Eggs, Properly Scrambled

Eating eggs everyday or almost everyday has the potential to be boring, but it does not have to be. There are umpteen ways to cook an egg, but my fall-back method is the scramble. If you do it right, it is really hard to get sick of a properly cooked egg.

I'll tell you right off the bat to save your money and skip this contraption. No one needs an ez cracker or an ez scrambler, but the infomercial is highly entertaining.

There is some disagreement on the idea of a proper scrambled egg, but I am whole-heartedly in the camp of creamy, soft, fluffy scrambled eggs. Overcooking your eggs to the point of dry, little pellets is heartbreaking and should be avoided at all costs. Even cooking your eggs closer to dry rather than creamy is a culinary travesty that I would love to see ended.

So here's what you need to know-

Crack your eggs into a bowl and lightly whisk. Add a bit of salt, pepper, and a pour of coconut milk (in my pre-paleo days I used cream.)

Put your skillet on the stove with med-low heat. It is very important to keep the heat low. High heat=killing your scrambled eggs. Add your fat of choice: olive oil, coconut oil, or bacon fat. Pour the whisked eggs into the pan, but reserve just a tablespoon or so of the egg. Keep this little bit in the bowl for the very end of the cooking. Stir the eggs very gently over the low heat until they are just set. Keep the eggs moving slowly during the cooking and remove them from the heat as soon as they are set, while still looking a bit wet. The eggs will continue to cook even after you take them off the stove, so you want them looking just very barely done. Now add that reserved bit of egg and mix gently.

Back Squats at 198

Skill
Back Squat 5x5
198x5
198x5
198x5
198x5
198x5

SNPP 3x3
68x3
68x3
68x3
(And oops, I just noticed that I was supposed to go heavier than that!)

So, I was the trainer's nightmare tonight...I was incredibly slow. It was a huge class. I didn't grab a station fast enough and got stuck with the movable rack in the middle of the floor. So many people walking around, so much activity, so not my ideal lifting situation. Huge classes on back squat day make me nervous. I take a long time to do the 5x5. I have to warm up a several times. Really, do people just slap on their weight and go?!? I don't think I can do that. I felt like I was taking less rest than I often do, but I was still slow. I think I'm going to have to get to class early on the next back squat day.

And now reading this the next day, it sure sounds pretty whiny. It really was a great class, and I got to be there with some of my favorite people. That is probably part of my problem: I might have been talking too much. :)

Golden, you were right to point out that I was going down in the squat too fast. I slowed down for the last set and it was easier.

So the class wod started without me...
So I got to do my own wod...
again.

WOD
3 rounds
10 power cleans 103#
10 burpees
Time: 9:37

Cleans were hard, and I had about 4 misses. Burpees were just as wonderful as always.

The Jerk, A really awkward lift to write about...

Skill: Jerk
Jerk Dip Squat
80%x5 (93#)
90%x3 (108)
100%x3 (118)
110%x2 (128)

Then Heavy Jerk singles
123x1
128 (f)
128 (f)
128x1 PR

The jerk dip squats were very very helpful in focusing my attention on the small, straight dip. I really needed this since I am fairly incompetent at this lift, evidenced by the pretty ugly attempts at 128. Kyle told me that it seems like I am thinking of this as a shoulder lift, not a leg lift. That is true, even though I know I have been told differently.

WOD
AMRAP in 12 minutes
3 heavy push jerks 103#
7 toes to bar (otherwise known as hang on the bar and try really hard to pull my knees up)
100 m sandbag run 15#
Rounds: 6 +2 push jerks

I was happy about this one! Well, it wasn't like I was happy at the thought of it, but I was very happy with my rounds. I didn't walk on the sandbag runs (amazing, huh?!) and I felt like I was actually getting the jerk right a few times. I was also very happy with my pace on this wod.

The Slowest of the Day

Skill
Overhead Squat
find a new 2 RM...
I made it to 78#, which is not a PR, and stopped. My shoulders are just way to tight for this today.

WOD
15, 10, 5
Backsquats 183#
KBS 44# (rx'd was 53#)
Time: 9:00

I think that I take the prize for the slowest time of the whole day, slowest out of every single class. That is ok, though. I was just really glad to finish this one. I came into class knowing this was the wod, and actually looking forward to it. I had no idea that I would have to BS this weight. I was figuring I'd do it at about 153# or so...I did a similar wod in December at 133# and that was super hard then. So, yeah, this was super, super hard.

And then we had to do a finisher.
with a partner, in 1 minute intervals, complete a total of:
2k row
50 presses 73#, then down to 63#

I was really trying to not have a bad attitude about that one. You know, trust the trainer and all that jazz. Everyone else had like double the rest I did. I was tired. I was sore. I was ready to be done. But I have to learn to keep going even when I don't want to, especially when it is hard, learn to just be tougher. Right?!?

I was going to make some paleo cookies to take to the sectionals tomorrow, but now we'll have to see if I can stand up that long.

Finally, Deadlifts!

Skill
Max Pull Ups x5
All with the green band 6/5/5/4/4
All done without any kip...that was tough.

WOD
5 rounds
2 min rounds
100 m run
5 heavy deadlifts 198#
Max box jumps 16" 11/8/12/10/9
Rest 90 sec after each round

The run was scaled down from a 200 m run so I had a chance to work on actually sprinting. I can't sprint for 200 m, but I can finally sort of, kind of sprint, or at least run quicker, for 100m. I was under strict orders to actually go fast, or I would get into trouble. I was happy with my sprints.

The deadlifts were another story. They were hard, but I knew they would be. Deadlifts have been nagging me lately as I started to realize that it had been weeks since I had last done them. I could tell tonight that it had been a long time, a whole month in fact.

Oh, and yet another sign that my life has changed. I actually walked into a store with my "I heart Kyle" t-shirt on after class. Just in case you didn't know, I was a strict "no printing whatsoever on a shirt" girl for years. What has this world come to?!?

Dumbbell Thrusters

Skill
Heavy Clean and Jerk
63x5, 83x2, 93x1, 103x1, 118x1 (PR)

then way too sore to try the 123...
Even though I was at the station next to Desmond who was effortlessly cleaning something like 400# (not really, but it was a lot.) His lift looked so smooth and effortless. He just was under that bar. None of his mad o-lifting skills transferred over to me at the neighboring station.

WOD
AMRAP in 20 minutes
10 broad jumps
10 db thrusters 25#
50 m. farmer's walk
Rounds-7 plus 8 broad jumps

Oh boy, did I fall in love with DB thrusters! I love the feeling of having the db above my head and my arms feeling like they are just going to plummet down to the side. Awesome! I wasted so much time on those thrusters because it was just so hard to get all 10 done at one time. I was trying to just mentally push through it and made it on a couple rounds, but failed on a couple others when I broke them into 5/5. This was not a fantastic decision, but now that it is over, and I am done complaining about how we obviously need another set of 20#s, I realize that I should just be more prepared to use the 25#s next time. I am confident that I will be stronger, so it won't be as hard. So as long as no one programs these in the next few weeks, I guess I'll survive.

It is Good to Do Hard Things

Skill
Back Squat 5x5 at 193#

Got them all and they felt more solid than the 190 last week. All of this came after much back and forth on the validity of deloading and failure and keeping up with a training partner and all that jazz. I was happy that I was able to provide Sam with a great topic of discussion today. You know that without some prodding he is pretty quiet, so I was just doing my part to wrestle out some of that valuable information that he keeps locked away in that brain of his.

WOD
Heavy Grace
30 clean and jerks 98#
rest 1 min after 10 and 10 reps
Time-7:07 (not including rest)

It took me a nice long time to finish my back squats today. I am sure it had nothing to do with how crowded it was in the back of the gym, or how slow I am, but it was really that I had to keep moving out of Golden's line of site every time he did his overhead squat holds. That cost me a lot of time.

So I got to do the wod all by myself after class. I don't think I thought much about the wod before it started because I finished the first clean, was just about ready to drop it, and then realized that I also had to jerk it. Um, yeah...I don't like to jerk 98# 30 times. But I don't always get to do what I like. So I just had to go a bit slower, concentrate on the jerk and try, try, try not to press it.

Great Start to a Great Day

Skill
2 Snatch Push Press+ 2 Overhead squats x5
65#

Nasty Girls
3 rounds
50 air squats
12 ring push ups (knees) (rx'd is 7 muscle ups)
10 hang power cleans 85# (rx'd is 95#)
Time: 10:36

This was a great WOD. My ring push ups felt just a tad more stable than last time, but I was pretty surprised at how hard the hang power cleans were for me. Before we started, I had this nagging feeling that maybe I should put the whole 95# on the bar, but once we started I was struggling enough with the 85#. The hang power clean should be harder, right? Since you don't have as much leg power? I really hope so... I think that is the one and only time I use a men's bar for hang power cleans. I kept losing my grip after about 5 or 6 of them.

A Very Busy Class

It was clearly trainer's choice day...

Part 1-
1k row for time
Me: 4:22 (PR)
Nice and easy to hit a pr when you've never done it before!

Part 2-
Double Unders
5-10-15-20-25-20-15-10-5
So this went very well. I killed this one. I hit a grand total of zero double unders.
But I did keep practicing this time. I didn't just give up and wander off to do something else.

Part 3-
Fran
21-15-9
Thrusters 63#
Pull Ups (blue band)
Time: 6:42
Amazingly, the best part of the night! My last Fran time was in January, and I beat that time by 2 minutes. And I did all the pull ups with the band this time, not half band/half jumping. I love seeing progress!

Part 4-
Back Extensions
3x15

I am already sore...tomorrow will be even better...

So Many Burpees in a Row!

Skill
Front Squat
140x3
150x3
160x3
170x3
180x2
I was kind of unsure of my true max on the front squat. There it is, right there!

WOD
For time-
500 m row
30 burpees
10 shoulder to overhead 95#
Time: 7:47

I am fairly certain this was the first time I had to do that many burpees at one time. I was dreading it. It was not as bad I was expecting! But boy those jerks were nice and tough after the burpees. I had, had, had to focus on the mechanics of the lift because I was just too tired to press them like I normally would. And I looked up this wod...it was a 2009 regional's wod. I did it Rx'd, and I got it done under the 10 minute cap.

I think I'm getting slower!

Well after more thought, I'll blame my sluggishness and my apparent grumpiness towards Sam on my caffeine withdrawal. :)

Skill
Strict Press
Find a new 1 RM-100#
I tried 105 twice and once again experienced that unique press feeling-no pain, it doesn't even feel that heavy, just absolutely not able to move it one more centimeter.

Then my sister went and PR'd at 95#! I'm proud of her, but man...I didn't expect to have her breathing down my neck on this one!

WOD
5 rounds
3 1/2 minute intervals
9 knees to elbows (which were in fact something far, far less impressive)
6 burpees
3 squat cleans 95# (rx'd 105#)
200 meter run

All of these cleans the last couple of weeks that are supposed to be heavy are killing me! If only I hadn't done Grace, I wouldn't keep falling into Sam's category of "if you do Grace rx'd you should go heavier on this wod" group. I did scale the runs on rounds 3 and 4 to 100 meters. I think I am getting worse at running, though. As if this was even possible!

Back squats and wall balls

Skill
Back Squat 5x5
190x5
190x5
190x5
190x5
190x5

(So I thought Joc adjusted the bar on the last rep, but apparently she didn't. I got them done!)

Hard, hard, hard. But being able to get through it with Vero made it far more manageable. I also realized that this was the first time I attempted the 5th set without Sam or Kyle right behind me. I guess I was just so focused that I didn't even think about worrying about the last set. I was really, really glad that Joc walked over!

WOD
7 rounds
5 SDHP 83#
100 m run
12 wall balls 14#
Time:

After this wod was over, I was laying on the floor and heard Joc exclaim with such delight that everyone looked so beat...This one was hard. The SDHP was rx'd at 95#, and I should have done that since that was by far the easiest part for me. The wall balls were horrid. I spent the first 2 rounds trying to hit the wall high enough and failing and also not really throwing it straight. By the third or fourth round I had decided that simply hitting the wall a few inches higher than my head was sufficient...And then on the last round I totally missed it and let it smack me in the face. I clearly need to add wall balls to the list of 497 things that I need to work on.

Clean, clean, clean

Skill
KB work, including KB snatches

This was a great time of dramatically illustrating just how weak my left arm and wrist and hand are. Since I take my measurements (in an effort to not be bound by the scale), I happen to know that my left arm is larger than my right. This all clearly indicates that I have more fat and less muscle on my left side and must start some spot work immediately. Who can help me with that? Should I start doing some dumbbell work with my left arm? I can do that sort of thing and just burn the fat on that arm, right?!?

WOD
10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
Clean 93# (rx'd 105)
Ring Push Ups (I scaled to my knees)
Pull Ups (I scaled to jumping)
Time: 14:

Finisher: tabata row
Score 4 cal. (pushed it and got 5 on the last one)

It was hard to keep pushing myself for this finisher. Well, really, it was hard to keep pushing myself on those cleans. By round 6 I was really regretting the choice of 93#, thinking that this seemed a lot harder than I thought it would be. That would be because I didn't really think about the fact that this was 55 cleans. I think that I am working on a permanent bruise on my clavicle. That's always a great look to be sporting.

Update: I just realized that I did 100 cleans this week. No wonder I have a bruise.
And I got my first purple band pull up today! From 1 blue band + a push from Joc pull up in June to the purple band. What seemed impossible is getting closer...

On another note, I have been hungry for just about 2 days straight. I am only not hungry right after I eat. I think I under ate a few days this week, so I tried to eat more protein yesterday. Since I am still hungry right now, I decided the check my block count on the protein...even though I thought I was bumping it WAY up, I think I only got to about 18 blocks.

Chocolate Balls

Rest Day

So I'll talk about food.

I made these a few days ago, inspired by Mark's Daily Apple:

I used-

1/2 cup walnuts

1/2 cup dates

1 tsp coconut oil

some pumpkin seeds, coconut flakes and cocoa powder

You just throw everything in the food processor and blend. When everything is all chopped up and blended, you simply roll the dough into ball. You can leave them plain or roll them in coconut or cocoa powder. Chill them for a bit before serving.

How do they really taste? They are a pretty great little shot of chocolate, and that is what I wanted. There is no way they actually taste like truffles, but they are chocolate. :)

One of the Best Classes Ever

Skill
Bench Press
Warm up and learn the very intricate technique of the bench
45x3
65x3
75x3

Find my 1 rep max
95x1
105x1
120x1
130 fail

I was the only person at the 5pm class, so I got to choose the skill. So many thing to choose from, but since I've only benched once this seemed like a good choice. It's an odd lift :)

WOD
Grace
30 clean and jerks 83#
Time: 3:59

Completing Grace as Rx'd was one of my 2010 goals, and I am just thrilled with my time. The cleans were fine, the jerks were not quite so fine, but that is no surprise. I had absolutely fabulous coaching from Kyle, everything from the little tips before I started, the confidence for me that I could do this quickly, and the insanely intense cheering (along with Golden) that made me know that for some reason I really, really needed to get those last 3 lifts in as fast as I could.

It sure felt like it took a lot longer than 4 minutes, so much so, that by rep 20 I was pretty sure that I was out of contention for the board. I was 100% shocked to see my time. I did feel like I might not be able to ever breath deeply again after the wod, and I think I am just now recovering from the crossfit lung thing, but it was worth it.

A Nice Little WOD

Skill
Jerk
10x1 at 85% 1RM
98, 98, 98, 98, 98, 98, 98, 98, 98, 103, 103

Yep, that is 11, not 10. I had to add some weight for the last one, and then I had to do an extra one to work on getting my head through. Gosh, the things you have to do when someone who knows a lot more is watching you. :)

All in all, this lift is feeling much more comfortable. I just have very stiff shoulders some days...

WOD
5, 4, 3, 2, 1 Power Clean 85% 1RM 103#
10, 8, 6, 4, 2 Plyo Pushup
200m Run after each couplet
Time: 11:15

I chose to do the plyo pushups from my knees, hoping to get some more explosiveness. (If I try to push of the ground from a regular pushups, I have a very real fear of a face plant.) My knees are now wishing I had just done regular pushups...In a wod like this, the running really sneaks up on you-the 4th and 5th runs came awfully close together!

Weekly Back Squat

Having a back squat partner goes a long way to keeping me accountable and on track. Since I missed back squat day on Friday, I had to make it up this weekend or our whole system of Vero and I progressing together would have been thrown off and been hard to ever remedy. These are the things that can become very important in CF, you know. So,

Back Squat 5x5
185
185
185
185
185

Got them all done!!

Skill
Power Cleans
63x2
83x2
93x2
103x2
113x2
118x1
Failed on my last 118


As I was telling Joc, I used to be so content to just lift away with my awful form, even when I would get corrected over and over again. It was all I physically knew to do, so I just kept doing it, trying to do something a little different, but happy as a clam to just complete the lift. Now I know that it feels really different when I get it right, so it is far more frustrating to miss. But I am gradually working my way up, becoming more confident and correct with heavier weight a little at a time.


WOD
Partnered with Melissa
4 rounds each person
2 min. each round, 2 min. rest
Row 250 m
max rep thrusters
Thrusters 14/13/13/10


I was worn out on the last round! So worn out that I just. could. not. do. one. more. thruster...

But it was a good workout for me and an all-around great session of the box. This was a tough week for me with some big ups and downs in the gym, lots of stress from work, and lots of nights with less than optimal amounts of sleep.

Monday's workout was fantastic. It was hard, and I finished it well. Tuesday's front squats were great. Tuesday's workout was horrible. I'll admit it now, but I cried when it was over. I think I cried once or twice in my first month, but that was just because every single day was so hard and such a potent reminder of what horrible shape I was in. But that was just the first month.

I'm not totally sure why I cried or why the WOD was so hard for me. I think it was my mental state as I still get pretty freaked out inside when certain types of WODs show up. Anything with 400 m runs still makes me want to sneak out the door, and combos with running and burpees don't leave me much happier. I was freaking out in my mind before the WOD even started, so it was destined to be a lot tougher than it needed to be. I never corrected this and wanted to quit after the first round.

I was out on the second run trying to think of a way I could easily get out of finishing it. By the time I finished the last run and came in to finish my KBS and burpee pull ups, I figured the only way I would be able to get it done was to move down to the 35# KB. I told Kyle that I was going to do that. Kyle told me that I was not going to do that. He came over and pushed me through those 21 swings. That was a really good thing! It all would have been much worse after it was all over if I had not finished what I started. Then I finished the ugliest burpee pull ups imaginable. Then I sat down and realized I had tears in my eyes. What is that about!?! How embarrassing!

Choking myself with the front squat rack

Skill
Front Squat 3, 3, 3, 3, 3
115x3
135x3
145x3
155x3
170x3 PR

So my last 3 rep was 123# on 2/5/10. It still throws me for a loop when I get to a weight on a lift that feels really, truly heavy. I always think that what I am doing is hard, but there seems to be evidence that the 123 wasn't really hard. At 170, I could only finish it if I consented to grunting. I hate the idea of grunting. It is horrible. But I have noticed that I emit sounds now. Scary...

But seriously people, do you trainers not realize how exhausted I get when I lift something heavy?!?

WOD
3 Rounds
200 m run
21 KBS 44#
12 Burpee Pull Ups
Time: 14:05

Contrary to my first instinct and true love, I used the 44# KB. That is an awful number of swings. I like my dear friend, the 35# KB. I really missed it tonight. I even tried to swap out KBs for the third round so I could just knock out those 21 unbroken and get it over with. No such luck. I had to do the hard thing and stick with that 44#, breaking them into sets of 7. Why was it so hard? I don't really know. All I can say is that I finished it.

Just Like Odysseus and Aeneas

What?!? You see if you train at CFWSC, you too can understand the great importance of the Great Books to your workout.

Skill
Power Snatch
33x4
53x2
63x2
73x1
78x1
83x1
88x1 PR

WOD
Part 1
5 rounds
1 min row (aim for 260m each round)
1 min rest
269, 262, 279, 269, 263
Part 2
On the minute for 10 minutes
2 heavy snatches (63, 68, 73)
7 ball slams 25#

There are no words. Well, there are almost no words, but I can generally come up with something to say.

First off, I have to thank my incredible cheering section. They really made it possible to finish that last round above the 260 mark. There is something magical about having Sam, Kyle, Joc, and Greg all yelling at the same time.

Then I must thanks my coach Sam, for programming this horrific wod which I am very proud to have completed. I know him well enough now to know that he isn't actually trying to kill me, even if it feels like it. And quoting from the Aeneid while I am trying to just catch my breath enough to stay standing and finish the wod was that extra boost I needed.

Lastly I must thank Golden for providing the needed inspiration to keep my rear on that seat. Without his inspiring work just yesterday, I know that I would have been on the floor after round 3. I never want Kyle to be that mad at me, ever.

Sunday
Open Gym
I was physically present at the box, but the work accomplished was so unremarkable that I didn't even bother to post yesterday.

Clean and Jerk
45x6
65x4
95x2
105x1
115x1
120 fail, fail fail...