Thursday, August 22, 2013

8/21 – AMRAPs Galore


WOD
3 x 5 Minute AMRAPs
*2 Minutes rest between each AMRAP

A.
10 Dumbbell Snatch (each arm)
20 Squats
3+10

B.
10 Hand release push ups
20 Sit Ups
4+3

C.
Calorie Row
78 cal

Today was AMRAP day – three of them.  It’s amazing how long 5 minutes can feel especially while staring down the clock on a rower. 

We went in two heats and Jaz started first (I really didn’t want to go at all especially after doing the heavy squats before the class).  It truly was amazing as we waited for them to finish how long that 5 minutes seemed to take.  I knew it wasn’t going to be easy. 

In the first AMRAP we had to do 10 snatches on each arm (one then the other, no alternating) .  I started off feeling okay even though I could see George and Toni and they were going faster than me – I tried not to think of that nor try and keep their pace, I just did my thing which was good (for me).  I was power snatching for the first round (all rounds unbroken on the snatches) then just mentally willed myself through the squats – mostly stopping briefly after 10 reps to shake my legs out (they were revolting).  Because of the state of my legs I started muscle snatching (which felt awesome by the way) as much as I could usually having to switch to power snatching the last few reps on each side.  This definitely made me faster though toward the end started taking a bit more toll on my lower back.

The second AMRAP wasn’t too bad though I could feel the hurt in my abs from Monday’s EMOM extra work where we did 20 sit-ups ever other minute.  I did the first round of push-ups Rx then went down to my knees for the rest just given how my shoulder has been feeling.  I knew it needed a break and push-ups are one of the worst things to aggravate it (as do dips).  This AMRAP was just a push to keep moving even as it started to hurt a little.

The row was my least favorite of the three and though I knew it was coming I didn’t think much of it until we were heading to it.  I grabbed my headphones and music to listen to mostly just because I’d been doing that during my squats and figured it wouldn’t hurt – it would at least provide me with a bit of a distraction.  The only good thing about this AMRAP was that I have no idea what my ‘normal’ pace equates to in calories/hour and that was the only screen I could see.  It was good because had I seen my 500m split time I’d know if I was fast/slow and could really judge my dropping off.  Instead of pushing to hold something I just went with how I was feeling.  I kept between 900-1100 calories/hour with a fairly low stroke rate (about 25-28).  I always love with Coach Tara is watching me row as inevitably at some point she’ll come around and check out my screen (I think it’s because it doesn’t look like I’m working very hard) and then doesn’t really say much – I like this, trying to row as ‘effortlessly’ or perhaps a better word would be ‘efficiently’ as possible.  Checking out what some of the boys did on this AMRAP after the WOD I felt fairly good about my effort – my rowing is definitely coming along even though I still don’t like anything more than generally 500m (and even that’s a stretch).

Finished up the class with some mobility. The flying V stretch was amazing.  Loved it especially as I was laying outside and the breeze was nice and refreshing post row – though my butt definitely hurt as I tried to wiggle my way into it – so cramped.

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

8/20 – Lifting Day

WOD
Clean Pull 5-5-5-5-5
60-60-65-65-65

Close Grip Bench Press 5-5-5-5-5
35-35-35-35-35 

*Alternate Between Movements.

Was a good little one today – nice to (mostly) rest the legs after all the squatting yesterday.  I didn’t realize it until well after but I did a solid and strong clean pull on 80kg in the warm-up.  I jumped onto Cam and Sean’s bar (thinking it was 70kg) because I had 60kg on my bar and wanted to see if that would be okay – it was a bit on the heavy side so I stuck with 60kg, I think had I know I might have jumped to 65kg sooner or even 70kg but alas, it was what it was. 

Got some good feedback from Coach Hayden, he said my knees were coming in right from the start so I worked on correcting that and it felt a lot stronger.  Coach Tara also noted that I was pulling back a little (instead of just straight up), great to have the little things to think about.

The bench press was pretty solid throughout – like push-ups it’s hard on my shoulder so I don’t go too heavy on it but managed all the sets quite well.

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

8/19 – Running and Squats Galore


Skill
3 x max set of HSPU’s
6-5-5 Rx

WOD
4 Rounds
400m run
50 squats
14:51 Rx

Another week of squatting was added into our extra work so I snuck out of work a bit early to get them done before the WOD, I knew trying to do them the other way around would be killer.  It worked out I think – I’d rather have a slower WOD time than start failing reps in the heavy squats.

The HSPU’s were good.  My kip is getting stronger and I’m able to stay on the wall.  I’m also happy to be doing them Rx now – full range of motion which is a big step up.  I’ll take the progress for sure.

Ah, the WOD… what can I say about it other than it was merely a test of mental fortitude- how much you could stay in the pain place and keep going.  The run wasn’t that fast, just a chance to try and get feeling back in the legs (that didn’t happen after the second run though) and then get into the squats – technically you can do air squats all day, just keep moving – you will just get into a place of pain and whether you decide to quit (rest) or push through for longer is entirely up to you.  I was quite happy with my plan and though I was closer to the back of the pack than the front in the first two rounds I slowly made my way up just from getting through the squats faster.  I did two sets of 25 in the first round with a quick shake out of my legs in between (no more than three seconds really) then in the rest of the rounds I went 20-20-10 even when 20 was horribly hard – I made myself stick with the number, knowing that once I’d gotten to 12 I was pretty close to 15 and then 16 was almost 20 (or so I kept telling myself).  Just kept moving and got through it (and then thankfully it was over)

Extra Work

1) SXF WOD
See above

2) Back Squat
6x6 @70% +15kg
6x6 @71kg

3) EMOTM 10
alternate
odds = 'x' Chest to bar Pull-ups (*scale to pull-ups if needed)
evens = 'x' abmat sit ups
* 'x' = a number you can hold across all sets  
3 c2b (or attempts)
20 sit-ups

4) SXF Yoga Class or 60mins mobility & stretching
60 minutes mobility

As I mentioned I got through the backsquats before the WOD.  I knew Cam would be in there early which worked for me as I was able to get him spotting me – or at least talking me through.  The 6x6 felt way harder than the 10x3 on Saturday even though the weight was 7kg less I think because of the number of reps.  Three is a good number, 4 is okay but 5 and 6 reps are struggle-town.  I mean, losing blood flow to the head, nauseating struggle.  It was good to have him talking me through it.  They were challenging but then they were also done.

After the WOD I got into the EMOM work (again with Cam).  I attempted 3 c2b and managed one on the first round then completely started struggling with my kip.  Coach Claire was there to help me though and told me I needed to keep tighter and more upright rather than trying to pull myself to the bar from so far away.  Eventually it worked and on the last two rounds (of five) I got all 3 reps unbroken with my chest hitting the bar.  The sit-ups were fine, I could have probably pushed 30 reps but knew that would take me the full minute to do and I didn’t want to do that.  Even by the end the 20 were burning and transferring to the c2b as well – definitely felt the core usage when on the bar.  Good though to get through it and be done. 

Followed it all up with lots of mobility on the legs and then dinner with Kelly.  Good night overall and so happy that Steph is back (after playing tour guide for the week)… oh how I’ve missed my ‘twin’. Haha.

8/17 – Saturday Sports Class


Saturday sports class started early this week – early at least for getting in the extra work.  We were told to show up for barbell club between 8-10 and get the ‘lift big’ work done for the day which was playing with the yokes.  The sports class at 10am was solely going to be heavy squats (again).

1) Yoke hold
Max weight yoke hold (minimum 20 seconds)
70-90-100-110(pr)

2) Yoke Carry
Max weight yoke carry (over 10m distance)
90-110-120(pr)

3) Backsquats
10x3 @85%+10kg
10x3 @78kg

I was really tight in my traps which made the yoke hold much more uncomfortable.  I think with the carries I was more focused on the walking part that increasing the weight a bit more wasn’t such an issue.  Regardless, it was fun to play with the yokes even if it meant losing an hour of sleep in time.

The backsquats were solid.  I definitely think the lower reps help – three reps is good, four okay and then any more than that makes me lose blood flow in my head.  Even still I had Sacha spotting me for all of them ready just in case which helped me mentally at least.  It’s getting heavy (my 1RM before all this started was 80kg so…)

It was funny when racking the empty bar for the warm-up squats – it felt so light compared to the yoke and then when I reached the bottom of the first squat I almost cried.  There was a definite squeak as my hips were so unhappy.  Lots of mobilization… 

Monday, August 19, 2013

8/16 – Barbell Club WODing and Extra Work

Friday’s Extra

1)SXF WOD (see below)
7+7 reps

2)Backquats
8x4 @80% +10kg
8x4 @74kg

3)EMOM 10
X bar muscle ups
Did not do

WOD tonight included front squats and we were advised (told?) to get our backsquats done before the WOD (unless we wanted to die – those are perhaps my words).  So I planned to meet up with Ali and get the squats done at 4:30 before hitting up the 5:30 WOD.  That didn’t quite happen as planned however it still worked out all right.

Ali was running a little late leaving work and getting to the box so I started without her.  I (surprisingly) managed to talk myself through the first four sets of our 8x4 @80%+10kg (74kg for me) without having a spotter.  I think the difference between Wednesday and tonight was that I hadn’t just done a leg heavy (pistol) WOD and also the fact that there were only 4 reps and not 5.  By the time she arrived however I needed her there – not necessarily to physically help me but more so from a mental aspect.

I noted that having a spotter is as much about having someone there to physically catch you when you’re going to fail as it is about having someone there to be your mental cheerleader when you start to struggle and doubt your ability – just hearing you are looking strong or getting verbal cues to distract you from everything else but technique is a benefit that can’t be quantified.

Got through all my sets without failing which was good.  Ali still had two sets left when 5:30 rolled around so we decided we’d do the WOD in the barbell side rather than hitting up the class.

After we finished squatting Ali did the bar muscle-ups EMOM10 which I just mobilized my hip flexors (ouch).  I skipped out on the c2b pull-ups (scaled version of the bar MU’s) because my shoulder could use the rest.  Then when that was done we did the WOD.

WOD
Clean ladder
1,1,2,2,3,3,4,4,5,5…
Power clean (42.5kg)
Front squat
7+7 cleans (Rx)

Four of us (including Ali and I) did this in the barbell room.  It was kind of weird – totally different setting – but also with lots of people doing other work to add cheers here and there which helped.  Was good to change it up.  This WOD most definitely hurt.  The front squats were killer and by far the hardest (mostly mentally I think) part of the WOD.

I started well, going unbroken through all the squats until the round of 7.  The 6th round unbroken was a struggle so then I went 4-3.  Definitely starting to feel it.  I switched between regular and hook grip on the cleans though didn’t really find my forearms having much issue – it was more about getting myself more comfortable with the hook grip.  It was a long 6 minutes though thankfully Coach Tara was timing it and giving us updates as there was no large clock to see.  The first 4 or 5 rounds went quick then suddenly it seemed to take forever.  Could be from the pain face I had on.

In round 2 I put on my weight belt.  It wasn’t that the weight was that heavy (in comparison to what we’ve been squatting lately) but my lower back just started to cramp up completely on the cleans (even though I was maintaining good form and dropping under the bar rather than going wide with my feet).  Figured it was better safe than sorry though – it didn’t stop the pain but probably kept me from doing any damage which would have sucked completely.

Sacha, Ali and I rewarded ourselves with Nando’s after.  It’s all I could think of before starting the WOD – the reward at the end (I was starving) so good.  Then I promptly wanted to be asleep.  Good times.

Friday, August 16, 2013

8/14 – Snatches and Pistols



WOD
21-15-9
Power Snatch 60/42.5kg
Pistol (alt legs)
10:55 (35kg snatch, Rx pistols)

Challenging one tonight but also snatches which I love (and also hate at the moment with my mental issues toward them).

I got stuck in traffic on the way to crossfit – crazy, insane, worst traffic I’ve ever been in in this city where people don’t know quite how to drive.  There was a big crash and all lanes were blocked (or so the radio told me) – I took a detour to avoid finding out.  Instead of stressing or road raginga s I would have done in the past I resigned myself to switching up my schedule.  I knew I could do some of the extra work when I got there and then jump in on the 5:30 wod and finish up anything else before the other side closed at 7pm.  No worries, no stress, just life.  It was in thinking these thoughts that I saw a rainbow.  Have I mentioned how amazing my life is?  Love it.

Anyway, back to the WOD. 

We worked through the progressions of the snatch and pistols (I got to demo box pistols – again, how much does Coach Tara love me… haha).  The bar (15kg) felt crazy heavy – I couldn’t even muscle snatch it.  Yup.  Knew that the snatches were going to be rough.  I wanted to do a minimum of 35kg so that I could have 10kg plates on the bar and be able to drop it (not an option with anything less than the 10kg plates).  Thankfully I snagged some black plates (which don’t bounce as much as the greens) and survived at 35kg – even though the few warm-ups were hard and singles.  It was going to be one of those WODs – I was looking forward to being able to finish it – cut-off was 12 minutes.  I was facing Rhys which spurned me on at the start – he did I think 3 touch and go reps a few times so I followed suit – I did this twice before succumbing to dropping the bar after every rep.  I still tried to maintain sets of 3 – getting right back on the bar after a drop and then taking a bit of a bigger break in between those.  It was one of those WODs where you just have to chip away at the reps because they are hard and neverending.

The pistols were surprisingly good relatively speaking.  My legs are pretty heavy in a general sense from all the squatting but even still I managed to alternate in sets of 3 or 4 reps at a time before hurting.  That was a bonus.  I found it easier to step into the pistol and not hold my foot (though occasionally held my calf).

Finished it and that made me happy though had to then follow it up with squats.  Thankfully I’d already done half of the extra work before class.  Another fun day but Thursday is rest day… so happy!!

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

8/13 - Death by 10m plus extra work


Another light one last night – seems to be a bit of a deload week for which I (and my body) am thankful.  A few early(-er) nights are also appreciated.  I miss home.

WOD
EMOM8 - alternating
5 Strict Pull-ups
30sec Plank Hold
3 pull-ups with yellow band

Then

Death By 10m
starting at 10
17+17

I did the EMOM with the intention of doing all 5 strict PU’s but my shoulders disagreed with me.  I grabbed the yellow band before we even started thinking I “might” need it and need it I did – right from the start.  I did I think the first 2 reps without it and then it went from there.  We focused on holding the bottom position for a second, a quick pull to the top then a slow 3 second lower which made them hurt just a little bit more (a lot more actually).  I did 4 in the first round (2 with the band that Cam had to help me get into because I hadn’t grabbed a box – thinking still I wouldn’t actually use it) and then I did 3 the rest of the rounds because of how I was feeling.

The planks felt really good – easy actually.  After the reps of 1 minute holds we’ve been doing lately this was nice.  I started the last one 10 seconds early to extend it a bit and made Cam follow suit which was fun.  Laughing while doing it made it a little more challenging in a sadistically fun way.  Cam also called me teacher’s pet as I got to be the demo girl for Tara for the planks – though all I could think of when she commented about keeping a flat back and tight butt was that at that moment everyone in the class was looking at my butt.  Heh. 

Feeling tightness in my traps today – guess the pull-ups had the intended effect.

The Death by 10m was both good and bad.  We have done this before and started at 1 which meant 16+ minutes of running but this time we started at 10.  It shorted the time for running but just started us with a longer distance initially – I wasn’t sure how to pace it but took my time and was the slowest I think for all the rounds but didn’t get my heart rate high or feel at all winded until probably round 16 or 17 which is why when it came time for me to sprint for the last few reps to sneak through it wasn’t an issue.  What was an issue however was how my legs were feeling on each and every turn.  That’s what really started to get me – the planting and pushing on my tired backsquatted out legs.  Ouch.  Seems to be a pretty common point that a lot of people felt (especially those in the extra program).  I tried alternating legs but it was the perfect distance to always hit with one leg for a while then I’d have to stutter step to switch off.  I’m not sure it would have made much difference anyway.  I just barely finished the 17th rep on the round of 18 so I still had 10m to make to keep going (I’m almost happy I didn’t). 

Was good having the boys (George, Cam, Reegs, Wayno) all cheering me on.  It helped that much more – though I think they thought I was so slow because I was tired when in reality I really didn’t want to stop after each round – I much preferred to go slower and just keep moving.  I watched the clock a little.  Heh.

Tuesday's Extra

1) SXF WOD
(see above)

2) GHD Sit-ups 3 x 15-25reps (if you don't do these very often go easy on these) *rest 90sec between sets
1x15 reps

I did one set of these and around 10 reps in felt quite vomitous.  Really quite nauseous.  Cam convinced me to just do 5 more.  Seriously though, not the best idea ever.  I need to stop l listening to that boy.  I sat on the bench for a long while after this and Cam did note that I was looking paler than usual.  Not good.  I didn’t do the last two reps – there was no way he was going to convince me.  Just thinking of that think still makes me not feel good.  Ugh.  Wonder how to go about ‘fixing’ that?

Spent a little bit of time mobilizing after it all too – quads, calves, hammys and hips.  Good times.