Rowing Deals and Paleo Zone

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!!

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...

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

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).