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
Monday, July 25, 2011
Sunday, July 24, 2011
A week of not much work
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.
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.
Monday, July 18, 2011
I will climb the rope...
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.
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.
Sunday, July 17, 2011
the good and the bad
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!
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
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.
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.
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Sticking with It
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#
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#
Monday, July 11, 2011
I was too lazy to post last week.
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.
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.
Monday, July 4, 2011
Friday, July 1, 2011
Cleaning the Closets
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.
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.
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