The end of the week

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.

A Ridiculous Amount of Catching Up

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.

Getting the Work Done

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.

Have I learned?

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...

Oh So Tired

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.

A Sympathetic Coach

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.