong, and I have worked hard to get to where I am. I also want to be confident and able to move my body quickly and effectively. I have lost a few pounds, kept up my strength and endured a lot more running, so I am quite happy with this max, happy to be in this place.

WOD
400 m run
OHS 65# 15-12-9-6-3
Ball slam 25# 30-24-18-12-6
400 m run
Time: 15:57

We had the choice of kettlebell swings or ball slams. I chose ball slams...About half-way through I was wishing I had gone with KBS, but in reality I think they were both hard. There was just no getting around the "pleasantness" of this wod.

Friday
3 rounds, not for time
10 OHS, bar only
10 K2E
10 push ups
1 rope climb

Rope climb progress-I can clamp on and move about 2 inches. Then I give up.

Snatch deadlift
worked up to 93#x2

Power snatch
easy work at 53#

WOD
5 rounds, 2 minutes each
1 min airdyne
10 GHD sit ups, rest remainder of minute

Max cal on round 5: 18
Max cal on the previous rounds: maybe about 11

I was tired on Friday, so the work above worked out well for me. More than anything, my quads were shot, so almost every possible wod sounded impossible, but this one worked out well.

Sticking with It

2011-07-12T11:40:00.000-07:00

Deadlifts 5x2 at 215#

WOD
3 rounds
10 thrusters 85#
10 burpees
Time-6:

The last time I did this wod was a loooong time ago, but it is always reassuring to see improvement, and this time I did it without a rack.

I am also glad that I went ahead and wrote down that I was planning on this being a good week. Sometimes stating/writing intentions and goals gives me the extra push I need to do the work. Before we started this wod, I had a mental battle for at least 10 minutes-Should I rx it or not? How long would this take me if I rx'd it? Would it be worth it? Did I really care? Could I think of any good reason to not use 85#? But remembering that I intended to really focus on my work and push myself this week helped me make the decision to put the 85# on the bar and to commit to this wod.

Then 2 min rest followed by 30 DU attempts.
I got zero DUs today. Bleh.

Then running-
200m/1min rest x3

Then good mornings-
7x3
103#

I was too lazy to post last week.

2011-07-11T22:52:00.001-07:00

But even if I had, it just would have been stuff like-
Wow! Clearly the squat clean thruster is the coolest move, because we did a lot of them last week. Who likes those things? The truth is this-thrusters are not good, no one likes them. Squat clean thrusters are even more not good, everyone hates them.

And all of my workouts last week were really taxing after being sick, and I felt like a weakling, and I went home totally spent after each class. It was hard.

I have determined that this week will be different.

I am going to be mentally prepared to work hard.
I am going to eat enough food.
I am going to get some more sleep.

Monday, Day 1 of my week of fabulous training
100 m row sprints x4
Totally forgot to note my time on the first two...
sprint 3= :21
sprint 4= :20.5
Almost makes me want to try an all out, record-board sprint

Front Squat
125x2
145x2
165x2
180x2
195 fail

WOD
100 KBS 35#
3 burpees for every rest
Time-5:41

I will admit that this one really surprised me. I was pretty sure that I was going to KILL the 35# kettlebell swings.

I wanted to be done, like really, really done around 60. The only way to finish this one strongly was for me to just stop thinking and swing at an even controlled pace. Not thinking about how many I had done versus how many were left, or how tired I was getting, or how much harder this was than I had expected. I just.had.to.do.it

I was going to try for 50/50. I knew that was a lofty goal, but I usually aim for the opposite, like telling myself to just do sets of 10. So I managed to keep to 37/37/26, but my burpees were kind of leisurely, to say the least.

Then I ran
400m, rest
200m, rest
100m, rest
100m, rest

GHD
3x10
Side Bends
2x10 44#

And then I had a frozen yogurt...
It was delicious and the company was pretty great too.

Happy 4th!

2011-07-04T17:14:00.000-07:00

Cleaning the Closets

2011-07-01T22:27:00.001-07:00

Both packing for my recent trip away and realizing that I really needed to take in the waist on my favorite skirt, made me think about my clothes. Again.

It was time to clean out my closets, time to yet again get rid of those things that are too big, things that I never really liked anyway but owned just because they fit, things that I am committed to not ever needing. It was time to get rid of all of those things.

I have cleaned out these closets many times. Each time it is refreshing and renewing. But the interesting thing is that each time I have set aside the time to do this, I have left a few things behind. I have left a few items that I know are too big. I have left a few that I don't really like to wear.

As much as I want to move on and embrace the me of right now, I have held on to some of that old me. There is no doubt that the holding on is fear. I know that I have a fear of putting all that weight back on. I am afraid that I will wake up one day and need those fat clothes.

I've done it before. I've lost 40 or 50 pounds before. And I've put it all back on.

So there is always some fear. If you haven't been through this, I am not quite sure if you can know the instense, consuming fear that comes with seeing that you have put on 8 pounds. That feeling is horrible, even though you know full well why it happened.

You see, I know from experience how easy it is for that 8 to turn into 18, and then when you have put 20 pounds back on it becomes harder and harder to not give up. And then when you really start to give up, you are back where you started.

But this time, that 8 did not turn into 18. It came off. I worked it off. I went back to what I knew I needed to do, and I just got to work. I had to be honest with myself and honest with a few other people. I needed to not pretend it hadn't happened or that I didn't know what to do.

I think that some of those fears will always be there, but they are lessening. My physical being is so changed, so improved, and I am committed to the change in me. It wasn't easy, and it isn't easy. But it is good.

Trust me, sometimes I am able to clean things without thinking so much, but sometimes the extra time it takes to sort and fold is a good time to think about things that can get ignored.

And cleaning the closets is a good thing, thinking deeply or not. There are many things in life to be held on to and cherished. Underwear that doesn't fit just isn't one of those things.

Rowing Deals and Paleo Zone

2011-06-29T19:18:00.001-07:00

Back in the gym, after a great, relaxing week away.

Overhead Squat
45x5
65x5
75x5
80x5
85x3

That was taxing on my wrists, and I should have taped them up. I guess it has been a long time since I have worked on sets of 5, but I know what I need to do.

WOD
7 rounds on a 1 minute interval
5 Clean and Jerks-Grace style 83#
Max calories row
Do 5 c&j, rest remainder of minute, row for max cals in 1 minute, repeat for 7 rounds.

I actually did the first round with 103, but those jerks were so, so hard for me today, so I went back down to 83. And even though I was keeping track of my rounds, 7 is apparently a really high number for my brain. I still had rounds to finish long after others were done, so I either took way too long to get into the rower each round, or I just did 8 rounds. But being the accommodating coach that he is, Sam didn't want to be stop and assume I had miscounted. He wanted to make a deal: row a final 100m under a 2 min pace, and I wouldn't have to run today.

That decision was made in just under a blink of the eye.

I don't think I have ever chosen to run instead of row.

And in other news, I think I am going to paleo-zone things for a little while. My weight has been going down again, but I'd like to take some of this flexible time I have during the summer to make sure I am maximizing my work.

And since there is no reason to wait, I'll start it up tomorrow. So tonight I'm doing some cooking-
Sausage and leek saute
Asian meatballs
Mediterranean Turkey
Sauteed Asparagus
Steamed Green Beans
and I'll slice up some fresh veggies for salad

DC

2011-06-27T06:42:00.000-07:00

Apartment Gym WOD

Run 1 mile on the treadmill

21-18-15-12-9-6-3
DB swings 35#
squats

Not timed

Yep, I ran inside on the treadmill, even though I could have run outside, enjoying the wide outdoors of DC. But hmmm, be inside where it is air-conditioned or outside in the humid hotness of the East Coast. I chose the cool indoors and it was still nice and warm by the time I was done.

It felt good to do some sort of workout today, although I have enjoyed all of my walking. If only I had rings, all would be perfect.

Georgetown

2011-06-22T22:22:00.000-07:00

Walking, walking, walking.

I had some grand plans to visit a CrossFit box while here in D.C., but that honestly isn't likely to happen. It is pretty much a big pain to get to a box while you are on vacation. I have a few more days, so we will see.

I did spend several hours just walking the neighborhoods of Georgetown this afternoon. I love seeing new neighborhoods, the fabulous row houses, the wonderful shutters, and people watching is a favorite pastime of mine. The weather was pretty good when I started out, but about half way through it got super muggy. Californians don't do well in the muggy heat...

And walking in the neighborhoods I was able to be entertained-
the guy at Starbucks who jumped up to open the door every time I stood up (to get the paper, to throw away my cup, to go to the bathroom...) a little awkward really.
the preppy college kids at Georgetown
the amazing lime green door on a row house
the prep schools soccer field with Adirondack chairs. I'd watch kids' soccer if I had chairs like that.
the line outside of DC Cupcake-crazy! Not to say that I don't want a gluten-free cupcake while I am here, but I will not stand in line for a cupcake.
the buildings! I love the architecture and the colors.

Great to be Outside

2011-06-21T20:37:00.000-07:00

OHS
Didn't do this in an effort to speed up my shoulder recovery. It really is feeling much, much better, but I was aiming for no pain on Tuesday.
Front Squat
113x3
133 x 3
153 x 3
163 x 3 x 3

WOD
10 rounds
5 KBS 53#
1 sprint
With an unknown, yet practically perfect amount of rest between each round

It was super hot, so going out to the parking lot for this wod was perfect.

Then we finished with some CF yoga, which was mainly quiet and relaxing with some typical jokes and laughs punctuating our peace.

I finished with some side bends.
53# kb 12x3

Deep Thoughts on Box Jumps

2011-06-19T15:03:00.000-07:00

Open Gym

My right shoulder was really, really tight and sore this morning. Deadhang pull ups seem to do that to me every single time...But when I am talking sore, I mean sore, sore. I did ice it, roll it, stretch and lax ball it, but nothing was seeming to help much.

It really hurt, but that didn't matter too much since I was already planning on squatting. The pain just meant that I had a really great excuse for not doing any of the wods that all the other gals were talking about. All was perfect until Morgan decided to do Christine. That was one I could have done. But does someone like me ever willingly choose to do Christine? Nope. So I had to admit that I really didn't want to do any girl or storm. I just wanted to squat. :)

Back Squat
185x5
215x3
225x1
235x1
255x1
275x1

Yes! That felt fabulous and fast.

Good Mornings
7x3 at 98#

No doubt about it, these are getting easier and easier. The first week I did these, my lower back, hips and hamstrings felt like they had just been used for the first time ever, but those muscles are adapting quickly.

Weighted Box Jumps 5x2
16 in box
30# DB

It was really hard to get that first jump with the 30#...If you don't know this yet, I have never really loved box jumps. It is one of those things where I think things like this-
I should be able to jump.
Everyone can jump, right?!?
Why am I so bad at jumping?!?
Why is it so scary to jump up to a box?
Will I ever get better at these or am I destined to be the box-jump impaired member forever?

And in fact I KNOW things like this-
I can jump, even if it's not very high.
I have gotten better. I used to step up onto plates. Then I stepped up onto the 12" box, then I jumped on the box and stepped down, then I stepped onto the 16" box, and so on and so on.
I can jump on the 20" box in a wod, even if I don't like to.
And now I can jump on the 16' box with 30# in each hand too.

And then I thought-
Jumping with 60 extra pounds in my hands puts me close to what I weighed when I started CF and box jumps, back when I was stepping up onto a 45# plate, not jumping at all. So I am considering this an awful lot of progress.

CrossFit Footballish Day

2011-06-18T16:49:00.000-07:00

Bench Press
1RM-123#

And that was all I had in me today. I was hoping for 133, and I attempted that a couple of times. I just couldn't quite do it...

WOD
partnered with Angela

9-7-5-3
Deadlift 183#
Dead hang pull ups (with the green band)
1-2-3-4
Resisted Runs

Time-11:58

So that was hard. In fact I was getting just a little nauseous on those last resisted runs, and I could hardly wait to be done so I could just be on the ground, not moving.

It was a great workout though, once I was done with it and had recovered for about 15 minutes.

And guess what? I am tired now. Really tired actually.

Bear Complex

2011-06-17T16:36:00.000-07:00

1 hang clean + 1 jerk
1 clean + 1 jerk

I worked up to 3 sets at 93.

I chose to camp out there, trying to finish the second pull, open up my hips and keep the bar path accurate. I had mixed success, but I felt like I was making some progress.

WOD
5-4-3-2-1
Muscle Ups (scaled to 3 pull ups/3 ring dips for each MU)
Bear Complex 83#
Time 11:10

So, I completed the first bear complex and wanted to lower the weight. I just seemed like it was soooo hard to get that bar over my head. And this is how nice Sam was-he was going to let me change the weights if I wanted to!!! What, what!?!

Well, guess what? It will feel kind of slow and heavy when you try to just press it up. Using the legs a little bit to get that bar up made it totally doable. Like always though, I wasn't liking the behind the neck rack jerk part of the complex. I have never liked this movement, and I wonder if it might have to do with my shoulder flexibility/inflexibility.

The pulls ups and ring dips were banded of course, and I broke them up into all kinds of crazy combinations, in part to just break them up and in part to stay out of Golden's way while he did his muscle ups. I am kind of amazed that he didn't smack his head on the bar...Like I've said many times, that is why I don't do muscle ups, I don't want to knock myself out. It is wise decisions like this that keep me healthy and injury free, my friends.

Olympic Total

2011-06-15T17:04:00.000-07:00

Snatch
93#

I still struggled with dropping under the bar, even though I pull it plenty high enough. I was doing super well on my warm ups-full snatches with no trouble, fluid motion, feeling good...there is improvement though since I didn't start to freeze up until 88# today, and it has been very hard for me to match this previous PR of 93#.

I.must.get.past.this! I am pulling the 93# bar all the way to my eyeballs, but then I just stop. Why do I stop? If you look at the series below, I breeze through image 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and then stop at 6. And look at that-once the bar is that high, it hardly moves for the rest of the lift...humph.

Clean and Jerk
128# PR

Not the most beautiful clean by any means, but I fought for it. That is progress too as I am learning to really keep my elbows up, chest up, and core tight in order to not let go of the bar. The jerk was much better than the clean. I just tried to focus on tightening up before the lift and then dipping slower than I often do. This is very, very important for me, and the cue seems to make a big difference in my success.

All in all, it was a good day, and I really appreciate the encouragement from Sam and Jason N., even when I was getting pretty frustrated. I really needed that.

Whoo-hoo! 55 Light Back Squats!!

2011-06-14T21:18:00.000-07:00

Tuesday

It is even hotter in SC...so I was just one big pile of sweat after just a few minutes of class.

Deadlift
5 singles at 215#

All felt great, back felt great, I felt strong. And all of that makes perfect sense at that weight.

WOD
10, 8, 6, 4, 2
back squats 135#
burpees
box jumps 16"
2 min rest
then repeat with
9, 7, 5, 3, 1

Those wonderful legs of mine got tired very quickly on this one. :)

It's Getting Kind of Hot in SC...

2011-06-14T15:00:00.001-07:00

Sunday

I love open gym-
some light olympic lifting

Good Mornings
7x3 at 93#

Weighted Box Jumps
5x2 16" box 25# DB

100m runs x6
1 min rest between

Monday
Front Squat
sets of 2: 83, 113, 143, 163, 178, 183
(oops! It looks like I only got in 6 sets, not 7. As we all know, the magic of lifting only happens at certain numbers-singles, doubles, triples, or sets of 5 or 7.)

WOD
On the minute for 15 minutes:
2 power cleans-108x10, 103x5
5 push ups
1 sprint

This was hard, but working with this weight on the clean was definitely keeping me focused on a strong pull. This was rather taxing, and I sure wanted to give up on the last couple of rounds, but what do you know? I made it through, yet again!

**Edit-I realized that I should note here that it was actually so taxing that I just stayed down on the floor after one set of very slow push-ups, skipping the sprint. I was all out of steam, and I exercised my right to be defiant and stubborn and just take those few extra seconds on rest...

A really long post

2011-06-12T20:14:00.000-07:00

We all know how very exciting it is to read about someone else's workouts and eating habits! I am fully aware that it is in fact quite boring and ridiculous to read these types of blogs, but I am going to revive this as a way to keep myself accountable and to have a quick reference of my work.

And if I revive the blog, trainers can always check here to get the real scoop on how their class truly went.

My week in review (warning, this got long...)

Monday
Back Squats-yeah
Rope Climbs-yuck

I am already very adept at the rope climb modification of pulling yourself up off the floor. I can do that over, and over, and over again. It never gets more interesting. So Cliff informed me that it was time to actually try to clamp on to the rope.

Did you know I have a fear of unknown physical challenges? I never think-Ooooh, cool, I just really want to climb that rope and see how it goes! I sure hope I make it all the way up and down without falling! Or-Yes, please, I am dying to try a handstand push up! Nope, I never think that. Ever. So it is a constant challenge to try these things, and that is one of the reasons I am here. I need to be challenged and pushed. I really think that is good for me. Sometimes I just wish I didn't think this.

Tuesday
I don't even remember now what we did in class, but I was exhausted. I had to go home and take a nap before going to the U2 concert that night. Alas, I remember more about the concert than that day's class. That is proof positive that I am not insanely obsessive about CF, right?

Wednesday
Donated blood, so I gave up class to save some lives. Again that might be a good sign that I am not obsessive?!?

Thursday
Since Jason teaches class all day, there is often some inkling of the WOD before I leave for the 4:30 class. My commitment to attending class this evening was tested as I found out what the WOD was right as I was leaving my house. Nancy. 5 rounds of 400 m runs. Oh, so dreaded.

I decided to stick with my plans and show up for class, but I spent the drive there working through my passionate plea for scaling. I was ready to present the facts, argue, whine, and maybe even cry if needed. I was prepared to communicate with words the very dark, dark place that I would be in if I was expected to complete Nancy as rx'd.

But Jason was ready for me. I didn't have to cry at all. He already had a scaling plan for me, like any great coach would. And even though the WOD was still very hard for me, I did the work I needed to do, and it was a great workout for me.

Friday
We had a back squat, burpee, power clean wod. It was hard. But I should have used 103 instead of 93 for the power cleans.

And I liked the WOD, even though it was hard because it was the great mix of hard (because burpees make it hard to breathe) and hard (because you have to focus and have your mind right to get the heavy back squats), and hard (because you are determined to nail every single power clean, short of breath or not).

Squats make me happy

2011-02-01T22:13:00.000-08:00

First, something very important for all you Paleo-eaters who are already stressing about Valentine's Day, check out this free Valentine sticker download for your fruit! I love it.

And then on to the boring stuff-
Sunday, I was back to squats. Squats make me happy.

I also did 6 rounds of row sprints
(1 min on/1 min off)
1. 273
2. 267
3. 262
4. 258
5. 255
6. 259

My goal was 260, and I guess I was just cutting things too close in my effort to not overdo it. But this was a tough, tough wod, just like it always is.

Monday was Olympic lifting, and I was in the O-lifting groove! I had so much fun, as is often the case when something we have worked a lot on actually goes well.

I ended the session with Butcher sprints, 1 high/1 low x4. All of the low bar sprints were awful, and my quads were on fire.

Italian Sausage Saute

2011-01-30T19:26:00.000-08:00

Trader Joe's Italian Sausage Saute

When I am in a hurry, I often make this type of dinner since so many vegetables from TJ's are chopped and ready to cook. I usually just take a bunch of stuff and throw it in a pan, but when I think about it a bit more first, it often turns out even yummier. :)

1 pkg. sweet Italian Chicken sausage, casing removed, crumbled and browned in a large saute pan

Then I deglaze the pan with some chicken broth or white wine.

Add julienned sun-dried tomatoes, chopped leeks, oregano, basil and thyme.

Then I finish with sliced zucchini and chopped green beans.

Season with salt and pepper.

I adore leeks, so just about anything I make with them becomes a new favorite!

A Lot of Work

2011-01-11T21:44:00.000-08:00

Monday

Deadlift, halting
5x2 0r 3
123, 173, 203, 223x2

I was having a hard time with the halting.

WOD
done with a partner, Anna
2000 m row (split into 500 m rows)
150 KBS 35# (sets of 20)
100 burpees (sets of 10)
So...we finished the last exercise after the 20 minute cut off-
150 med ball toss sit ups 8#
Final time-28:40

We kept all the work evenly divided until the end of the burpees when I made Anna do 5 extra so that we could get the burpees all done RIGHT at the 20 minute cut off. It is a good thing that I was on top of things like that so I could correctly dole out the work load to make sure we got done in time.

This was a great every once in a while wod. ;-) It was exhausting, but it felt great to get all that work done. There was not one team in my class who finished before the cutoff, but we are all so hardcore, we finished any way. That is the wonderfulness of the 5pm class.

Tuesday

Snatch
5x3
58.5#

WOD
15-12-9
DB farmer's carry lunges 25#
DB thrusters
pull ups (GB)
Time-? don't remember

But those lunges seemed to last forever.

And since I have renewed my commitment to a real dead hang pull up, these band dead hangs are killing me. They don't throw my shoulders into all kinds of nastiness and pain, but it is super frustrating to not kip. It is sooooo sloooooow. But I need to work up to a dead hang, so I will just deal with it.

I can hardly believe that I contemplated trying this with the 30# DBs. The 25s were horrible enough, but I still feel like I should have been able to do it with the 30s.

But I really think I was too tired. I am just tired. That is what happens when you have to end Christmas vacation and go back to a regular work schedule. I am also starving right now. I'm in that fabulous place where I am hungry no matter what I eat.

So I am going to go to bed. The sleep will obviously be good for me, and if I am sleeping, I can't be eating...

The Shopping Flow Chart

2011-01-07T10:17:00.000-08:00

Here is a shopping guide to help in this new year. This is one of the most basic rules I use to make food choices every day-is it real food? Simply avoiding processed foods of any kind cuts out junk and makes shopping easier on the pocket book.

2011 Goals

2011-01-03T21:21:00.001-08:00

I need to really get on this...

I mean, really how can one CrossFit without setting your yearly goals?

One of my goals to make goals that make sense this year...

Some of my 2010 goals were just flat out nonsensical. Shall I amuse you with them now?

1. 400m run-sub 1:55 (yep, I'm that slow!)
**so I hate running so much that I never even attempted a timed 400 m run, over the course of one full year. That means 12 months without ever thinking to time a 400 m run.

2. 500m row-sub 1:50
**goal met
3. OHS-115#
**goal met

4. C&J-135#
**made it to 123#

5. Grace-as Rx'd
**goal met

6. Pull Ups-get 3 real ones
**I can do 3 kipping pull ups on 3 different attempts...

7. Helen-as Rx'd
**what?!?! 3 pull ups, yet still do Helen with 36 pull ups? That one made a TON of sense.

8. Push Ups-25 unbroken
**I don't think I can do this one, but I should see where I am.

9. snatch-103#
**nope, just made it to 93#

So now I have to think about new goals.
I have a long list so far:
1. 1 deadhang pull up
2. 5 consecutive double-unders (maybe I should make that 2!)
3. Snatch-103#
4. Clean and Jerk-138#
5. string together 20" box jumps, cycle them without resetting each time

Class
Skill
1 PPress+1 PJerk+ 1 Split Jerk (hold 5 sec.)
63, 73, 83, 88x2

WOD
4 rounds
20 ball slams 25#
10 pull ups (BB)
Time: 6:22

After doing the push press wod yesterday, we all just knew that we were destined to have lots of arm work tonight. It never fails...And then we get reprimanded for not checking the strength calendar, but there was no calendar.

I like ball slams. I almost never mind them since they are something I can do without thinking-just pick up the ball, slam it into the ground, repeat...but tonight my arms were complaining loudly during the whole last two rounds.

Starting Paleo

2011-01-03T10:38:00.000-08:00

Several friends have asked what they need to know to make the switch to paleo eating. This is the time of year when we all start thinking about changes! Here are a few of my favorite sources of basic information-

Getting Started Tips
Robb Wolf's Getting Started

Robb Wolf's Sample Meal Plans

The Whole 30

Recipes
The Performance Menu

Everyday Paleo

Paleo Search Engine

Nell Stephenson

My advice to anyone making the switch is to focus first on your food quality, and know that once you are in the habit of buying and eating quality, real food you will be able to make changes to the combinations, timing, and quantity. If we are honest, we need to make manageable, accomplishable changes instead of getting wrapped up in reading and implementing everything that everyone says about paleo. Don't get caught up in feeling like you have to read all there is and get it all "right" from day one! Start eating the right foods: meat, vegetables, nuts, seeds and fruit.

If you make this your priority now, and give yourself time to really adjust to this (like a month), you will have plenty of time later to sweat the other details that many like to worry about. Later on you will be able to decide how many nuts you should eat each day, whether you should drink water with your meals, how many minutes after waking you should eat breakfast, whether vinegar is paleo or not, or any of the many things that paleo people can completely stress and debate over.

The Paleo New Year:beef jerky

2011-01-03T09:59:00.000-08:00

My wonderful family gives me lots of support as I keep working on this job of becoming fit and healthy, even when they give me Christmas presents!

One sister made me a big batch of these delicious paleo energy bars. They are fabulous! Not too sweet, plenty of good fat to keep you satiated, and very delicious. I'll be making some of my own in the weeks to come to help tide me over on the days when I am out all day and find it tough to fit in a regular meal.

My parents gave me a great meat cookbook, full of info on making your own bacon, sausage and jerky. So I am now on a quest to make the best paleo jerky I can-no sugar, soy or other questionable or undesirable contents. Last night I dried 9 trays of it, half with Italian seasoning, and half with a pepper garlic seasoning.

Initial observations are that homemade jerky tastes a lot more like actual beef. Have you ever noticed that many brands store bought jerky have plenty of seasoning, but then you realize that there really isn't much of the actual beef flavor? This homemade jerky tastes real. I also notice that without the sugar that is found in just about every type of commercial jerky, it seems to dry out a bit faster than I expected. It doesn't taste bad, but it is different.

WOD, Jan 2, 2011

Open Gym
Stefani picked the wod, but she takes no responsibility for the general "wonderfulness" of the wod since it came from Joc's class. Doing this one with Stefani, Melissa and Lindsay made it possible to actually finish the 20 minutes. I was ready to stop after 5 minutes...It also really helped to have Danny pushing us. That was a lot of push presses!!

AMRAP in 20 minutes
10 push press 63#
10 KBS 35#
10 Box Jumps 16"
Rounds-10

The Special CFW Christmas Present

2010-12-26T19:45:00.000-08:00

The workouts-

Thursday, December 23
5 Rounds
12 barbell lunges 73#
250 m row
60 yd farmer's walk 25# plates
Time-

Friday, December 24
Cut off time of 25 minutes
Randy
1000 m row
50 thrusters 33#
30 pull ups (BB)
Grace/Isabel mashup
10 rounds
3 snatches 53#
3 clean and jerks 65#
Cindy
5 pull ups (BB)
10 push ups
15 squats
Rounds-2

And the combination of these two wods gave me a fabulous Christmas present as the soreness was in its prime for the 25th.

Two New PR's

2010-12-16T15:39:00.000-08:00

Front Squat-
new 1 rep max
208
213-missed

Yeah! Happy to feel like I have really made progress on this lift and super happy to break 200.

Snatch, max
93#

Clean and Jerk, max
went from 103 to 123
failed at 123 about 5 times
dropped down to 113, got it
then 118, got it
tried 123 again, failing 3 times. Each miss had the bar at my neck, but I wasn't getting under it fast enough, and then...
Finally! 123# for a new PR

Then I tried 128 about 500 times and missed it, still pulling it pretty high, and getting close to being under it, but just missing it, again and again and again. :)

Keeping my eyes off the scale

2010-12-13T21:14:00.000-08:00

I know that reading some one's workout log is very uninteresting, and it is honestly fairly uninteresting to write it out as well. That, coupled with some extra busyness, has made keeping up with this blog a lower priority.

So I am going to aim to write about something, anything, even a little thing, that is somehow related to fitness and health at least a couple times a week.

First up: another reminder to not be a slave to the scale.

This article was posted by Dr. Michale Eades-Weight in Hollywood. You know the type of article-the history of models moving from curvy to stick thin. And then this article provides some examples of a possible move back to the more curvy model.

But this is what really struck me-

"The average American woman wears a size 14. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), she’s also 5'3", weighs 164.7 pounds, and has a 37-inch waist..."

This was once again a needed reminder for me to not be obsessed with the scale. It is very easy for me to get discouraged or frustrated with my current weight, even while I am thrilled with all the weight I have lost. Sometimes I just wish that I was little and light.

But then I know that I don't really want to be little and light because I also really like being strong. I just want to be a little lighter, a little littler.

But why did that quote that stand out to me? It struck me because I am still 20 pounds heavier than the average American woman. 20 pounds heavier. That is the part that still doesn't sit well with me. But then the rest of the story starts to sink in-I am a size 10 and my waist is 4 inches smaller than this average woman, that one who is lighter than me.

So I am reminded that I can't live by the scale. I just have to keep on doing the right things-eating well, exercising, and sleeping enough. I just keep on and the changes keep happening, even if that scale isn't moving very quickly.

And I still plan to lose those 20 pounds.

Rest, what rest!?!

2010-12-07T21:57:00.000-08:00

Front Squat
133x3x3
143x3x2

WOD
3 rounds
1 min ball slams 25# 30/28/27
30 sec. rest

1 min burpees 12/11/10

30 sec. rest
1 min cal. row 12/13/14
1 min rest

This was a lot of work. The 30 sec of rest was just enough to catch your breath a teeny-tiny bit while you got ready for the next exercise.

A Ridiculous Amount of Catching Up

2010-12-06T21:12:00.000-08:00

November 27, 2010
SNPP 73x3x5

WOD
5 Rounds
6 snatch balance 43#
16 lateral hurdles 12"
10 KBS 35#
Time: 8:02

Loved the snatch balances in this one, and I didn't love the hurdles, but I was able to do them even though I was sure I wouldn't be able to.

November 28, 2010
Muscle Snatch 48x3x3

Front Squat
83x3
113x1
143x1
163x1
183x1
195x1 (PR!!) Yeah, super happy to get this one!

Butcher Sprints
2 rounds with 35# plates

Side Bends
1x10 35#
2x10 45#

November 29, 2010
Power Snatch
53x2
63x2
68.5x1x5

WOD
40 Squats
15 push ups
8 hang power cleans 73#
Time: 6:27

Hmmm, I failed to write down the number of rounds. I must have been still a little fuzzy brained.

GHD sit-ups
3x15

November 30, 2010
Front Squat
153x2x4

WOD
5 rounds
1 min max burpees
1 min rest

14/14/14/13/14=69

Certainly a wod that plays to my strengths. Burpees are fabulous, and this was just one great fabulous fest.
My two goals for this wod:
1. make every burpee an honest burpee with jumps down into the push up/flop on the floor and jumps back up from the floor. I wanted to have no burpees that included using my knees to ease my way down and up. Goal met. I was incredibly tempted to muddle some of those burpees, but I really wanted to cement the new pattern in my brain.
2. I wanted to never drop below 14 in a minute. Goal not met. And I tried really, really hard to get 15 on the last round and just.could.not.do.it!

December 2, 2010
Front Squat
worked up to-
163x1
173x1

The 173 was of questionable depth. Time for some super honest blog confession. Green tea right before the class+a lifting belt+front squats=a recipe for possible bladder control problems. It is true. This is my super honest confession of the year. I didn't really feel like dealing with it, so I just didn't go quite below parallel.

Thanksgiving Chief, year 2

2010-11-26T20:06:00.000-08:00

Thanksgiving Day, November 25, 2010

Front Squat + Jerk

63x2+1

83x2+1

93x2+1

103x1+1

113x1+1

WOD

partner Chief with Sam Y

3 Rounds

AMRAP in 5 min

3 Power Cleans 83#

6 push ups

9 squats

1 min rest between rounds

Partners alternate the Chief sequence and while one is working, the other holds the plank position

7+7 squats/7+5 squats/7 +2 squats

Try as I might, I could never get that last round finished! I loved, loved, loved this partner Chief. I almost didn't come to the Thanksgiving class when the memories of last year's Chief WOD came flooding back. But of course, I am very glad I made it in. I told my sister on the way in that if we had to do the running partner Chief, we'd have to be together and she would get to run 600m rounds while I ran 200. Then when I got home, I went back and read my entry from that wod.

Way back then I was still slightly overwhelmed by the shear eliteness of Cliff and Golden, so there was a lot of pressure from being the way, way, way slowest person in that wod. Ah the memories... And a year later, I still whine about running, and I am still often the slowest person in the wod. Now being slow doesn't bother me as much, and I am ever so slightly better at running, slightly being the operative word.

And then I went home and finished all of the preparations for our Thanksgiving feast. I am often asked if I cheat, so here is some photographic evidence of my cheat day-

The paleo foods-

Turkey, one smoked and one roasted

Sweet Potatoes

Paleo Stuffing

Brussel Sprouts

Green Beans with Bacon

pumpkin bars

Apps: vegetables, fruit, mini sausages

The non-paleo foods-

Cranberry sauce

gravy (thickened with potato starch and no one noticed the difference)

Cauliflower squash with asiago cheese

real, traditional mashed white potatoes

gluten free biscuit

whipped cream on my paleo bars

Apps-jalapenos stuffed with cream cheese and wrapped with bacon, artichoke jalapeno dip, m&ms

And wine and gluten-free beer

Ouch!

2010-11-24T15:31:00.000-08:00

Back Squat
228.5 x2x3

3 box jumps between each set

The squats were kind of off tonight-rolling onto my toes, dropping too fast, feeling like they were heavy...but sometimes you just charge ahead and get the work done.

WOD
5 rounds
15 yd suitcase lunge 30# DBs
15 yd resisted run (with Anna)

Last time I did this wod with 20# DBs. This is also the first time in a long time that I have done resisted runs with my own sister. If you want to work less, it is certainly preferable to partner with someone not related to you. Non-relations (Black-hearted Kyle excepted) tend to be concerned about not resisting TOO hard, and might even be worried about breaking you. My own sister apparently had very little concern for this.

I can feel the effects of this wod very, very definitely. Apparently I have still not adapted to the combination of back squats, weighted lunges and resisted runs.

Thanksgiving Cooking-Paleo Pumpkin Pie Squares

2010-11-23T11:57:00.000-08:00

Paleo Pumpkin Pie Squares

Ingredients:
Nut crust
1/2 a cup of pecans, chopped up as finely as possible
1 cup of almond flour
one squirt of honey
a dash of salt
4 tablespoons of coconut oil

Filling
1 1/2 cups of pumpkin puree (make sure you purchase pumpkin and not pumpkin pie filling that is pre sweetened)
3 eggs whisked
roughly 1/8 cup of honey
3/4 cup of full fat coconut milk
1 teaspoon of vanilla
3 teaspoons of cinnamon
1/2 a teaspoon of nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon of ground ginger

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees for the crust.

Mix all of the ingredients together for the crust and then press into a 9x9 baking dish lined with parchment paper. Bake until light brown. For me, this took 10 minutes, but it could take anywhere between 8-20 minutes. Remove the crust from the oven.

Combine all of the ingredients for the filling and pour on top of the nut crust. Lower the oven temp to 350 degrees and bake for 30 minutes. When finished, the middle will still be wobbly, but the edges will be set. Remove the pumpkin bars from the oven and let come to room temperature, at least 45 minutes. The pumpkin will solidify as it cools. Cut into bars and serve!

Mini Goals

2010-11-22T20:53:00.000-08:00

Hang Power Clean + Power Clean
88.5x2x4

Got them all done, but they didn't really feel that remarkable.

WOD
3 rounds
200 m run
21 kettlebell swings 35#
12 burpees

Time:

So here are my wod reflections tonight-
I am trying to remember to set myself mini-goals, (as was presented in the goal-setting workshop) for the wods. I have been taking breaks during the wod far too often lately, so this is one of my personal self-corrections.

I ran the whole time I was outside on the runs-the whole time, even at the turn around.

I kept all the KBS unbroken.

I had a goal of actually jumping down and up for every burpee (instead of kind of stepping down) but I didn't make this one. My first burpee on rounds 2 and 3 were definitely more step and less jump, and I think I threw in a few other fakes a couple of times.

Dip, Drive

2010-11-19T22:20:00.000-08:00

Front Squats
150x3x5

Chipping away at the front squat goal with a defined progression...little by little, week by week. My front squat is disproportionately low in comparison to my back squat, so I this is clearly a weakness that I need to chip away at.

WOD
3 rounds
200 m run
10 cleans 83#
10 front squats
10 shoulder to overhead

Time-18:14

Yep, that one took me 18 minutes and it felt like it was a really, really long 18 minutes. Jason graciously allowed me to scale the runs down from the 400 meters. That would have killed me or I would have had to scale the weight way down. So I was very, very happy with this compromise and really feel like it worked well for me.

The shoulder to overheads were not fun. I was just feeling super off and my regular jerks were very uncomfortable. I think that was because my timing was off. If you don't actually do it right, the dip of your legs provides no help and then the only way to get the bar up is to press it. That gets old really quickly! So I had to just stick with split jerks which are slower.

Thrusters, yeah!

2010-11-19T12:47:00.000-08:00

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Clean Deadlift
153x3x3

WOD
3 rounds
in 2:30 minutes
Row 200 m
10 Thrusters 83#
Max Rep Pull Ups-ring
12/7/9
1 min rest between rounds

The thrusters were really hard. They were the kind of hard that really make you regret loading the bar with that weight with single plates since i spent the first round wishing I could just strip off 10#. They were the kind of hard that make you think about shorting reps, and that's what I spent the second round thinking about. But they were the kind of hard that you know you can tackle, when you reach that last round and realize that the end is in sight and actually very possible.

And then after all of that, Kevin convinced me to run butcher sprints. I am weak and would have given up after 1 sprint, but I made it through 4, thanks to some encouragement.

Thursday, November 18, 2010

The Mental Game

2010-11-15T22:49:00.000-08:00

11/15/2010

Press 3x5
78#

Who can mess up what is probably the simplest lift ever?!? I can! Every single time, too! But I did get it done.

WOD
60 KBS 45#
40 Burpees
20 K2E
Time: 9:12

I certainly don't look forward to these high rep, single round wods, but I know they offer a unique training element so I like them anyway.

If this wod was broken up into 5 rounds of 12/8/4, it would be so different! It is this long string of hard things that so changes the mental side of the workout! I still break the work up into smaller sets in my mind, meeting those mental goals sometimes, and giving up on them at other times, but even when I tell myself to just get 10 done, I know that right after that, I'll still have another 10, and then another 10...

Since the gym has the new butcher, Kyle just had to throw in sprints with that thing as our finisher. This time we only had 50# on there, but on my last sprint, Golden was thoughtful enough to push back on the sled, all in the interest of improving my personal fitness.

The Butcher

2010-11-15T09:53:00.000-08:00

Back Squats
220x3x3
with 3 box jumps between each set

WOD
Butcher Sprints 90#
30 yd high bar+ 30 yd low bar x4

That butcher is a nasty piece of equipment, no doubt about it. The distance with the higher bars was tolerable, but the low bar was brutal. It was brutal on the quads, brutal on the lungs, and a test of my ability to just keep moving even when my body was telling me to please stop.

Last Week

2010-11-14T09:47:00.000-08:00

Tuesday 11/9/2010

Snatch Balance
Max for the Day-93#

WOD
Time: 7:14

Thursday 11/11/2010
Front Squat
143x3x5
(skipped the box jumps so I could move faster and be able to do the wod with the class :)

WOD
45 sec on/15 sec transition
sled pull and back pedal (120 yds)
KBS 45#
Sandbag cleans 25#
Sandbag lunges
Push Press 63#
K2E

Finish with 30 yd with the Butcher

Now I have a new FS goal

2010-11-08T23:30:00.000-08:00

Front Squat
Heavy single
83
123
153
163
173
195-not quite deep enough

I am now going to be aiming for the 200# front squat. It is so close I can taste it.

WOD
compare to 4/24/2010
4 rounds
1 min max Box Jumps 20"
30 sec cross chops 35# (alternate sides each round)
30 sec push ups
*45 sec rest

I didn't write my numbers down during the wod, so these are kind of rough, but I know that I did at least these numbers each round
Box Jumps 22/20/22/20
Cross Chops 20/20/20/20
Push Ups 13/10/10/10

Yep, a push up wimp. But I did use the 20 in box this time instead of the 16 I used in April!

Getting the Work Done

2010-11-08T23:12:00.000-08:00

11/4/2010
Jerk
113x2x5
hold each split position for 2 sec

So I'll just go ahead and admit that bringing the bar back down for the 2nd lift was a big pain. I was so lazy that every once in awhile I just dropped it after the 2nd lift and got Danny to clean it back up for me. But as far as the actual lifts go, I tried to work on my landing position, making sure I was not doing the tight-rope spilt. I think this improved. Now punching up with active shoulders, I think improved a little bit, but I don't think Kyle agrees. That is why it is good to have a coach-to be nice and honest with you!

WOD
400 m row
21-15-9
DB snatches 25# (each arm, yes 21 each arm for the 1st round!)
push ups
400 m row
Time-11:15

I will get better at push ups. I will.

11/5/2010
Back Squat
213x3x5
with 3 box jumps between each set

Then I did a gob more box jumps, just because I love them so much. Or because I am supposed to be working on jumping high and landing softly, or something like that, and it is taking me some extra special time to figure out how to do that.

Side Bends
3x10 each side 35# KB

Yes! Who doesn't love to sculpt that waistline. These were a breeze, in fact I felt like I could just keep doing them, and doing them, until my head got tired of tipping over so many times.

But then I could feel them the next day, and the next day, and I can still feel them today.

11/6/2010
HPS + PSnatch
53
63
68
73
78x2x2
83x2x2
the 83 went like this-1st HPS fail, made the PS, second HPS made, second PS fail. So I had to PS that bar again. I am going to get totally comfortable with 83, sometime...

PClean and Jerk
73
83
93
103
113x1x5 (miss x2)

I was supposed to focus on a speedy turnover. Instead I had the slow-mo turnover. I knew I was slow. I knew I was pulling the bar plenty high enough every single time. I knew that if I just whipped those elbows around and stuck those hips back, I'd get it. But what my brain knew, my body refused to do.

Slow Death by Burpees

2010-11-03T22:00:00.000-07:00

Front Squat
133x3x5
super set 3 box jumps

The front squats were no problemo, but this notion that I am supposed to jump up onto the box, like the 2nd pull of a clean is so far alluding me...This is one of the great things about all of this-I get to the point that I can jump on a box (yeah me!) and then I get to learn a new way to jump onto the box.

Golden decided to work in with my bar, and then he decided to ramp up my training a bit-jumping all over the place, making a lot of noise all in an effort to teach me focus and concentration. It is fabulous to have so many people looking out for me. It is this going the extra mile to help another person that makes me really appreciate CFWSC so very, very much.

WOD
teams of 3 (with Joanna and Julie)
Each member completes-
500 m row sprint
10 burpees
then each completes-
300 m row sprint
20 burpees
then-
100 m row sprint
30 burpees

I kept my first split time under 2:00, my second under 1:56, and my third under 1:52. I went into the wod knowing that I really, really needed to work hard to keep the rows sprints, not slowing down in an effort to "prepare" for the burpees. I have come to realize that there is no preparing for the burpees. They are just nasty at any time.

In fact I am quite sore today and I attribute that solidly to the burpees. There is no question in my mind that it was the many burpees on Sat followed by the many burpees on Tuesday that led to this discomfort. There is no way that the halting sndl, front squats, bear complex, or cleans have anything to do with my tight knees. It is all burpees.

The Bear

2010-11-01T21:10:00.000-07:00

Hang Snatch + Snatch
53, 63, 68, 73, 78

WOD
Bear Complex
7 rounds
1 power clean
1 front squat
1 push press
1 back squat
1 behind the neck press

7 rounds with 63# not a problem

7 rounds with 73# a little bit of a problem, as in I really had to work at keeping myself moving, not stopping, and just really trying to NOT rest at any point

7 rounds with 83# well...
I probably wouldn't have attempted this if Kevin hadn't loaded my bar
It was during this round that I missed during the 4th round. I rested waaaaay too long on that front squat rack, so then I just dropped the bar after the push press. I knew that I was honestly out at that point.
Kevin also goaded me into finishing the 7 rounds, even though it was a miss. So I finished the the last 4 rounds just so I wouldn't feel bad about myself after I left.

A wod like this is always a good one since it really tests my mental determination. I need all the help I can get when it comes to being mentally committed to a wod...:)

Oh, look I did something over the weekend!

2010-10-31T10:57:00.000-07:00

Saturday
SNDL

WOD
83# Cleans 5-4-3-2-1
Front Squats 5-4-3-2-1
Burpees 10-10-10-10-10
Time: 7:45

When Jason annouced this wod, he saw how quickly I realized that this was 50 burpees. Apparently it was all over my face. It feels super-duper to start round 2 after those burpees and then by round 5 you are agonizing over every single one.

Sunday
Power cleans
53x2
63x1
73x1
83x1
93x2
103x1x5

Back Squat
work to a heavy single, with no chance to miss
123
173
203
223
233
243

At 243, I started to noticably slow down, so I decided that was my last attempt before I'd honestly wonder if I would make it back up without a spotter.

Can I even explain how tired I am?

2010-10-28T22:25:00.000-07:00

Back Squat
205x3x5

super set with sets of 3 box jumps (16inch)

This is me every time-this means 3 sets of five. So I do the first set with 5. Then I think, wait, maybe it is 5 sets of 3. Oops, yep, it is 5 sets of 3. I do this every.single.time. One day soon I will get it right the first time.

WOD
6 rounds
1 min calorie row
1 min-15 KBS

Rows-18/9/13/12/12/10

So that was tough. I did round one with the 2 pood, and that was really tough. The 45# I used for the rest couldn't even compare to those first 15. I was truly shocked to see that 9 on the second round, heavy kb or not, as in I had NO idea until I was done that I had dropped so low. I usually watch the display and hope for just one more calorie before the time runs out (the cal. flip so slowly!) So I had to make sure I didn't drop below 10 again. There was no way I was going to let that happen!

Now I am sooooo tired. I am exhausted and ready for a rest day and some extra time to catch up on a whole bunch of odds and ends tomorrow. :)

A Repeated WOD

2010-10-26T20:37:00.000-07:00

Snatch Balance
max for the day:
88#, not a pr
another day learning to just work with what I can do that day, realizing that I won't PR or even match my PR every day...an important lesson!
then 68x1x3
holding it for 3 seconds at the bottom

WOD
3 rounds
10 thrusters 73#
10 burpees
Time: 5:21

Compare to the same wod, with 83#, back in Feb. I am now super, super happy to see the difference in my time. Even though I was bummed that I didn't use the same weight this time, once I finally found it in my book, I am super happy that it took me just half the time. That made me feel a lot better about it all. It is important to note that my little sister and I started our burpees for the last round at the SAME time. She finished in 5:02.

Row Times Ten

2010-10-25T22:27:00.000-07:00

Hang Power Clean and Hang Clean
53, 63, 73, 83, 93

Smacked my chin with the 73. Yeah!

WOD
10 rounds
1 min row
1 min rest

Goal-270m each minute
273
281
270
269
266
253
256
260
257
252

Oh, what fun! This is the first time I have ever done this workout with the 10 rounds. I usually just stick with the 5 round version.

I had originally elected to do the "easy" version of tonight's wod, figuring that with that as an option, someone should take it. Since I was the only person who chose that option, I just figured that Kyle would give me something horrible anyway. But the easy version really was 5 rounds. I elected to go ahead and do all 10. And it felt pretty rotten during and after, but I am glad I got that done. Now the looming threat of 10 rounds of this is past me, and I can focus on hitting 270 each time.

I am just super-duper glad that there were not CFFB style penalties for missing the goal. That would have been horrible...

Loving the Lifting

2010-10-19T12:06:00.000-07:00

Olympic Lifting
Snatch
43
53
58
63
68
73
78

And they all felt great-slower off the floor, chest up, a little more explosive than before and then the bar just fell right into place. Kyle wondered why I finally stopped dropping my chest. I guess I figured I had annoyed the coaches long enough, and frankly I was getting tired of hearing "chest up" so often that it was beginning to haunt me. I figured it was time to finally get that right...

Clean and Jerk
53
63
73
83
88
93
98
103
108
118 fail

Monday, a week ago...

2010-10-18T22:42:00.000-07:00

Push Press
93x5x3

WOD
Partner, with Joanna
100 DB Snatches 25#
80 Ball Slams 25#
60 Broad Jumps
40 Burpees
20 Pull ups (ring for me)
Time-13:08

Fun workout! I had no trouble with the snatches, so I'll commit to using the 30# next time. And on that subject, I think we need some heavier dumbbells. This is the second workout in a short time that I have watched some guy use the 45s and just fly through it because the weight was too light. How about I argue that it is demoralizing when someone goes too fast in a wod? :)

The Weekend Combined

2010-10-17T23:12:00.000-07:00

Saturday
2 SNPP+ 2 OHS
53, 73, 78, 83, 88

WOD
3 rounds
7 jerks 73#
10 cross chops r. 25#
10 cross chops l.
15 burpees

Time-7:30

Obviously went too light on the jerks. Lesson learned. I am having a hard time remembering my current working weights on too many things right now. I need to rectify this.

But I moved fast the whole wod. :)

Sunday

Muscle Snatch
Jr bar x3x3
Women's bar x3x3
Heavy weights!!!

Snatch balance
53, 63, 73, 83, 88, 93, 98 (PR) 103 failx2

I failed the first time because I took a huge dip down and didn't keep the bar path straight. I almost made it on the second attempt, but lost control of the bar right at the end, on the way up.

Snatch
68x1x5

These felt just about fabulous. It is so, so satisfying to olympic lift and have the lift feel like it is getting so much closer to a fluid, cohesive, well-executed lift. That's why I work on this over and over and over again-so it can feel right.

Circuit Training

2010-10-14T22:20:00.001-07:00

Hang Clean + Clean
53
63
73
83
103-failed the hang clean, no problem with the clean

Overall, my cleans felt good. I will obviously be working on that good, old second pull.

WOD
3 rounds
1 min max box jumps 20" -18/16/14
30 sec rest
1 min max push press 53# -20/19/17
30 sec rest
1 min max plate sit ups 15# -31/21/28
30 sec rest
1 min max row -249/240/256... no glide :)

As exhausting as it is, I really like this type of wod-a set time for hard work, then a little break. As just so there is no confusion, I like the 1 min of work type, not the interval Helen type. But I do have to say that all my wods this week have been great, lots of variety, and plenty of stuff that was hard.

I just got more ZMA, so I am happy with sleep again. I shouldn't have waited so long to get more, but I always think that maybe I can just skip it. Then my sleep gets wonky, and I humble myself, walk into GNC again, and get the stuff. You'd think I'd just remember to order the stuff online, since I detest GNC so much, but I'll aim for that next time.

I am almost done with week 1 of my 2-4 week elimination diet, hoping to figure out if something I am eating is still causing some allergic reactions. My diet is seriously sad right now, but I feel great. I just have a hard time thinking of things to eat, so I am hungry a lot more. A lot...

Will my legs hold up?

2010-10-12T22:20:00.000-07:00

Snatch
Heavy Single
53x3
63x2
73x2
83x3

As average for me as this progression looks, it was a good night. Being rational, and not allowing myself to get frustrated with the 83# plateau, I know that my form is actually getting better and better in small ways, even when the total weight is not soaring up.

Snatch Balance
bar x6
53x3
63x3
68x1
73x1
78x1
83 fail

WOD
16 barbell lunges 83#
16 ring pull ups
200 m run
14 lunges
14 pull ups
200 m run
12 lunges
12 pull ups
200 m run
Time: 11:09

The rx'd weight for this was 40% of my back squat 1RM...So I did put 103 lbs on the bar and I tried it once. With one lunge, I was sure that I would fall over with the bar on my back if I actually tried the WOD with that weight, so I went with 83#. Even at that it took considerable effort to make it all the way down to one knee and then get up again.

And these lunges did me in. After going up and down the stairs all morning after this wod, my legs feel ready to give out by the time I get to the last step.

Who likes this WOD?!?

2010-10-11T22:52:00.000-07:00

Press
with some super-secret, super wonderful formula I determined my percentages for this one-
73x5
80x3
90 for max: 3

WOD
5 rounds
15 deadlifts
12 hang power cleans
9 front squats
6 push presses
Time: 19:09
All at 73#

Um, that was hard. The deadlifts were the break, the hang power cleans were quickly degenerating cleans, the front squats should have been easy but every squat was painful, and the push presses were just presses.

Yesterday-
back squats
218x5x5

That is going to be my number one excuse for those front squats being hard. :)

Work before Play

2010-09-29T16:37:00.001-07:00

Tuesday
Jerk, heavy single
63
83
93
103
113
133, failed twice

WOD
3 rounds
200 m run
10 DB thrusters
10 Ring Pull Ups
Time: 9:10

I have to say that this wod had a particularly new and horrible element to it this evening. But that is part of CrossFit, right?!?

The experience of running outside in the fairly pleasant evening air and then entering the box and hitting the wall of the hot dead air in the box was a totally new challenge. I don't think I have ever, ever experienced the feeling that hit me each time I went into the box. It was like my lungs just seized up and didn't want to breathe. The fabulous thing was that the feeling didn't last too long and my airways opened up, allowing me to live and continue the workout.

Don't you love being able to be dramatic on a blog? But seriously, it was something else.

Wednesday
Med Ball Toss
5x5
1min rest between sets
I was in the most fabulous group with Wesley and Andrea. We were supposed to aim for hitting the ceiling, but we didn't even get close enough to wonder if it touched. But we had fun.

Shot Put 5 right, 5 left
Shot put-not my thing evidently...

WOD
6 rounds
5 hang power snatches 63#
4 broad jumps
Time: 6:12

Some great 2nd pull practice for me!

Then 3 sprints on the track.

I got to sprint at the same time as Danny. He was way ahead of me. It was almost like he was finishing as I was finally getting moving. But I tried my best, and for me, I ran pretty fast. :)

Now I am rather frantically getting ready to take my vacation tomorrow. NYC!!

A little whiney

2010-09-27T21:23:00.000-07:00

Snatch
Heavy Single
53
63
73
78
83
93, fail, fail, fail

So who is super frustrated by the snatch?? I am. All I can say right now is-ack. I was SO frustrated with this tonight because I wanted so badly to get the 93#. I've been stuck at 88# for a good long time. I really want to move past this, but I have evidently hit that place where my lack of technique has caught up to me and will now mock me for an undetermined amount of time.

So even though part of me just wanted to give up and call it a night at that point, the other part knew I had to buck up and do the wod.

WOD
3 rounds
1 min max burpees
1 min rest
1 min max cal row
1 min rest
1 min double unders
1 min rest

Score-
12/16/5
14/16/4
13/18/ummmm, just gave up and did single unders only

So to recognize the small victories tonight:
-I did actual burpees for the whole wod. No stepping down or up, just burpeeing the whole time.
-I was able to get a few double unders. They went more or less like this s-s-s-s-s-d-s-s-s-s-s-d...until I called it quits and just did single unders.
-Thanks to Shane's encouragement, I tried to get that last row as high as I could. I'm pretty sure the display was almost ready to flip to 19 on that last one. Just so you know.
-the evil hip mobility after the wod is definitely getting easier, but that just means that I don't quite feel like I am about to cry during that stretch.

Think About Mobility, all the time...

2010-09-26T15:25:00.000-07:00

Back Squat
243x5
213x5
203x5

Tried to be super focused on keeping my upper back tight, pulling against that bar, keeping my chest up...all those great things.

SLDL
128x3x5

GHD 3x15

And I made up some mobility wods. These are my Starrett words for today-
Cultivate posture, greatness, and ready state. It's not enough to say to yourself: "I'm going to lift something heavy now, I'd better get organized". Greatness is all the time.

Watch out, Cliff. I might have found a new life coach...

liked the wod

2010-09-23T22:11:00.000-07:00

Press
45#x5
65#x5
75#x5

WOD
7 rounds
20 sec deadlifts
40 sec rest
20 sec box jumps
40 sec rest

135# Deadlifts-8/9/9/9/9/9/9
20" Box Jumps-9/9/10/8/10/10/10

Twenty seconds is a great amount of time to work! I really felt like I was able to push myself each work set. I definitely enjoyed this wod, which is saying a lot when a wod includes deadlifts!

2010-09-21T21:57:00.000-07:00

Overhead Squat
63x3
73x3
83x3
93x3
103x3 (PR)

WOD
5 rounds
15 ball slams 25#
10 push ups
5 K2E
Time-8:37

Super happy about the OHS PR! Next stop-115#

My poor hands

2010-09-19T22:52:00.000-07:00

Hang Power Snatch+Snatch
53x2
63x2
73x2
78x2 (well, fail, then snatch, so I tried it again)
78x2 (definitely a hang snatch PR)
73x2

I am becoming more and more comfortable with the hang position!

SLDL
123x5x3

Probably should have gone with 128. Oops. These still annihilate my grip, so I am motivated to get those set of 5 done quickly before I give into the discomfort and drop the bar. Fun times! :)

GHD sit-ups
3x15

Jump and Burp...

2010-09-18T22:48:00.000-07:00

Clean and Jerk
63
83
103
113

WOD
21-15-9 Jump Squats 63#
10-10-10 Burpees

Time-3:36

Ah, a great, super fast wod! I like jumping squats, even though they make your quads feel horrible by the end, but when combined with burpees, the quads b.u.u.u.u.rn. I just had to keep telling myself to keep moving during the burpees, just keep moving, Leah...

What!?! Back Squat Again!?!

2010-09-16T22:42:00.000-07:00

Yep, when you have the gift of being able to move down toward the floor and then stand back up again, you have to practice it a lot.

Back Squat
238x5
213x5
203x5

Power Jerk+Split Jerk
53x2
63x2
83x4

WOD
3 Rounds
30 OH plate lunges 25#
20 KBS 44#
10 Burpees
Time-11:48

Loved and hated this wod. It was super hard to like this while right in the midst of the 90 plate lunges. Step, drive shoulders up, try it again...But when a wod like this is done, I love that I did it, and that I stuck with it.

Counting can be hard

2010-09-14T22:39:00.000-07:00

Important goal for next week-get these posts written on time...

Tuesday
9/14/2010
Snatch Push Press
53x5
63x5
73x5
83x5

I WILL be able to get more weight up over my head. I will.

WOD
3 rounds
5 min. ARMAP
5 DB snatch 25#
7 push ups
9 box jumps 20"
1 min rest

Rounds 3/3/3

Have you ever been in the middle of a wod, working really hard to keep with it, and at the same time trying to keep track of your reps and rounds? Seems like something I should have plenty of practice with by now, right? But in fact, I have no idea how many box jumps I actually did. I am sure I did at least 9 each round, but right in the middle of the 2nd round, I was counting my box jumps-7,8,9,10,11,12. And then I realized that I only had to do 9.

Reverse Hypers 90#x10x2

Maybe those mobility wods are working

2010-09-13T21:14:00.000-07:00

Sunday
9/12/10

Hang Power Clean+Power Clean
63x2
73x2
83x2
93x2 (missed the first hpc, so started over)
103xa gazillion (or more accurately at least 6 power cleans)

And then, and then, get this...I also had to fix and hold the receiving position on all those 103s until Joc had approved it and felt that I had held it long enough. One could argue that I would have saved myself a lot of work if I had just received it with my elbows and hips in the right place, but that would be a boring argument.

SLDL
123x5x3

Evidently my grip is somewhat lacking. I got to that last set and realized that I had to fly through those deadlifts before my grip just gave out.

GHD sit ups 3x15

Monday
9/13/10
Front Squat 2RM
143x2
163x2
173x1
173x2

But there is no way that is my 2 RM. I was running out of time, and I was just not prepared-like I forgot to use my belt until the last set...I think that I was probably off because I got into so much trouble during the warm up. That will throw anyone off.

WOD
4 rounds
200 m sandbag run
15 ring pull ups
Time: 11:20

So, that sandbag. I started with the 25#, cuz I was going to be hardcore. Then I decided that I was far from hardcore, especially when I can't use my arms to run and I don't want to stand up straight. Rounds 2-4 were sans sandbag.

And this time is not good, not good at all compared to the last time I did this wod. I did do it with rowing last time, which I tend to do better with, and I did blue band pull ups (which I noted at the time were very easy.)

Then we got to do the evil hip/wall mobility thing for 2 minutes each leg. It was painful and awful, but it was markedly less painful and awful that last week.

Oh, the joys of carb restriction

2010-09-11T13:43:00.000-07:00

Just so you know, going back to good old carb restriction is pretty awful. I have gone back to under 60g carbs/day, after letting the carb intake creep up with fruit, sweet potatoes and a cheat here and there (things like Ben and Jerry's ice cream the night I got my 273# back squat. I loved it.) I really thought that it would be simple this time. I wasn't eating bread, pasta, rice... so it would be simple, right?

Well, today I feel like all I want to do is curl up into a ball and not move. I keep gritting my teeth. I have to make conscious effort to relax my jaw. The sound of someone else eating is enough to drive me over the edge. At times, the sound of my own blood pumping through my own head is torturous. Working out this morning took all the energy I had and after I was done I was shaky and dizzy. All I can do is drink water and plaster a smile on my face, hoping that when I wake up tomorrow everything will be all butterflies and roses.

I know this will pass. I know it will.

Thursday's Workout
Back Squat
I messed up the whole scheme, so it didn't work quite like it was supposed to:
203x5
213x5
238x2 then fail...

I was glad Kyle was there to pull the bar off.

WOD
7 rounds
7 DB push press 30#
7 burpees
7 pull ups (green band, deadhang)

Time-12:06

The presses were almost awesome. I looked forward to them in every round because both the burpees and deadhang pull ups were so, um...not awesome. I totally regressed on my burpee form, but for most of the wod, I didn't care.

Saturday's WOD
Snatch
53x2
63x1
73x1
83x2
93 fail, again...

Interval Cindy
2 min on, 30 sec off x5
2+5 pull ups, 10 push ups/2/2/2/2

Honest truth-once I realized that I wasn't going to get 3 rounds, ever, I just paced myself to make sure I got the full 2 rounds each interval. By round 3 I realized that I had to fly through the ring pull ups and squats to allow myself the extra time needed to complete the push ups. But even though they were hard, I felt pretty good about all my real, no knee push ups.

And I would rather do this with the ring pull ups over jumping pull ups any day. I truly, deeply, all the way to the core of my being, dislike jumping pull ups now.

Oh, and I owe great thanks to Golden for all that extra running he did to push me through the warm up run. I know you are too busy to even read blogs anymore, so you won't even see this, but without your help I wouldn't have made it. :) And my sister called me this afternoon to try to talk me into doing the Warrior Dash...agh.

The Russian Squat Cycle

2010-09-09T13:02:00.000-07:00

Leah Takes on the Russian Squat Cycle from Jocelyn Forest on Vimeo.

So looking back, I am not 100% sure why I decided to start the squat cycle, except that I like back squats, had the extra time, and was ready for a clear challenge. I knew it would be rough at times, and I knew that I would have to just stick with it and see it through, even if I didn't really want to at times. I squatted 3 times a week for the 6 week cycle. I am know that there are longer and harder squat cycles, but this one was plenty for me. In the end I am very glad I did this, and I am glad it is finished!

The whole cycle was tough at times, and I owe big thanks to my coach Jocelyn Forest (who thought this whole thing up and is amazingly inspiring and supportive, not to mention super patient whenever I was whining or worrying) and to Kyle Haynes (who didn't come up with this idea, but is still inspiring, supportive and patient.)

Now if anyone is just fascinated with this idea, here are some more thoughts on the whole cycle, but I realize that most people won't really care what I thought about during this venture. :)

The first week was tough in that I was nervous and excited about the whole venture. I was excited to have my own dedicated squat program, excited to have such focus, excited to try something like this. I was nervous to squat three times a week, nervous to squat 208 that many times period, and very nervous of failing. And on top of that I got a cold, the first cold in over a year, and I was super bummed about that, and nice and stressed that I was going to start this cycle and then fall behind or mess it all up in the very first week. But I made it. I slept A LOT this week, but figured it was because I was sick. I also had to work hard to eat a fairly normal amount of protein. I realized right away that I had to be very meticulous about my recovery, and I could see that I needed to be more particular about what I had previously thought of as all the little parts of the squat-my hand position on the bar, my approach to the bar, re-racking the bar...

The second week I felt GREAT! I was fully recovered and I now knew I could squat 208# over and over again and still live. My legs did feel really tired and heavy most of the time, but I felt very confident with the squats. I realized that I was still tired and ended up taking naps at least a couple times during the week.

Week three marked the first time I felt like I HAD to not just sit down, but lie down between sets. It was at this point that I realized the value of committing to the 6 week cycle. If I hadn't made this commitment, I would have decided to stop, take a break, or just lift less. I would have told myself that it really didn't matter, so I'd just do less. So much of the cycle really had more to do with my mental state than my physical state. Because I had the time, it wasn't really that hard to ice, foam roll, eat and sleep. It was harder to believe that I could get the work done and sometimes it was very hard to not give up. I certainly do not have a lifetime habit of pushing myself physically, so this was not the norm for me!

Week four was when the cycle changed from various rep schemes at 208 to various rep schemes at increasing weights. I LOVED being able to return to my now safe and happy 208x2x6 following a heavier set. 208 was now my very, very good friend. There were times when it was exhausting to think about a metcon, let alone actually getting it done, and if it hadn't been for a coach pushing me through, I would have skipped out on the metcons this week.

Week five and six were h.a.r.d. I added ice baths to my recovery, moaned a lot, and fretted about every upcoming squat day. I had reached a new level of exhaustedness after my squat days so I started eating sweet potatoes. At this point it was very clear that if I had not had the constant support of Joc, I would not have finished. It was also clear that I really also needed the help of Kyle, as he was my spotter (and supporter) extraordinaire. Week 6, my last lift at 258#, was also my first miss.

When I finally maxed out, I felt ready, both physically and mentally. I love lifting the heavy weights, but I am also happy to see the changes in how I mentally approach the gym and the hard work that often faces me there. I am more and more confident, and there is no doubt that this cycle has a lot to do with that. I hit 273# for my final single. I so appreciated that several people made special effort to cheer me on for that lift-Joc, Kyle, Vero, and Lolo.

Have I learned?

2010-09-08T12:12:00.000-07:00

Snatch Deadlift + Power Snatch
33, 53, 58, 63, 68

I was supposed to really focus on a nice slow deadlift and a pause at the top, trying to really grasp the feel of a slower first pull. When I then did the power snatches, I had varied success, but I could really, really tell the difference when I pulled slowly off the floor and THEN moved faster. Hah, I kind of feel like a nincompoop now and I marvel at the patience of a coach willing to tell me over, and over, and over again to pull slowly from the floor...And I will probably still mess it all up next week.

WOD
30 Deadlifts 143#
200 m run
30 KBS 36#
Time-5:11

Who actually likes to do 30 deadlifts in a row? Not me, for sure. I also don't really like to do 30 KBS in a row, so all of that makes the run seem wonderful. But I seriously do not even know how people can actually do heavy kettle bells after deadlifts because my back hates me with this combo. Hate might be a little strong, but it complains, a lot.

Even with all of this, it was a great night at the box-lots of people, lots of energy, lots of fun.

In other news, I am announcing a brief return to hard-core, no cheats paleo-zone. This will last for a whole 23 days since I will cheat while I am on vacation. I need to look up what my previous block breakdown was, but I am going to be in militant lean out mode-no dairy, no fruit, and no nuts. I'll cheat a little bit while in New York, and then I'll be militant again until Thanksgiving. Then I'll think about how militant I want to be...

I should have stopped thinking...

2010-09-07T21:03:00.000-07:00

Overhead Squat 3rm
warm up with the bar
then shoulder and hip mobility
then retest with the bar-it was definitely easier to do
53x3
73x3
83x3
93x3
103x1
and then I ran out of time, but that is ok since every squat was slow and almost painful

WOD
4 rounds
10 plate cleans 25#
20 OH Lunges
10 Ring Pull Ups
Time: 11:55

This was my first night back in Kyle's class after months...
And how was it? Well, considering that the overhead squats were just super enjoyable and easy, even those plate SQUAT cleans were a blast. Starting in round 2, every single squat went like this-
This is ridiculous. This should be easy. This is just 25 pounds. This is just an air squat with 25 pounds, I used to have to air squat more that all the time when I was fatter. I mean, really, shouldn't I be flying through plate cleans with at least the 45 pounder? Ugh, why is it so hard to squat right now?!? And what am I supposed to do to cycle these together? Awkward.

As you can see, I had to move slowly just to think all of those thoughts.

I love the new gym

2010-09-02T20:03:00.000-07:00

Strict Press + Push Press + Push Jerk

Super Set with Box Jumps

20 in/+25 plate/+25 and 25/+45

WOD

I don't remember how many rounds!! Oops! I guess I was too tired to remember what I needed to write down.

21 Jump Squats 83#

12 Ball Slams 25#

7 Ring Dips (Green Band)

Time-7:32

Those jump squats were tough on the old quads-burn, burn, burn. The ball slams were as wonderful as ball slams can be, except that they immediately followed the jumping squats so breathing was notably difficult.

Important note to self-I need to move to the next band on the ring dips.

And look-I put another picture up, so no more complaining from anyone. And this picture is proof that I can apparently drive my head through on a strict press...I just have to do it.

Lots and Lots of Stuff

2010-08-31T21:24:00.000-07:00

Saturday

The Santa Cruz Affiliate Challenge

Tuesday

Back Squats

258x2

258 fail...

so then

243x1 just to finish strong

Hmmmph. I was bummed to miss that one. I dropped my chest. I don't know why I did that, but I did and 258 was just too much for me to get up once the bar moved forward a couple of inches.

Power Clean and Jerk

53x2

73x2

83x2

103x2

WOD

7 rounds

5 Overhead Squats 53#

100 ft sand bag sprint 25#

8 ring pull ups

Time: 9:xx

This was great fun in the new gym! I had so much space, but then that also meant that it seemed like I had a lot more ground to cover. I was happy to work on OHS in a wod, but I noticed that even with the lighter weight, I missed my lifting shoes.

Then I did today's mobility wod with the help of my own personal mobility coach.

Then I finished with the special wod of "move gym paraphernalia" for time. Good times!

The Long Forgotten Press

2010-08-26T18:55:00.000-07:00

Press 5x5
Hmmmm, it has been a long time since I have done this.
85x5
85x4
80x5
80x5
80x5

Box Jumps
5x20" box
5x20 +15# plate
5x20 +25# plate
5x20 +45# plate
5x20 +45# plate

WOD
4 interval rounds, with Lisette
25 yd tire flip
200 m run
12 burpees

I would much rather do tire flips than burpees any day. But I don't think I would like to do AMRAP tire flips in 20 min., just saying...

The Hottest Day of the Year

2010-08-24T16:01:00.000-07:00

Back Squats
243x3x3

Did a little experiment today and can report the following results-
having a sunburn on your shoulders/upper back is in fact quite painful when you then place 243 pounds on it. But the good news is that once I started the squat I had to focus so much on getting it back up that I forgot how much it hurt.

Foam Rolling and Mobility Work
The Kstar Mobility wod, day 2
Only marginally successful so I must have very tight hip flexors.

WOD
15-10-5
Man Eaters 20#
200 m run
Time: 8:xx

I LITERALLY (yep, literally)burned the inside of my throat on this wod. It was that hot outside. It was truly horrible to be gasping for air. I can't even imagine how people do this in places where it actually gets hot.

Quick Check In

2010-08-23T22:43:00.000-07:00

Sunday
Back Squats
208x2x6

And that was it. I was done...super done.

Monday Mobility WOD
10 min squat

Ouch! That was very hard and I was shifting my weight quite a bit during the last few minutes.

Water Aerobics

2010-08-20T18:14:00.000-07:00

Today was a rest day, so I decided to get in some active rest...
I went to water aerobics with my mom, figuring that being in the pool would be good for me. My mom and I had a great time, and I loved being able to participate in her new fitness pursuit. She assured me that getting into the pool at 10am in the morning, in the wonderful coastal fog wouldn't be that bad, and it wasn't!

I think I can, I think I can...

2010-08-19T22:24:00.000-07:00

Power Jerk + Jerk
83x2x2
88x2x2
93x2x2

WOD
partnered with Melanie
10 rounds each
2 DB thrusters + 2 push presses rt. 20#
2 DB thrusters + 2 push presses lt. 20#
30 m sprint

Time: ??

So this was not at all an overly difficult wod-just a couple of things to remember, each movement nice and quick, and a partner rest. But when you start the wod super tired, everything is hard. This was one of those times that I would have totally bailed on the wod if I had been working out by myself. Thankfully, I was not by myself and I had a coach and a great partner to push me to get it done and get it done well.

Paleo Pork Chop Dinner

2010-08-18T18:51:00.000-07:00

My Quick Dinner (about 15-20 minutes from start to finish)

1. Start the butternut squash
Empty a bag of peeled and chopped butternut squash onto an oiled baking sheet
Drizzle a bit more olive oil over the squash
Season with salt and ground pepper
Put into a 375 degree oven.

2. Make the Pork Chops
Heat an oiled skillet to med-high and when it is hot, add 3 boneless pork chops, seasoned with salt and pepper

While the chops are browning (this should take about 6-10 minutes and you just have to remember to turn them) chop a small shallot and a handful of cherry tomatoes

You should also have enough time to make the garlic butter by mixing a couple tablespoons of butter with 1-2 cloves of chopped garlic. Set this aside until the chops are done.

When the pork chops are done, remove then from the pan. Deglaze the pan with about 1/2 cup of broth, white wine or even water. Deglazing is done by turning the heat to high, waiting a moment for the pan to get nice and hot and then quickly added the liquid to the pan and scraping up all of the browned bits of meat from the bottom of the pan.

As soon as the pan is deglazed, add the shallots and tomatoes to the pan and cook this for about 2 minutes, just enough to soften the shallots and release some of the tomato juice.

Serve the pork chops by placing a dollop of garlic butter and some of the tomato-shallot sauce on each chop.

Your squash should be just about done by now!

**And yes, butter is not exactly paleo, but I was sure to use grass-fed butter. :)

Not Very Tough Today

2010-08-17T17:57:00.000-07:00

Cleans
HPC+PC
83x2x2
90x2x2
95x2x2

Oops! I just realized that I was supposed to be doing power cleans, not cleans...Oh well, I was just way to excited about nailing those cleans, squat and all. It usually feels like the progress on these in infinitesimal (it feels like that because it is) but then I realize that I am getting really, really comfortable with the heavier end of my clean ability (instead of feeling like it is possible, if all of the stars are aligned correctly that day, to get 95#, I know I can get it now.)

WOD
5 rounds
5 jerks 83#
7 ring pull ups
200 m run
Time: 12:29

This part of the class was not so spectacular for me. I am not very happy with my performance on this one, primarily because I kind of gave up during round 4. During this round I didn't keep the jerks unbroken, even though I really could have, and I walked back into the box instead of running the whole way. I think I even broke up the pull ups. I was able to get it together for the last round and keep everything unbroken. So this was not an example of mental toughness or great dedication to the task.

I am now used to a nap on Tuesdays and Thursdays. And I didn't get a nap today, so I am going to have to hobble through the rest of the night.

How Many Rounds?

2010-08-16T11:23:00.000-07:00

Back Squat
218x5x5

This was my one rep max in Jan. and my highest 5x5 when we ended the back squat progression in May.

WOD
5 rounds
7 ball slams 40#
100 m row sprints
Time: 5:08

The 40# ball is heavy and awkward, and I can't wait until we have new balls that don't have a deflated side. For some reason I thought this wod was 4 rounds, and I was getting super excited as I was finishing round 3-just one more left, this is no problem, almost over!! And then as I was starting round 4, Joc yells, "only 2 rounds left!"

Ssssssssssss. That is the deflating sound heard briefly in my head as I faced not one, but two more rounds. Then there was the ever so brief thought of-did she change this, do I dare argue this one? Nope. Just be tough Leah and get it done (plus I couldn't really talk at that point.)

It was a good thing I didn't argue. It was a 5 round wod.

2010-08-12T23:38:00.000-07:00

2 jerk dip squats + 1 power jerk
78x3x2
86x3x2
93x3x2
103x3x1

Thoughts in my mind during these-tighten up, dip down, don't go too fast on the dip, drive the bar up, move my head out of the way, active shoulders, drive the head through. Who knew that getting the bar from your shoulders to overhead would take so much concentration?

WOD
6 rounds
8 overhead BB lunges 53# (rx'd)
Sprint to the wall-back pedal
12 KBS, Russian style 53#
Time: 10:31

I think I might love Russian kettlebell swings. They are fabulously wonderful in comparison to American kettlebell swings.

Reason #231 to Avoid Running

2010-08-11T12:34:00.000-07:00

I now get Prevention Magazine for some reason. I have no idea why I am now receiving it, and can only figure that word got out somehow that I care a lot about prevention. But anyway, there are sometimes these little nuggets of helpful and amusing advice:

On the topic of Good Skin
"The repeated jarring of high-impact cardio like running can weaken collagen and lead to sagging. So until a 'face bra' is invented, I'll stick to cycling and the elliptical machine." (from a leading dermatologist)

There you go, proof enough that running is bad, bad, bad. Who wants to run at the expense of sagging skin? Not me! But I can also tell you that I won't ever be wearing a face bra.

Now back to lesson planning...

Oh So Tired

2010-08-10T19:43:00.000-07:00

First-
Back Squats
208x6x6

The six was tough. I've done 208x5x5 several times, so I knew I could do this, but it was still taxing. I felt like just lying down on the floor between each set, but I stayed strong and just sat down instead.

Second-
Hang Power Snatch + Hang Snatch
33, 53x2, 58, 63, 68x2

I feel a little more comfortable with the hang now, meaning I don't feel like an idiot while working on it. I generally like things better when they don't make me feel uncoordinated.

WOD
We'll call this one "Three of My Favorite Things"
(Made even better by being one round with everything in nice large chunks)

30 wall balls 14#
400 m run
50 box jumps 20"
Time: 7:33

Most of my wall balls made it to the wall, but honestly, a few didn't... :) The box jumps were not bad! Can you believe that?!? They took a long time, but hey, I just did 50 in a row, rx'd, so I am super happy with that.

My shoulders...

2010-08-08T14:30:00.000-07:00

WOD
4 rounds
250 m row
10 ring dips (green band)
12 GHD sit ups
Time: 11:22

This was not nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be. I had visions of starting the second round still dizzy from the GHDs, but I am finally not crazy dizzy and disoriented every time I get off the GHD in a wod. :) I had no idea how the ring dips were going to go since last time I used a blue band, but they weren't as bad as I expected. My shoulders are a bit fried today, but that has motivated me to work a little harder on stretching and foam rolling. I used this routine plus a few more exercises that Kyle gave me.

Have you heard how hard it is to buy Kombucha these days? This is very sad news for all of us who just love to drink the amazing stuff. But it motivated me to make my own. I am now on my third batch of the amazing stuff, and it is undeniably cheaper and better than what I was buying. Plus it is kind of exciting to be making this stuff from a "kombucha mushroom", seeing those kombucha babies growing, and then ending up with bottled, effervescent, sour yumminess. I love these kind of things and this is filling the void in my life now that I don't attempt a new type of sourdough starter every year.

My brothers act like I am making moonshine, but they just don't appreciate the greatness of this stuff.

The Paleo Challenge

2010-08-07T16:47:00.000-07:00

The votes for Paleo 2.0 were counted and I won. :) I am so very appreciative of all the encouragement and support that so many people provided. It was a lot of work, but it was very, very worth it. You can read more about it at the link above.

Thursday

I worked more on my pull ups. :) They are HARD without a band!

WOD

5 rounds

5 pull ups (violet band)

5 box jumps 20"

Time: 3:22

The difference between how little work it took to do pull ups with the green band and how MUCH work it took to do them with the violet band was significant. But I remember when I could not do one with the green, or even when I could not do one with the blue, no matter how hard I tried!

And the box jumps-I was doing them all without resetting my feet on the floor, so I am inching closer to cycling those 20 inchers.

Sat

Chinese dumbbell rows 35# 3x10

WOD

5 rounds

10 DB snatch R. 30#

10 DB snatch L. 30#

10 Burpees

Time: 11:50

I love burpees. They are the best. I think I love them so much and have gotten so good at them that I probably don't even need to do them anymore. At least for a very long time. Right?!?

A Sympathetic Coach

2010-08-03T20:31:00.000-07:00

Power Snatch + Hang Power Snatch
2x5 at 53#

Here is how the pre-workout conversation went-(roughly...)

Joc: Leah, so how are your feeling?

Leah: Good, my legs are tired, but pretty good.

Joc: But no pain, right?

Leah: No pain! I really feel good! (smile, smile, smile) My legs are just a little tired and slow, you know?

Joc: Yeah, I know how that is. I totally understand.

Leah (thinking): How great is it to have an understanding coach, one who takes the time to check in and really cares about how I feel? How nice! (smile, smile, super happy)

Then Joc starts writing the wod on the board. I start hearing muttering of how much Leah is going to "like" this...

And the there was the wod:

WOD
35 DB Thrusters 25#
400 m run
30 hurdle burpees
Time: 8:58

So if your legs are tired this WOD just feels splendid! The thrusters don't feel hard.at.all. You feel like you are flying on the 400 m run. And hurdle burpees? You might think that you would sort of dread the thought of 30 of them, even questioning your ability to make it over the hurdle without tripping, but no. Everyone of those burpees is a piece of cake and you feel like soaring over that green bar! CrossFit is amazing.

Staycation Day 2-hung out at the gym to make sure I didn't miss anything interesting. I didn't. Then I was a tourist in Capitola and downtown Santa Cruz for the rest of the day.

Burpees

2010-08-02T08:57:00.000-07:00

Yesterday-
In the fun busyness of open gym, Lolo and I did back squats. I must do this because I am highly fearful of my legs getting too small. I know that is a very real possibility for me (ha, ha, ha), so I have to work hard here.

I had lots of entertainment during my sets while I watched Sam do his birthday Grace, John complete Grace Rx'd for the first time, Golden complete big boy Grace with only presses, no jerks, and Desmond fighting through the big boy Grace with what happily was not an aneurysm. I was impressed with all of it.

40 burpees for time
3:25

Why do I still have such a huge mental block about things like this that I have never done, but really am able to do?!? I feel like I am making some very slow mental progress. Rationally, I should know for sure that I can do 40 burpees, but I still worry that I will run out of steam and have trouble even finishing. Sigh, there are an awful lot of things in the gym that I am still scared to even try, and that is not a very good thing.

And this is Day 1 of my self-declared staycation. I decided that I wanted to take some time to enjoy a few of the local things that I keep missing...So all day will be spent at the Boardwalk today.

Knees to Elbows?!?

2010-07-29T21:21:00.000-07:00

SNPP (behind the neck)

73x5

83x4

93x3

103x2

113x1

WOD
All 2 minute rounds

4 rounds:

100 m shuttle

15 plate sit ups (25#)

(subbed to 7 GHD sit ups for the last 2 rounds)

4 rounds

150 m row

10 T2B, subbed to almost K2E

I liked the rest in each round. That worked well for me. :) Joc is good at pushing us to work nice and hard with these wods. She is giving me lots of practice in getting my breathing under control...

When I was done, Kyle muttered something about knowing my secret. What secret? I have no secrets!! Well, it turns out that he thought that I was indeed able to do the actual K2Es and that I was just sandbagging. No, I can't do them! I know I can't. I've never been able to come even close, so I just pull my legs up and engage those abs. I have been getting better, but nope, can't actually do them. Kyle didn't agree.

So I told Kyle that I would show him that I couldn't do it.

Then I tried it again. I did it. Bummer! Now I'll have to actually do real K2Es. :)

In keeping with my goal to make sure I was eating really well this week, my menu for today-

Breakfast

eggs, Italian sausage, tomatillo salsa, and avocado

Snack, post wod

almonds

Lunch

grilled pork tenderloin with peach salsa

roasted broccoli with caramelized onions

Dinner

grilled hamburger patty with tomato, avocado, and tomatillo salsa

roasted broccoli

Dessert

strawberries and blueberries with coconut milk