Tuesday, January 31, 2012

1/30 - 2011 Open WOD 1

First day of official WODs in the new box.  New box is longer (approx. 15m) which allows for more running inside.

Games WOD 11.1
AMRAP 10
30 double-unders
15 ground to overhead (25/35kg)
4/4 = 184

This was a great WOD though I paid the price of not hydrating enough and eating lunch too late in the day.  I still managed to have the second best result for the women in the day.

My DU's were solid - the first three sets I did unbroken. Stumbled a bit on round 4 and still managed to get in a few reps in the last 10 seconds or so as well.

The ground to overhead was hard.  My PR for snatches is 28kg and I was at 25.5kg - same as the 40 rep WOD last week.  I knew I could do it but it's amazing how fast that weight gets heavy.  I did 3 clean and presses in the third round but quickly realized that there was just too much extra energy involved in that so went back to solely snatching.  Proud of how I did - glad I have DU's to rely on as well.

Regarding hydration - I had only about 1.5L of water all day prior to WODing - usually I'm closer to 3L before I arrive.  My chest/throat felt like sandpaper and it was really hard to breathe, not fun.  Also, I only ate the second part of my lunch about an hour before working out so it wasn't sitting well in my belly especially with the jumping BUT... I got through it and surprisingly didn't even vomit.  Lesson learned... I mean I knew how I'd feel but some days you just have to go through it again anyway for the reminder.  And with that I'm off to drink more water....

AfterWOD
1-5 KB swings & 30m shuttle runs
6:42 (16kg)

This one got hard when it came to counting number of runs - thankfully Brenda and I were on the same pace so we could check in with each other when one of us would lose count.  Quite funny actually running around in so many circles but still fun.  I probably could have gone harder if the first one didn't hurt as much as it did (see poor hydrating and eating).

New box... Cooee Crossfit

Friday, January 27, 2012

1/26 - moving day...

Australia Day...  a public holiday.  It was also the day our box moved from one side of Revolution Sports to another - we have 1.5 times more space than we had and are now able to workout shirtless (or so we were told)...  no sure if this is actually a plus. So, given this there was only one workout scheduled today and of course it was designed to help with the move.

WOD #1 (group)
move one piece of equipment from one end of the building to the other, sprint back - 10 burpee penalty for dropping equipment
20ish minutes

With the 30 or so of us that turned up this went pretty quickly... right down to the clock on the wall and the bamboo plant from the desk we had this done in about 20 minutes, it was fun too.  I was surprised that of all the plates the 20kg ones were all moved first - thought for sure the heavy stuff would be left for last - nope, not with crossfitters.  Ha!

After we'd moved down to the other end we had WOD #2

WOD #2
5 rounds
20 KB swings
300m run
13ish minutes (12kg)

This was hard!  Remember how Match had told me the day before that we'd have no overhead lifting today... it was a lie.  Haha, pretty sure he was thinking on the fly of how to get a WOD in with 30ish people in a tight space with nothing set up.  We actually each grabbed a piece of the rubber flooring (that we had carried down in WOD #1) and whatever KB we could get our hands on (I grabbed a light weight, only 12kg).  It was also pretty hot outside - probably above 30 degrees at 9am so the runs were a bit crazy - thankfully there was shade on the back stretch which was the majority of the run.  Lots of sweat rewarded with frozen treats when we were done.  Good start to what turned out to be a fun day of pool-ing and hanging with friends and lounging in the shade...

I've earned the next 3 (or 4) days of rest.  Oh, who am I kidding, I'll be at the box Monday - so 3 full days of resting it is.  Necessary and perfect timing as the forecast is for a high of 42C (108F) tomorrow.

1/25... (almost) in tears...

WOD
40 thrusters (30/40kg)
Each time the bar touches the ground, do 5 more double-unders than the previous time
then
40 snatches
Each time you rest, do 2 more push-ups than the previous time
12:14 (25.5kg)

This WOD almost made me cry... what a difference 2.5kg can make over 40 reps...  I was initially going to go with 23kg but being competitive I wanted to get the highest weight for the girls on the board (there weren't many girls who did this WOD) so I added the extra 2.5kg... I felt every little bit of it.

The thrusters were horrible - the overhead portion especially - after all the other heavy (overhead) lifting we'd done on monday and tuesday BUT... the DU's were much of a penalty to me (aka punishment for resting) because I can breeze through them so fast now - I allowed myself the rest and did the DU's - ended up as high as 20 DU's - all done unbroken first go round which was awesome.

The snatches were also hard and they almost made me cry.  I was trying to get as many done in the first 'set' as I could but only managed 11.  Second set I was going for at least 10, hoping for more and I only managed 10 (barely).  Third set I wanted 10 but only managed 7 leaving me with 12 to go.  As I was pushing my way through the 6 push-ups (sets of 3 were all I could manage) I was close to tears knowing how many reps I still had and feeling how done my shoulders were... every tiny muscle was hurting, the tears were in my eyes, I was emotional but I wasn't done...

At this point everyone else was pretty much done and it was just me.  Coach Match came over and asked me if I'd get all 12 in one go and I shook my head - no way.  I said 6 and 6 and he said try to do more than half this first set - 8 or 7... so I started.  Match was counting and encouraging me the whole way - I hit six, then seven... okay, I got 8... finished the 8th and the idea of doing 8 push ups for putting the bar down with only 4 reps to go didn't appeal to me (push-ups ARE punishment), another rep... 3 to go.  One more, one at a time, another.  Last rep... I made it through all 12... barely... it was emotional and hard and everything hurt - especially all the little muscles in my shoulders but I got it done.  I know however that if it had just been me and my mind I would have done those 8 push-ups so thanks Match for talking me through it.

I was promised no overhead lifting for thursday's WOD... that was a lie - more coming up.

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

1/24... "DT"

WOD
60 second bench press
13kg/ 61 reps

This one hurt a little after the HSPU's the day before but managed it.  Hard to keep up the speed needed to get 60 reps in 60 seconds but I did it.  

Hero WOD “DT”
5 rounds (50/70kg) -
12 deadlifts
9 hanging cleans
6 push presses
7:30 (25.5kg)

This was fun/hard.  When we finished one of the girls I regularly work out with asked me if I thought I went too light - my inappropriate response was 'f@#$ no'... heh.  The last set of push presses were a struggle.  It was great though because of my fatigue I had to really focus on getting my legs involved.  There was no way I was going to get this one done with just my arms.  Also, I LOVE (reverse grip) deadlifts, especially this one where the weight was half what I did the day before.  Nice.

Match, our coach, made a statement that I truly loved last night - 'we won't be going out side for probably another week and a half' in relation to how hot it is here now - LOVE - means no running... yay!

Also, posted on our boxes facebook page - "Air conditioning may be frowned upon in the Crossfit community, but I've gotta admit we're thankful for it at Cooee Crossfit this coming week!" And this is true!  I think I'd melt otherwise... but I'm still going and loving it!

Keep hydrated everyone!

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

1/23... HSPU's

Gymnastics
Handstand progression
 
Benchmark WOD  ”Diane”
21-15-9
Deadlifts (70/100kg)
HSPU
8:55 (mat/plate for HSPU's, 50kg deadlift)

Deadlifts in a WOD - I can't remember the last time we did deadlifts in a WOD so this was fun especially after PRing last week on the deadlift ladder.  I decided to go with 50kg though could probably have done 60kg easy.  First two rounds I did consecutive reps until 5 left and then finished them off, the last go I did all 9 at once.  I'm feeling it though today in my glutes and hamstrings but it's such a good hurt.

First time I've done HSPU's in a WOD.  It was a ton of fun though I had to modify them a little.  I lowered down to a mat on a plate so not the full depth and then pushed back up for most of the reps - I managed 4 consecutive the first two rounds which was awesome.  Some of the reps ended up just being me lowering myself down and not pushing back up but most were pushing back up.  I was quite happy with this.

I was extremely nauseous after the WOD - for quite a while actually.  I found during the handstand progression practice before the WOD that just doing one somersault would make me want to hurl so something seems a bit odd.  Handstands themselves though are fine for me so I'm not sure what's going on.  I had to stare at the wall a little as my heart rate came down a bit after the deadlifts before I could even contemplate turning upside down.  Anyone else had issues like this?

Was a fun WOD minus the nausea though...  yay for new skills!

Me! (source)

Friday, January 20, 2012

1/19 - clean and press and clean and press and...

Strength WOD
400m barbell carry
28kg

This was tough but not as bad as the 400m KB carry we did a while back.  You could 'rest' the bar on the back of your shoulders which meant that you didn't have to worry about your forearms blowing up (which was necessary for WOD 2)...  didn't have to put the bar down which maybe means I could have gone heavier but I was done at the end. 

WOD
100 clean & press for time (30/45kg)
burpee penalty every time you put the barbell down – 3 for the first rest, 6 for the next, then 9 and so on…
17:19 (23kg, 9 burpees)

Just like the 100 KB swings last week - the best was to get me to knock out high numbers of reps even through the struggle is to put in a 'punishment' that I despise... last week it was 200m runs, this week was way worse... burpees.  And not just burpees but increasing numbers of burpees, first time bar on the ground 3, next 6, then 9, etc.  Thankfully I only put the bar down 3 times... first set managed 42 reps - aimed for 30 then mentally pushed myself for 5 more reps, then 5 more, then 5 though only managed 2.  Second set was 24 reps bringing me up to 66, with only 34 left I knew I could do them in two sets (there was no way I'd be able to do them in just one), it was getting HARD.  My wrists were killing and my forearms were starting to blow up.  I did 20, 9 burpees then struggled through the last 14.  It was sweet getting them done within the 20 minute cut-off.  I'm also happy with the weight that I chose, it was hard.  Definitely good using the slight dip on the clean and then a push press rather than trying to work it with just arms.

Soreness today - back of my neck from the barbell carry feels a little tender as does the area surrounding my collar bone from the cleans.  I'm sure if I looked closely I'd see some bruising.  Add to this the fact that I'm still hobbling around because my calves are still tight from skipping, I'm a bit of a mess - even with lots of mobility work last night... ugh.  So glad today is a rest day.  Looking forward to an easy weekend too - I'm just feeling a little drained and need some ME time...

Not from last night - Source

Thursday, January 19, 2012

1/18 - it's all coming back to me now... and TMI (warning!)

Every single step hurts... it's all coming back - the last time I did (part) of this WOD... my calves kill even with extensive rolling last night both before and after.  I'm wearing little heels today as I can't imagine walking up the stairs here at work with my regular high heels on - yes, my calves are not my friends but it was good - I like this WOD... 

WOD #1
“OPT’s Flight Simulator”
5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 45, 40, 35, 30, 25, 20, 15, 10, 5
of double-unders (or 2 x single-unders)
You must stop between sets and you must do the entire set unbroken before moving to the next set.
20 minute cut off 
35 up

Got to 35 completed on the way up and then struggled for over 10 minutes to try (unsuccessfully) get 40.  Every time I'd get between 25-30 and then trip up.  I only got above 30 once and that was when I got 35.  It's not too bad though as I did a modified version of this WOD (up to a max. of 30) a few months back and that took me about 25 minutes...  It's funny though - I had up to 15 done within a minute.  Shows you how quickly it gets hard. 

I joined the 6pm class when they started this WOD to continue my ladder just because I was determined to get 40 consecutive and since I was fresh(er) I managed it on my first go (Woohoo!) and then I went for 45... again, first try (Sweet!) but then couldn't get 50... not even close.  At about 40-45 I could just feel the ease falling away and my arms crying while my breath burned my lungs.  Yes, it was hard.  I tried about 3 times and then was done, knowing how bad my calves would hate me today.  Was a great WOD though - if you have a skipping rope you should give it a try anytime, anywhere... especially if you're still trying to master DU's.

Feel free to skip this paragraph, especially if you're not female... TMI Time:  I only write this because I've heard others speaking of it but during the last few rounds of the DU's higher sets and perhaps because I was tired and trying to relax everything to get more consistency but there were a few moments of bladder control issues... just a bit but it was there.  And to prove that I'm not alone in this - from the SICFIT Blog...

http://www.sicfit.com/blog/17483-Too-Much-Information

WOD #2
'deadlift ladder'
every 30 secs complete 1 deadlift,
move onto the next bar which increases by 10kg,
keep moving bars until no longer able to deadlift weight.
90kg (1RM PR!)

This was a lot of fun because there were bars set up all around the room - going up in weight by 10kg so you didn't have to worry about adding weight in between rounds - it took Match almost an hour to set them up but it was worth it...  Just realized that my previous (2RM) PR was 70kg (thought it was 80kg)... didn't think too much about what weight I was lifting last night just went to the next bar and gave it a shot... I'm quite happy with getting 90kg - PR by 20kg! I'll take it.

It's funny that last night I was conveying my current mental struggles to Tim - about how I don't feel like I'm getting stronger or losing weight anymore, I feel stuck - in a plateau but now looking at this - I AM getting stronger...  now I need to work on my head (post coming later on this one).

Tuesday, January 17, 2012

1/16 - lots of DU's

WOD #1
10 rounds
3 pull-ups
6 toes to bar
9 double-unders
9:26 (orange band, knees to chest)

WOD #2
10 rounds
3 med ball jumps
6 squats
9 double-unders
6:08

Fun set of WOD's today... really loving all this programming since the holidays - it's quite different daily and seems to be hitting all kinds of skills.  Unfortunately my toes to bar aren't yet that great to complete in this WOD plus my hands are still a little beat up so I was trying to protect them.  I did round 1 and 3 with only the yellow band for the pull-ups but the rest were with orange.  One day I'll get them all unassisted!  I rocked the DU's pretty much through out which was great, makes it easier to catch up.  The second WOD was a killer on the legs but made it through. Good day!

Taking today as a rest day - really feeling tired after the race on sunday - definitely felt it in my arms yesterday but some good mobility work after the WODs helped relieve some of the tightness.  Rest day earned!

Monday, January 16, 2012

1/14 & 1/15 - A weekend of paddling

This weekend was all about paddling - practice on Saturday was a 10km upwinder (boo!) from East Freo to Mount's Bay to drop off our canoe for Sunday's race.  I steered and we ran pretty well with Christine in 5 seat running the boat.  We fought the wind the whole way though which wasn't great.

Sunday was the Mandurah Duel Race - 14km 'downwind'... we had a mixed crew with 4 girls and 2 guys.  I sat in seat 5 and it was a hard race - though it shouldn't have been.  We popped the ama more times than I can even remember because we were sliding off waves/ being spun... this I personally feel had a lot to do with the trust of our steers.  From my experience steering I'd come over to the left when I knew seat 6 would want to poke right though she didn't - she tried most of the race to steer through a static draw which didn't work well at all - especially if it was a stroke late.  I admit, I was a bad seat 5 in that a few times (when I was sick of trying to get the ama back down) I did a few draws on the left to help us stop spinning - so that made it hard.  I got my payback for making JD paddle most of the Raro race on the left... haha.

Since it was my first race in Australia, rather than focus on the frustration I felt for most of the race I'll outline things I learned during the day...

-I still remember how to ratchet rig (so sweet)
-and I'm queen of getting impossible skirts onto the canoe
-with a brief refresher I can rope rig an ama
-my OC1 skills of bracing on the right when the ama pops also instinctively come through in the six-man
-there is no such thing as enough sunscreen
-static drawing in quartering waves is ineffective
-you can mentally tough anything out if you try hard enough
-I still crave burgers after a race
-the ocean is very salty
-it always makes sense to follow the home crew - they know the water best
-the paddling world is very small - note this conversation with a stranger as we were de-rigging:

him: Are you that Canadian girl that paddles with Fremantle?
me: Yes
him: that raced Vaka Eiva?
me: Yes (now starting to look at him suspiciously)
him: I know Karren...
and then it all made sense - I raced with Karren in the change race - on the North Queensland crew...

I'm sure there's more but for now that's all I can remember... and while frustrating I know it can only get better... and besides, at least I wasn't paddling in the SNOW like my favorites back home racing in the PNWORCA Winter Series...  I'll take 30 degree weather over that any day even though I miss them tons!

Friday, January 13, 2012

1/12 - CLIMBING and cliff jumping!!!

Yes, CLIMBING - all caps... it was awesome to be doing it again... it was a great night - HOT... but my fingers loved being on the rock, trying (sometimes with a little guidance) to find the perfect hand-hold even while they silently screamed in pain from being shredded on the limestone...

R picked me up after work and we headed to a spot pretty close to my place and made our way to the cliffs.  We did two passes along the bottom edge of rock - him leading the way which was good when I would get stuck he could stop and help me along (even though some of his moves were made for tall people...hee!).  There was one part that I fell on both times (though granted I wasn't trying nearly as hard the second time - the water was just too good and the corner just a little too tricky).  That was the beauty though - if you fell off you just got wet and given that it was so hot it was great to fall in.

After the first traverse we went up a pretty steep face but I found it easier going up than across and was motivated by the ledge at the bottom that I didn't want to accidentally fall.  Lots of legs and flexibility which helped.  Then we did it all over again though the second time my forearms were pumped... moreso than any number of kettlebell swings and pullups could do to them... this made even the biggest of holds the second go round tricky but other than that same corner I made it and then up again at a different corner (and managed to not fall and die) so it was good.

Once we were back on top the deal was to jump off the cliff which while climbing didn't seem as high as it did when you stood at the edge on the top.  There were some kids there playing around and jumping off too.  R walked through them - said hello and jumped... I'm pretty sure he didn't here my 'F@#$ now I have to jump' as those around me laughed.  I stepped up on the rock at the edge, looking down at his head floating about the surface waving me down and just went for it... I'm of the thought that you can stand there and fear it and process that fear or you can just jump and get it over with as there was no doubt that eventually I would jump anyway - couldn't have him outdoing me...  haha.  I remember jumping and hitting the water, nothing in between but it was fun.  I'd definitely do it again.

I told R that I'm going to be out there often now, practicing so that I could show him all the holds next time - we'll see if that actually works... but we have plans to do it again and that will be fun, at least once my hands heal up...

Note - I didn't actually wear my climbing shoes (getting wet and all) and I didn't really need them - my trail shoes were pretty good for most of it.  I would consider wearing my climbing shoes next time but still unsure if there is any advantage.

Also, the rock beat me up pretty bad - it's like sandpaper... my hands look like a little kitten scratched them all up and my forearms and legs have gashes and scratches galore... oh well, definitely worth it and won't stop me from doing it again.

Thursday, January 12, 2012

The Rules to Live By...


1 – I will promise to do my best.  My best will vary from day to day, from hour to hour, from minute to minute.  But in that minute I will do the very best that I can.
2 – Lactic acid is my friend.  The wind is my friend.  Anything that opposes me is actually helping me to become stronger.  If I had no opposition, I would be weak.
3 – If I can run, I run.  If I have to walk, I want.  When I am forced to crawl, I crawl.  And then I rest and live to fight another day.
4 – I fear no man but I fear my workout.  If I don’t fear my workout, it isn’t hard enough.
5 – I may puke.  I may cry.  But I will not quit.  Ever.
6 – I never cheat.  There is no honor in cheating, what joy can there be in a victory I did not earn?
7 – The workout missed is the opportunity missed.  I will not cheat myself of the opportunity to become a better athlete and person. 
8 – I understand the value of the push-up, the pull-up, the sit-up, the squat, and the deadlift.  Just as there are a million ways to cook chicken, so too are there a million ways to squat, sit up, pull up, push up, and deadlift.
9 – I will give everything I have and then I will find more within myself.
10 – I don’t complain.  Complaining is for crybabies.  There are 11,232 babies born in the US everyday.  I will leave the crying to them and I will soldier on.
11 – I will bite off challenges, spit out results and beg for more.  What are you going to do?

#5 especially applied to me this week - so close to tears but did not quit...

1/11... KB Swings!!!

WOD
100 KB swings for time (24/32kg)
complete 5 burpees and run 200m every time you put the kettlebell down
13:50 (20kg!)

Loved this!  I was a little skeptical with grabbing the (blue) 20kg KB...  I have only ever done one WOD with it and I think we only had 20 swings and I managed 10 at a time so that was a bit daunting.  I wasn't sure that I could do 20 consecutive (at a minimum) even initially so I figured I'd be doing a lot of burpees and running but... that's not how it went down.  First set I knocked out 30 reps - I was hoping for 25 but mentally pushed beyond and got a full 30 and then burpees/run.  I went fairly hard on the run but saw Pete not pushing so much and I realised that this was a better strategy for if you pushed too hard on the run and were out of breath you'd either do less reps on the swings or have to wait to calm down a little before picking up the KB neither were to your advantage so on the rest of my runs I ran but not all out.

My swings went 30-20-20-13-17... I struggled through the second set of 20 and figured I'd have one more run (no way was I going to be able to pull out 30 solid reps to finish) so I was aiming for minimum 15 on the second to last set with as many more after that as I could but on the 13th rep I put the KB over my head and had to put it down and run then.  The last 17 were tough - mainly the last 4 (thanks for the cheer Pete!) - but there was no way I was running again and so I mentally toughed it out and finished just under 14 minutes.

I was *so* happy to make it through the entire WOD with the 20kg KB - at the outset I didn't think I'd make it - was thinking I had maybe 50 reps at 20kg but nope... I did it!  I am so proud that I did - that I pushed myself both through the WOD and with the courage to pick a (very) challenging weight.  I'm getting a lot stronger these days - really seeing the progress and I'm loving it all!  Now I had earned these next two rest days but tonight I'm going climbing with a friend which should be a blast... I won't mind falling into the river as it's a high today of a *hot* 36C (97F)... can't wait.

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

1/10...

WOD
21-15-9
Cleans (45/60kg)
Burpee bar hops
Sit-ups
10:22 (33kg cleans)

This was hard though I'm super proud that I bumped up to the 33kg on the cleans.  I got through the first 11 unbroken then 10 on the first set, really focusing on using my hips to get the bar up rather than just trying to use arm strength.  The burpees sucked (per usual) but I kept them steady and the sit-ups weren't much of a rest either - the round of 15 cleans got really hard - my legs started to tire and it wasn't pretty as I was trying to just use my arm strength on the cleans but got my legs back into it and I was off - think I did most of these in sets of 3.  Back to burpees and sit ups... steady.  The last round of 9 cleans I broke down into 5 and 4 mentally telling myself that it'd be easier to just put the bar down once and I survived it.  Felt really good having finished with 33kg (yes, I know I've already mentioned this... heh)

AfterWOD
Row 500m then run 400m
4:23

This was horrible, beyond horrible.  Almost reduced me to tears horrible - in fact there may have been tears but I was sweating so much you couldn't tell.  I felt strong at the start of the row - easily maintaining a 1:45/500m split time but after 200m my legs started to really tighten up (I'm guessing from the previous days OHS) and it became a challenge even to just continue. I really wanted to quit - more that I can ever remember wanting to quit something in a long time.  I kept telling myself that it was only 500m and if I could keep my pace below 2 minutes I'd be fine and to keep pushing... over the last 300m my pace dropped to 1:50 then crept towards 2:00 slowly and I think near the end it actually touched 2:05 before I gave it my all for the finish... I came in under 2 minutes but should have been a lot faster.  And...

The run... I'm not sure the first 100m was anything resembling a run but rather a shuffle with my legs as cramped as they were.  It was slow but steady and I didn't stop to walk at all and picked up my pace on the way back.  Didn't like this one but got through it which some days is all that matters.

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

1/9 - Shoulder burner...

WOD
7 min AMRAP -
7 OHS (30/45kg)
12 push-ups
rest 3 mins
7 min AMRAP -
7 push presses (30/45kg)
12 pull-ups
 6/5 and 5/3 (18kg OHS, push-ups knees, 18kg push press, orange/yellow bands for pull-ups)

This was killer on the shoulders - the push-ups became really hard real fast because of the shoulder work on the OHS (which you don't notice as much doing them).  I kept up a steady pace but a few of the rounds I had a brief rest after 5 OHS and my pushups were down to sets of 6 then 3-3.  I did the OHS slower to ensure I was getting full depth on each one (as was our focus last week) and did the push-ups from my knees again because I wanted to ensure the full range of motion (ROM) and also keeping my body tight (and not caterpillaring on the way up)

For the second AMRAP I was going to increase the weight on the bar by 5kg (~10lbs) for the push presses but at the last second decided against it and I'm so glad I did.  The push-presses (one of my favorite movements) were steady, I managed to complete all rounds in full sets.  The pull-ups were more of a struggle both with the tiredness of my shoulders and the hurt in my hands (still healing from 'Cindy').  I did the first two rounds with just the orange band but realized that I was barely getting 2-3 reps at a time so I was stalling quite a bit.  I added a yellow band after (thanks Kirst!) which made a huge difference and allowed me to go stead(ier).

I'm really starting to be strict on myself for full ROM - I realise I'm only cheating myself if I don't so I'd rather go slower/lighter to ensure this than blast through something in a half-assed way. 

AfterWOD
Max hold barbell overhead (13/20kg)
2:30

This was torture after the first WOD... it was physical AND mental... at approximately 2 minutes my shoulders just started shaking uncontrollably and I knew I couldn't hold on for much longer - I mentally tried to tough it out for as long as I could but figured the half way point was decent (there was a 5 minute cut-off).

My fave gals to workout with (and me doing pullups in the back) - Source

Saturday, January 7, 2012

1/7 - OC6

Managed to get myself up early on a Saturday morning today to get out paddling - joined up with the Fremantle Outrigger folks and went for a beautiful 16km paddle in the six-man.  I steered the first half with the current/wind at our backs and then stroked for the return trip - which included a lot of up pieces which was good at times but a struggle at others when there wasn't enough power behind me.  A challenge for sure but I loved it.  It was good to be back out there and I need to find more time for paddling.  Even though I haven't been out much (only paddling was in Raro since August) I still felt strong and solid throughout as a result of consistent crossfitting - getting stronger and having good metcon helps with this a ton.

Also, as a bonus... saw dolphins in the river on the return trip - awesome (and definitely not anything you'd get in english bay)

Friday, January 6, 2012

1/5 - The day 'Cindy' tried to stop me...

Mobility
Shoulder prep 

WOD “Cindy”
AMRAP 20 mins
5 pull-ups
10 push-ups
15 squats
15/18 (orange band/ knee push-ups)

Cindy tried to stop me...



















...but I wasn't having any of it... tore the first one about 10 rounds in but kept at it... other than my hands the pull-ups rocked... most of the rounds I was getting 5 consecutive as long as I focused on a big kip to make them fully count.  The push-ups were consecutive at first but then I tried to at least get the first 5 solid and the squats were just slow and steady really focusing on full depth.  It hurt but was good...  I'm glad to have conquered her (finally!)

Now I baby my hands so I can get back at it again on monday...  bring it!

Thursday, January 5, 2012

1/4

Strength
3-3-3-3 back squats
20-30-40-50

Went easy on this as I haven't done much heavy lifting in a few weeks.  Good to focus on depth and technique.

WOD
400m run
then 4 rounds of -
10 KB front squats
15 double unders
10 thrusters
then 400m run to finish
12:13 (10kg KB/18kg thrusters)

This was a good WOD though the runs were HOT (still adjusting to the heat here)...  I managed to do all 4 rounds of the DU's unbroken which was awesome.

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Inspiration (and goal)

Oh Camille...
Hydration Nudge

Life

Keep Moving

1/3 - back to the box...

After a nice 9 day break the box was open again and we were back at it... thankfully it was a 'nice' WOD to ease us back in...

Mobility 
Hip preparation

WOD
3 rounds
10 cleans
10 burpee bar hops
10 SDHP
10 push ups
5:49 (18kg)

Felt good throughout but it was a lung burner - had that dry feeling in my throat when it was all done but managed to keep a steady pace even through the burpees.

Stepped on the scale while I was there to see the damage that had come from eating all the bad things and not working out as much and somehow managed to be down 1kg (2.2lbs) since Dec 15th.  I'll take that.  I think it has something to do with the heat - makes me either not want to eat much or only eat really fresh stuff so lots of fruits and veggies - and BBQed meat.  Yum!

Sunday, January 1, 2012

1/1 - starting off the new year with fitness

Starting off the new year on a good note - woke up early to meet Lou and go for a nice easy run along scarborough beach - 3 on 1 times 10 - was a nice 40 minute piece doing close to 5km after the cool down.  I wouldn't have gotten out of bed if I wasn't meeting someone so that was a bonus.

After coffee and conversation I stopped off in Cottesloe on my way home to do a few WODs that I've been avoiding and to play on the pull-up bars by the beach.

Christmas WOD #8
100 burpees for time
9:03 (almost 2 minutes off of my time from the Cook Islands)

So glad I didn't do this earlier in the week because it's hard enough to get motivated to do it again after a month has passed.  I still have A LOT of burpees left though on the holiday challenge... ugh.

Christmas WOD #7
20 rounds
5 push-ups (knees)
5 sit-ups
5 squats
8:40

This one was fun - just a steady pace all the way through.  I need to make the decision to just do push-ups regularly one day (not on my knees) as it'll only make me better.

I also managed to do two toes to bar while playing around, one kipping pull-up (before my hand hurt) and one 'skin-the-cat' on the bar (not on rings) but still... progress!  I'm quite happy with toes to bar and need to keep practicing that movement.

I have skipped Christmas WODs 5 and 6 so might make one of them up tomorrow if I can get motivated (last day of vacation) or else I might just focus on finishing the epic number of reps left in the Christmas challenge

Remaining totals:
150 push-ups
200 sit-ups
0 squats
375 burpees (apparently I can't do math - this is now the correct total remaining)