Love lifting heavy

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.

Practially Paleo Chocolate Cake

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

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#

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.

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. :)

A Lot of Work

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...

liked the wod

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!

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...

Turning Off My Brain

Deadlift
find my 5RM...
I don't have a 5RM, and it was super unsettling to suddenly be back in the world of the unknown. I really like knowing what I am aiming for and what progression I am going to take to get there. Hmmm, is it possible that I am a little, tiny bit of a control-freak?
So here was my shot at this
123x5
173x5
193x3-nice and flat back, felt great
223...knew my upper back was rounding, unlike it did at 193, but wanted to just pull it 5 times because I knew I could, but it was perfect form night, so that was a no-go.
203x5 I am counting this one, even though I took my hands off the bar in the middle.

WOD
1000 m row
50 ball slams 25#
30 pull ups (GB)
Time: 8:54

I set various goals for this one:
1. Keep my row pace under 2:20-done
2. Try to get through the pull ups in 3 sets-I think it took me 4, but I don't remember
3. Try to get through the ball slams in 3 sets-I did it in 2, 25/25

And when I saw who was in my heat:
4. Try to make sure that the one guy in our heat didn't run away with the wod. So this meant that I had to aim for being on the pull up bar before Golden finished.-done, barely

And on top of that, I was able to zone out during the ball slams for the first time ever. It made it so much easier to just stop thinking about anything except moving up and down and counting. I wasn't complaining, wasn't thinking about what hurt, wasn't thinking about why we had to do 50 of them, wasn't thinking about the pull ups still to come. It was odd, but it works!

Death by OHS

KB Work

clean

front squat

jerk

snatch

25# and then 35#

Dips

Working on this one...

negatives, and then bands: blue, green, violet, red. It was like a rainbow! But really I was shocked to find how easy they were with the blue and green bands since I haven't worked on these in about forever. I made sure I was dipping nice and low to prepare for that muscle up.

WOD

21-15-9

deadlifts 155#

OHS 63# (85 rx'd)

Time: 12:45

Deadlifts were no problem, but the overhead squats were a struggle, to put it mildly. I started with the rx'd weight, but that was not going to work. I am honestly not sure if my problem is more mental than anything else. I am feeling more and more comfortable with these, but as soon as I start to wobble AT ALL I seem unable to fight hard enough for it.

And I decided that I would be posting a picture of one of my paleo meals each day. :) The grilled chicken is from here.

C&J, Deadlifts and Yummy Food

Clean and Jerk, on the minute
80x5
88x5
93x5
No misses
Then
103x1
108x1
113x1

The 113 clean was not very beautiful...

WOD
AMRAP in 10 minutes
7 deadlifts 165#
12 GHD situps
Rounds-4 and 7 DL, 8 GHD

Yes, I was that close to finishing the 5th round, and if I had moved faster I could have finished that round. By the way, GHD situps still make me lightheaded and dizzy. Good times!

I went home, did some work and then took a nap.

Then I cooked dinner-
stuffed bell peppers
glazed carrots
melon with prosciutto

It was one of those super nourishing meals, not just food for fuel, but deeply satisfying food. Wish you all could have enjoyed it with me. :)

And yes, amazingly enough I realize that there are now plenty of time that I eat just to fuel my body. I eat that chicken or cauliflower simply because I need to, not because I want to. I didn't think I would ever be that person. I ate because it was good. One of the problems was that there was just too much that I thought was good and it actually wasn't. Now I make sure I still have plenty of food that I love, but there are plenty of meals that I just eat because I know I have to, because it is what I need to work well.

Push Press
85%x2x3
98x2x3

Deadlift
123x1x3
153x1x3
183x1x3
203x1x3
223x1x3

I apparently have no current push press max because according to my current max numbers, my strict press is higher than my push press. So I just picked a number and went with that.

WOD
4 rounds
10 KBS 44#
10 box jumps
Time: 3:47

Sweet!

This and That

Snatch on the minute
55x1x5
61x1x5
66x1x5

Then 3 on my own-
68x1
73x1
83 f

I came to the box mentally prepared to be more aggressive. And it worked!

Deadlift
123x2
193x2
223x2
243x2
253x2


Row
1500m
6:20

Two significant notes on this one-
1. This is a 40 sec. pr
2. You aren't really cool until you row a 1500m

Just Lifting

Clean and Jerk
53x3
83x3
93x2
103x1
113x1
123 f (x2)

Deadlift
123x2x3
193x2x3
223x2x3
243x2x3
(but that last set was a little broken...)

No WOD today.

A Random Collection...

Skill
Front Squat
153x3
163x1x3

Jerk
93x1
98x1
103x1
113x1
then repeat

The 93 and 98 flew up. The 113 not so much. For the first one, Lutsky just laughed and did a very fitting impersonation of my totally lopsided press. Then after the other one Emmet reminded me that it was pretty important to make sure I wasn't showing up drunk for CF.

500 m row for time
Me: 1:52.5
PR! (Previous time: 1:55.5)

Tabata Deadlifts
153#
Score: 37
Not a PR, previous score was 45. Ugh, I pretty much don't enjoy deadlifts right now...

I could have just moved faster each round, and I would have gotten a higher score.

Yeah, Wall Balls

Skill
Deadlift
3x3 at 245#
with 75m row sprints (1, 2, 3)between each set

but I gave up on the 245 about half way through and went down to 215 because it was too hard to DL and not pull the bar on my shins...


WOD
10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1
Power Cleans 83#
Wall Ball 14#
Plate Situps 25#
Time: 17:58

And yes, I got all my wall balls HIGHER than my target for the day. I might be able to get them up to the 10' line one of these days.

I am a bit waffly on whether working out and getting blood pumping through my leg is better for it or worse for it...For now, I'm still going with the better for it theory.

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?!?

Weak Shoulders

Skill
Dynamic Deadlifts 15x1 at 60% of max
This should be 180#, I used 185#.

Doing my part to prepare myself for the 315# deadlift. :) This wasn't hard, but it was a great time of focusing on the lift. No messing around, set the back, just lift. I also really like these skill times to become more comfortable with heavy weights. I know I can lift heavy things one time, but it still takes familiarity with the weight to be comfortable with it multiple times.

WOD
3 rounds
30 walking lunges 15# plate overhead (rx'd 25#)
20 KBS 36# (Rx'd 53#)
10 Burpees
Time: 13:27

Ugh, ugh, ugh...This was awful! It was just one of those nights: I was sore before class even started, the foam rolling was painful, the warm-up row felt like it took forever, and then there was the wod. I tried the 53# KB, but the thought of swinging it 60 times was more than I could handle. My poor shoulders...As awful as it was, it was great after it was over. It always is.

Pull Ups and More Pull Ups

Skill
Deadlift
135x3, 185x3, 215x3, 245x3, 255x3

WOD
AMRAP in 2 minutes
Max Box Jumps 16"-35
Then 5 rounds
5 Jerks 83#
10 Pull Ups (blue band)
Time: 8:28

The jerks were pretty easy, and I probably could have gone up, but my shoulders are just tired... :) The pull ups are still horribly hard. After 3 rounds, part of me wanted to just move to jumping pull ups, but the other part didn't want to give up. The give up part was winning...but Joc changed the box so I could use it to get a little push with my toe. So then the keep going part of me was able to finish the wod with the banded pull ups, even though I needed that little push to finish.