Tuesday, February 26, 2013

2/25 - Home WOD



Wasn’t feeling too good yesterday (TMI – cramps from hell) and wasn’t really feeling up to going to the box.  I honestly just wanted to curl up in bed but having rested all weekend I also wanted to get a workout in.  I figured I could easily (and quickly) get this done at home on my own.  I did.

Warm-up
90 seconds single skips
3 rounds of:
5 push-ups
5 sit-ups
5 squats
15 double unders

Practice overhead weighted lunges (15kg bar)

I probably could have done a bit better of a warm up but as I mentioned I was craving my bed so I just jumped into it.  It was also hot out so I was already quite sweaty before starting the WOD.

WOD
50-40-30-20-10
DU’s
Overhead weighted lunges (with 15kg bar)
10:58 Rx

Initially I thought that this would take less than 10 minutes.  I figured it’d be similar to Annie which takes me between 6 and 7 minutes now.  I figured the overhead weighted lunges would be harder than sit-ups but didn’t realize by just how much.  They hurt right from the first set.

The double unders were solid.  Pretty much went unbroken throughout except for one trip up on the set of 50 but quickly got going again.

The lunges were what slowed me down a lot – I think the initial 50 DU’s took about 40 seconds or less then almost 2 minutes for the 50 lunges.  It was a solid combination of legs and arms both hurting.  I did 25 then put the bar down to shake out my hands then did 15 and 10.  I was holding the bar similar to as I would with an OHS to focus on locking out and keeping my body upright.  It was hard to push through the next 4 rounds with hurting arms but I tried to rest as little as possible though it was at least once on each round except for the round of 10 where I went unbroken.

When it was done it was my arms that were feeling more tired but as the evening wore on and I would walk around the house I’d notice my quads silently complaining, especially as I’d stumble down the one little step into my kitchen.  Heh.  It’s what I wanted though – a solid workout for my legs with a bit of arms thrown in.  It was a good one and I have to say just how much I love my bar.

The plan after was to do some isometric lowers on the rings that I’ve now hung in my yard but my arms were tired and my bed was calling.  I managed to get a bit of a rest in before Cam came home.  A perfect night – it was just what I needed and also goes to show that you don’t really need much to get a decent workout in wherever you are.

Monday, February 25, 2013

2/22 – (Jumping) Bar Muscle Ups



Just realized that I’ve been lagging on my blog lately – well – not that I’m lagging but more so that I missed posting about last Friday’s sports class.  I have all been training all this week and will catch up on those posts but I’m lacking a bit of fire lately in both my training and in updating my blog.  I realize this though (now) and am looking at ways to spice things up heading into the open.

I’ll have a separate post probably later on this feeling but I am in a great place, surrounded by amazing people who encourage and support and provide amazing coaching but the internal drive for me is lacking – I think because I need a focus, a goal(s) to work towards but right now I feel aimless and though I love training and crossfit I’m not pushing myself hard enough right now.  I do want to get better but am honestly doing nothing to get there – this WILL change.  More later…

Back to last Friday – I loved this…

WOD #1
EMOTM 10
10-15 second hanging L-sit hold

I had my hands all taped up and ready to go for this one.  It was fun with everyone in the class hanging from parts of the pull-up bars around the room.

Initially we spent a bit of time going through the variations of the L-sit – knees up, one leg out (alternating), both legs out with knees bent, both legs out.  We then went into the WOD.  It was good and also funny initially as part way through the first round Shasha asks outloud ‘who is holding their breath right now’… I have to admit, I was.  It was a good reminder that remembering to breath is important.  I did most of these with my legs out but with knees bent.  Still found it very challenging.

After this we went into practicing some bar muscle up progressions.  We started with chest to bar pull-ups and I have to say that with Coach Hayden’s cue the other week about keeping my feet tight together on the kip I can get way more height on my pull-ups now than I ever did before.   I can’t get much more than a chest to bar pull-up now so the rest of the progression was kind of lost on my until we got to the jumping transitions – basically you stand in front of the bar on a box and with your feet on the box still go through the movement of the kip and then jump up into the bar muscle up.  I couldn’t do these either but was trying.  I think it was more a fear thing as you’re pretty high up when you get on top of the pull-up bar. 

WOD #2
10-7-5-3
Bar muscle ups
Squat clean thrusters (42.5)
11-ish minutes (?) @35kg thrusters

I wasn’t sure what I was going to do for the WOD as the scaling was equal number chest to bar pull-ups and jumping bar muscle ups but I didn’t have the jumping bar muscle ups.  We were partnered up and so as Tara was getting ready to go I was playing around a bit more and got one, then another.  I managed jumping bar muscle ups and I was super excited.

When it was my turn to WOD I decided that I’d skip the chest to bar portion and just do the jumping muscle ups which were already challenging for me – the pull-ups would have destroyed my already aching hands.  I struggled a bit doing singles in the round of 10 and after about 3 reps Coach Tara came around and told me to just work to 5 and go on to thrusters.  The objective of this WOD was more skill work but also to get the work in. 

The squat clean thrusters were hard but do-able.  I scaled the weight as we’d had a pretty heavy week overall and I was definitely feeling tired.  Even so, 35kg wasn’t easy.  The first round we had to just thruster but after that we were allowed to do a squat clean thruster-jerk where we didn’t’ necessarily have to have one fluid movement from the squat overhead – this definitely helped though felt a little strange at first – it worked really well.

As I was on the round of 7 bar muscle ups I was thinking I’d just do 4 (then 3-2) for the WOD but Coach Tara again came around as I was starting and told me to do 5 again and to do 5 for each round of muscle ups and so I did.  And it was good.  In the end I was only 5 reps short of what the WOD called for and was happy to just have done any.  I was pretty much going from under the bar to locked out on top of it so I think that maybe next time I’ll be able to use a smaller box (I was on the 30” box).

It was another great Friday training session with well earned Nando’s afterward.  Thankfully Cam had an extra hoody in his car and was kind enough to pick up Nando’s to go so I could ride my bike straight home.  That was a bit of a challenge – moreso because I kept hitting all the green lights when I really needed a break to shake out my arms.  Heh.

Friday, February 22, 2013

2/21 - Another Day...


Been a busy week with lots of WOD-ing happening but surprisingly, other than a few niggling spots I’m feeling pretty good.  My achilles is still tight from last week though Cam has been helping a bit as has the rolling I’ve been doing – it’s mostly just tight in the morning when I get out of bed and when I was trying to skip on one foot last night in the warm-up but getting there.

Otherwise, I just feel tired – a bit of fatigue rather than any nagging injuries which is a bonus given how big the week has been so far.  Last night was another of those days.

Warm-up
400m run
Skipping
Bear Complex

I was actually looking forward to most of this WOD other than the chest to overhead as my lats were tired from all the pull-ups and it was fairly heavy.  In the warm-up though I managed three reps and knew it would be hard but most definitely do-able (even if it required split jerks to complete – it did).

WOD
50 Double Unders
20 Dead Lifts 60/40kg
20 Burpees (jumping over the bar)
20 Toes to Bar
20 Chest to Over Head 60/40kg
50 Double Unders
8:42 Rx except T2B (subbed v-ups)

This was a good one.  I am happy that it was only one round as that was tiring enough – especially since it was hot still.  I was sweating insanely before we’d even finished the warm-up.  I did the first 47 DU’s unbroken then managed 2, tripping one rep short so finished that off quickly and then onto the deadlifts which I broke into two sets of 10, no problem just focused on good form and not killing myself early on.  The burpees were tiring though steady but harder as they were bar facing rather than the version we’d do at Cooee in which you did the burpee parallel to the bar and then jumped over side ways.  A few times I didn’t get back enough from the bar and was pretty close to hitting my face on it when dropping down.  Oops.

I did one T2B on the bars before realizing that my hands were not going to get through them without some serious damage so I did V-ups which seemed infinitely harder.  My abs were screaming.  The chest to overhead was the hardest part and took me 3 minutes to do.  I started them at 5 minutes in and finished them with 8 minutes on the clock.  Struggle.  It was heavy and I was feeling every single other thing I’d done this week.  I split jerked most of them. I started with a set of 5 then did 5 sets of 3 from then on.  I could really feel my lower back as well in these which I think was partly due to killing my abs in the v-ups.  Definitely a struggle but am happy that I managed to stay with the Rx weight and finish it off.

The last set of DU’s were solid though my lungs were burning and I didn’t get them unbroken, I think I did 30 then stopped once more before finishing off.  I’m happy with my time though considering the amount spent on the chest to overhead.

Mobility
Calf stretch
Glute stretch
Rolling out – quads/ IT bands, Achilles/ calves

We finished off with a few stretches then meandered upstairs to continue rolling out.  My quads, actually more specifically my IT bands are quite tight so I’m really focused on mobilizing them.  I realized that I’ve ran 7km already this week which is pretty solid overall for me – the non-runner.  So that’s a decent amount.  Cam told me to wait until I was running 20km a week… I’m pretty sure I laughed in his face.  Funny boy.  We’ll see I guess – I just find it so boring.  Anyone have suggestions to alleviate that aspect?

2/20 - Mid-day/ Mid-week WOD


Skipped out on work today as I just felt the need to sleep.  On top of that work is pretty slow at the moment so there wasn’t a ton of incentive to go in plus my Again Faster 15kg Team Bar arrived and was at the Courier place ready to be picked up (they screwed up on trying to deliver it).  

After Cam left for work I fell back into slumber – happily.  I woke up feeling pretty good around 10am and after calling the Courier and finding out they were located out by the airport I figured I could hit up Southern on my way and get into the noon WOD.  I found a new breakfast place in East Fremantle (Hubble’s Yard) and had an amazing breakfast wrap before I headed to workout – probably not my best idea but it was still tasty.

There were a lot of pull-ups programmed and I was determined to not rip my hands so after arriving I used what seemed like half a roll of tape on my hands and was ready to go.  Initially I thought I’d be the only one there (it was so quiet, especially compared to Tuesday’s full class) but it turned out there were 4 of us ready to go which was fun and also pretty easy going.

WOD
Run 600m
30 Kb Swings 24/16kg
30 Pull Ups
Run 400m
20 Kb Swings 24/16kg
20 Pull Ups
Run 200m
10 Kb Swings 24/16kg
10 Pull Ups
17:08(?) Rx

Can’t remember my exact time on this one but it was somewhere above 17 minutes but under 18.  The last 5 pull-ups almost killed me – or more specifically almost tore my hands – but I’ll get to that.

I was still pretty full on this one and it was hotter outside than I had realized which made this mid-day WOD harder than I had expected – that being said I was pretty sure the pull-ups were totally going to suck.

I was steady on the runs – going back out for 200m after the 400m was tough but better than it being a total of 800m and it helped knowing that the runs were getting shorter each round.  It was fine in the shade but there isn’t really much of that so it was toasty overall.

The KB swings were easy.  I did the first and last sets unbroken but split the middle 20 up mostly because I ran right back in the door and picked it up and really needed water in the middle.  I probably could have done them unbroken if I’d taken a bit more time before picking it up though I think overall I didn’t lose any more time either way.

The pull-ups are what got me overall in this one.  I just couldn’t do more than 5 at a time, mostly only doing 3’s.  My hands just hurt.  By the end – the last 5 – I could feel the skin on the ends of my fingers (just above the bend) moving – not tearing but definitely no longer actually connected.  I had already done so many pull-ups Rx that I didn’t want to not make the last 5 so I did singles and used a reverse grip which was a bit easier on my fingers and I managed not to rip but instead had 4 lovely blisters.  Thankfull today (Friday) they’re feeling ok and still not ripped.

Was happy to get this one done mid-day so that I could have a nice afternoon nap and then have plenty of time to make me some paleo pizza.  It was amazing.  The crust was a little sweet which was perfect.  I’ll post the recipe I used separately (though there are plenty out there that come up with a quick google search).


My new toy

2/19 - Catching Up...


Haven’t felt up to blogging this week though have been having fun getting a ton of workouts in and they have been fun. 

Seemed like many people skipped the running WOD (200m repeats) on Monday night and instead showed up for Tuesday workout.  I was included in this group though did manage that 5km run with Cam.  I was paying for it on Tuesday (and Wednesday and also Thursday I think) with tired (and sore) quads and achy IT bands.  Ouch.  Probably means I need to run more (shhh, don’t tell Cam that!).

As I mentioned, EVERYONE showed up on Tuesday – it was the largest class as SXF ever (apparently, according to Tara there were 38 people) so we split into pairs and partnered off for the WOD.  I was with Shalon and she went first (which is a change for me – going second – but wasn’t as bad as I’d expected). 

She rocked the AMRAP and after watching her I knew I had my work cut out for me – it looked rough (and sweaty). 

WOD
15 minute AMRAP
 8 O/H Squats 40/30kg
8 Ring Dips
8 Box Jumps 18/24"
8 Chest to Over Head 40/30kg
6 rounds/ 8 OHS

There wasn’t a lot of room to rest on this one with there only being 8 reps of each movement – they were a  struggle but it was hard to justify stopping.  This however wasn’t a choice for me as the time went on.  I started off strong on the OHS but then in later rounds my wrists started to hurt and I had to break up the sets into typically 5-3.  It was however a lot of fun to pick up the bar and power snatch it easily over head.  Snatching always makes me feel pretty badass.

I scaled the ring dips with an orange band as these are horrible for my shoulder.  One trick I gained from Shalon (which was awesome) is to put one knee into the band at a time to prevent swinging (by jumping both up together).  This made it infinitely easier to keep my arms locked by my sides and the rings from moving too much.  Even with the band I broke most of these into two sets aiming for 5-3 as much as possible.

It was funny in how we were set up – Shalon and I were at the front of the room for the bar and box work but our rings were in the back corner so there was a bit of a trek to get there.  It also served as a bit of rest in the middle of each round – I clearly remember Haydo telling me to use it as rest, get some deep breaths in and then get right onto the next movement.  It was good. 

The box jumps were pretty easy as they weren’t high (though being lower actually took a bit of getting used to initially).  I did all these unbroken and got them out of the way quickly.


The chest to overhead was tough though I managed to push press most of them before moving into a bit more of a push jerk in the later rounds.  I did all the rounds unbroken though sometimes had to rest briefly in the rack position.  

It was a good WOD and surprisingly the 15 minutes went quite quickly.  Initially going into it I was expecting to maybe get 5 full rounds and then a few reps but then I saw Shalon go (she got the same score as I did) and I knew how hard I’d have to work to get there and I was more than happy getting 6+ rounds in, especially at Rx weight.

Mobility
Calf rolling
Quad rolling
Back rolling
Wrist stretching

Tuesday, February 19, 2013

2/18 - Running


Cam forgot his workout gear at work and was skipping out on the crossfit WOD with the intention of hitting up the yoga class later on.  I knew I wasn’t up for yoga (too late for my tired little body) but wanted to do something after two days rest.  The first option was SUP but then running entered the equation (as the programmed WOD was running). 

I got home tired and not really feeling it and while Cam told me to just take it easy and rest I changed into my gear anyway and laced up my shoes.  Wearing my hot pink compression socks made me feel pretty runner-like too (wish I had a photo!).

It was really fun to run with Cam and we held a fairly steady not too fast/ not too slow pace around Freo.  Turned out to be about 5km when we stopped 30 minutes later.  Pretty good.

We had a little walk to get back to the house which was a nice cool down and then my brilliant mind realized that if I grabbed my computer to continue watching ‘Game of Thrones’ (catching up on the first two seasons before season 3 starts next month) while I was lying on the floor of the living room mobilizing that I’d be more likely to mobilize more rather than getting bored/ distracted.  And it worked.  There were some many moments of agonized moaning while rolling out my quads but it happened, quite thoroughly even.  I also did a bit of rolling on my calves as well with the lacrosse ball. 

My legs are feeling pretty tired today but not too sore/ stiff. 

Also, my 15kg bar from Again Faster is set to arrive today… fingers crossed!