You may have guessed from my lack of posts since November that my consistency with my training had pretty much gone down the toilet. If you did, you were correct.
I really underestimated how hard it would be to stay motivated as a "loner" CrossFitter. I tried a few things to get my motivation back, but nothing really stuck.
This morning I did my first WOD at my new CrossFit home, and I am SO glad that I found them. The idea of struggling through this alone for the long term was really getting me down.
But now I have the wonderful people at CrossFit Rifles to sweat, struggle, learn and laugh with. It feels amazing to have a local CrossFit community to be a part of again -- of course I will always have my CF KoP peeps who have me as a satellite member. :)
We did a pretty simple team WOD, and I am physically wrecked. It will be a frustrating process to get back to where I was in terms of conditioning, strength and mental toughness, but it will be worth it.
--
Team WOD
500m row
9 front squat*
9 push press*
9 front squat
9 push press
400m run
9 SDHP**
9 ring dips
9 SDHP
9 ring dips
Results: 13:38 -- and that was all me and my slow ring dips
*65#
**24kg kb
On ring dips, I self-assisted with one foot, but tried to do the negative unassisted
Showing posts with label front squat. Show all posts
Showing posts with label front squat. Show all posts
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Nov Meet Training - Day 1
Today I did my first day of training for my next weightlifting meet, which is on November 19th. That's 5 weeks away. My goal is to meet or beat my lifts from last September.
For the first week I'll be incorporating skill sets from this article by Greg Everett(pdf), and testing maxes in several lifts.
For the next four weeks, I'll be following a program from Michael Hartman. It was intended to be used to prepare for a meet with only power cleans, which works fine for me since I feel my clean needs the most work right now. That 15-20 pound disparity between my squat clean and power clean is really bugging me! I'll worry about jerking more once I can clean more.
My motto for my training approach -- "If it's important, do it every day". I plan on squatting every day that I train, alternating front squats and high bar back squats in different rep schemes. I'll also be working on low back strength and chinups/pullups.
--
Skill Sets:
OHS 5x3 barbell
Pressing snatch balance 5x3 barbell
Drop snatch 5x3 barbell
Work Sets:
Hang snatch
55x3
60x1
65x1
70x1
75x1
Snatch: 1-1-1-1-1
75-80*-80-85-90
*missed on first attempt, immediately got back on the bar and completed; decided to repeat the weight for the next rep as well
Front squat
3x3 @ 115
2x3 @ 120
I wasn't sure how heavy I could load this, but by the end I felt I could've done more. I'll amp it up next session. And I may stick with 5s too.
Finisher:
4 rounds
Max chinups/pullups
20 AbMat back extensions
For the first week I'll be incorporating skill sets from this article by Greg Everett(pdf), and testing maxes in several lifts.
For the next four weeks, I'll be following a program from Michael Hartman. It was intended to be used to prepare for a meet with only power cleans, which works fine for me since I feel my clean needs the most work right now. That 15-20 pound disparity between my squat clean and power clean is really bugging me! I'll worry about jerking more once I can clean more.
My motto for my training approach -- "If it's important, do it every day". I plan on squatting every day that I train, alternating front squats and high bar back squats in different rep schemes. I'll also be working on low back strength and chinups/pullups.
--
Skill Sets:
OHS 5x3 barbell
Pressing snatch balance 5x3 barbell
Drop snatch 5x3 barbell
Work Sets:
Hang snatch
55x3
60x1
65x1
70x1
75x1
Snatch: 1-1-1-1-1
75-80*-80-85-90
*missed on first attempt, immediately got back on the bar and completed; decided to repeat the weight for the next rep as well
Front squat
3x3 @ 115
2x3 @ 120
I wasn't sure how heavy I could load this, but by the end I felt I could've done more. I'll amp it up next session. And I may stick with 5s too.
Finisher:
4 rounds
Max chinups/pullups
20 AbMat back extensions
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
PP, deadlift, burpee
As many rounds as possible in 12 minutes:
6 push press (155/105)
9 deadlift (use same bar/weight as PP)
12 lateral burpess (jump over the bar)
Results: kind of a clusterf@#$ :)
Round 1: @105, got done in 2 minutes and very winded
Round 2: 4 PP @ 105, failed several times, then took the weight down to 95 to finish
Round 3: @95
Round 4: @95 got 6 PP, then time was called
One theory I have is that I wasn't warmed up enough for the weight. But if that's the case, why was I able to complete all 6 PP in Round 1?
Maybe the problem was trying to do more than 1 at a time? Lowering that weight back down is a heavy eccentric movement, and takes a lot out of your arms. It's possible I would've done better just power cleaning from the floor for each rep.
I do feel that my technique was sloppy on rounds 1 and 2, but improved in the the last 2 rounds. I also felt like my technique didn't settle in until several reps into the shoulder to overheads in the 5 Ton 5k. Will have to keep an eye on this...
Finisher: 5x5 front squat
95-95-105-110-115
6 push press (155/105)
9 deadlift (use same bar/weight as PP)
12 lateral burpess (jump over the bar)
Results: kind of a clusterf@#$ :)
Round 1: @105, got done in 2 minutes and very winded
Round 2: 4 PP @ 105, failed several times, then took the weight down to 95 to finish
Round 3: @95
Round 4: @95 got 6 PP, then time was called
One theory I have is that I wasn't warmed up enough for the weight. But if that's the case, why was I able to complete all 6 PP in Round 1?
Maybe the problem was trying to do more than 1 at a time? Lowering that weight back down is a heavy eccentric movement, and takes a lot out of your arms. It's possible I would've done better just power cleaning from the floor for each rep.
I do feel that my technique was sloppy on rounds 1 and 2, but improved in the the last 2 rounds. I also felt like my technique didn't settle in until several reps into the shoulder to overheads in the 5 Ton 5k. Will have to keep an eye on this...
Finisher: 5x5 front squat
95-95-105-110-115
Thursday, October 6, 2011
5 Ton 5k
My friend Steph did this event in 2010, and I *loved* the idea. I immediately planned to join her for 2011, and I'm happy to say my plan worked out! It involved a plane ride and a few hours in the car but it was totally worth it!
It's exactly what it says in the name -- 5 tons of weight lifted and 5 kilometers of running.
In case you find that whiteboard hard to read (I know I did) here's a write-up of B Division / Women's Rx:
15 power cleans (95)
15 front squat (95)
15 deadlift (95)
1250m run
25 shoulder to overhead (75)
1250m run
10 power cleans (95)
10 front squat (95)
10 deadlift (95)
1250m run
15 shoulder to overhead (75)
1250m run
What I liked was that you had to load/unload the 10's between the weightlifting segments. Added a little touch of uniqueness.
My time was a very slow, but hard-earned, 47:01. Holy crap were the front squats hard! I felt like I was in slow motion on the way up.
Photographic evidence of how much these squats brutalized me. One of my best WOD face pictures! Love it! hehe
Some more pics.
It's exactly what it says in the name -- 5 tons of weight lifted and 5 kilometers of running.
In case you find that whiteboard hard to read (I know I did) here's a write-up of B Division / Women's Rx:
15 power cleans (95)
15 front squat (95)
15 deadlift (95)
1250m run
25 shoulder to overhead (75)
1250m run
10 power cleans (95)
10 front squat (95)
10 deadlift (95)
1250m run
15 shoulder to overhead (75)
1250m run
What I liked was that you had to load/unload the 10's between the weightlifting segments. Added a little touch of uniqueness.
My time was a very slow, but hard-earned, 47:01. Holy crap were the front squats hard! I felt like I was in slow motion on the way up.
Photographic evidence of how much these squats brutalized me. One of my best WOD face pictures! Love it! hehe
Some more pics.
Thursday, September 29, 2011
Front squat
Yay, a strength day! I feel like I haven't had one of these in ages.
Front squat: 5-5-5-5-5
I got to be the demo girl, which started off my warm-up, and then I did one set of 5 @ 65#.
Work sets: 85-95-105-115-125
85 to 115 looked good and felt good.
At 125 I started losing control of my core alignment, my hips were popping in and out of line, and my weight was shifting all over the place in my feet. But, I powered through and completed the 5 reps.
This is a good starting point measurement for the strength cycle I'll be starting in November. I want to do a weightlifting program that focuses primarily on getting stronger, but also incorporates technique work. I'm hoping to find a coach to work with long distance if I can't find one in our new town. Yep, moving again in 30 days. :)
Front squat: 5-5-5-5-5
I got to be the demo girl, which started off my warm-up, and then I did one set of 5 @ 65#.
Work sets: 85-95-105-115-125
85 to 115 looked good and felt good.
At 125 I started losing control of my core alignment, my hips were popping in and out of line, and my weight was shifting all over the place in my feet. But, I powered through and completed the 5 reps.
This is a good starting point measurement for the strength cycle I'll be starting in November. I want to do a weightlifting program that focuses primarily on getting stronger, but also incorporates technique work. I'm hoping to find a coach to work with long distance if I can't find one in our new town. Yep, moving again in 30 days. :)
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Front squats, pushups, swings and situps
Got together with my girls at the base gym this morning, and we all just wanted something simple. R had this one in her notebook from CrossFit Saratoga.
3 rounds:
15 front squats
25 pushups
35 kettlebell swings
45 situps
Results: untimed; did f.s. at 45, 65, 65 and 35# kb for all swings
I was super-slow on my pushups again today. They were all good form, but just 1s and 2s and 3s which took forever.
Note on my gymnastics skills... there seems to be quite a bit of practice required between just being able to do a skill correctly, and being able to do it correctly for many reps in a row. The same things has been the case with pullups in the past. Maybe it's a matter of developing a rhythm or technique for stringing them together? Who knows...
--
Speaking of pullups, I hit a new PR in those yesterday as well. Prior to coaching at 6pm, I did 10 kipping pullups in a row. Woot! The first 4 were chest-to-bar to boot. I'm back to doing those daily, even if it's just a few, and it's really paying off.
3 rounds:
15 front squats
25 pushups
35 kettlebell swings
45 situps
Results: untimed; did f.s. at 45, 65, 65 and 35# kb for all swings
I was super-slow on my pushups again today. They were all good form, but just 1s and 2s and 3s which took forever.
Note on my gymnastics skills... there seems to be quite a bit of practice required between just being able to do a skill correctly, and being able to do it correctly for many reps in a row. The same things has been the case with pullups in the past. Maybe it's a matter of developing a rhythm or technique for stringing them together? Who knows...
--
Speaking of pullups, I hit a new PR in those yesterday as well. Prior to coaching at 6pm, I did 10 kipping pullups in a row. Woot! The first 4 were chest-to-bar to boot. I'm back to doing those daily, even if it's just a few, and it's really paying off.
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Move, weightlifting practice and CrossFit barbell triplet
While it wasn't exactly a WOD, we moved over this past weekend, and it wore my ass out! Seriously, by the end of the day on Saturday, I was barely dragging myself along. Other than a short lunch break and afternoon nap, we were constantly on the move from 10am until 10pm.
Monday was my first weekday weightlifting practice in I don't know how long... It was good stuff.
Deadlift: 10-8-6-5-5-5-3-3
55-85-85-85-95-95-105-125
Loads were light, worked a lot on form. My low back issues are kinda complicated to describe -- but it's nice to finally know why I've always sucked at deadlifts, why my squat was broken for so long and why my clean loads plateaued for so long.
Press :5-5-5-3 (power clean bar from ground)
75-75-80-85(2)
Barely got my last two reps up for my set of 5 at 80. Rep 3 of my last set at 85 got stuck in front of my forehead for a few seconds before I gave up. This makes me want to re-test my press 1RM (which had dropped down to 90 in the fall), in light of all my pullup work. I think it's helping, and that's exciting!
Pullups: 3x10
Performed mostly unassisted deadhangs, and a few kipping pullups. I logged this as a day in my Get Strict program.
Abmat situps with medball: 4x15 (14# ball)
--
This morning I attended an 8:30am CrossFit class, which I'll start teaching next Tuesday, along with the 6:30am class. It was the last day for one of our coaches -- he's been splitting his time between the gym he co-owns and our gym, and will be focusing in on his own place from here on. He programmed a fun barbell triplet for us.
5 rounds:
5 squat clean thrusters
10 shoulder to overhead
15 front squat
load: 77#/55#
Results: 15:51
I certainly could've rested a lot less. And I didn't really string together the squat clean thrusters. But I did unbroken sets of ground to overhead and front squats on all 5 rounds. For shoulder to overhead, I did a combo of push presses and power jerks.
I'm happy to report that my back felt a little funky in my warmups, but I didn't feel a single twinge at all during the WOD. Yay!
Monday was my first weekday weightlifting practice in I don't know how long... It was good stuff.
Deadlift: 10-8-6-5-5-5-3-3
55-85-85-85-95-95-105-125
Loads were light, worked a lot on form. My low back issues are kinda complicated to describe -- but it's nice to finally know why I've always sucked at deadlifts, why my squat was broken for so long and why my clean loads plateaued for so long.
Press :5-5-5-3 (power clean bar from ground)
75-75-80-85(2)
Barely got my last two reps up for my set of 5 at 80. Rep 3 of my last set at 85 got stuck in front of my forehead for a few seconds before I gave up. This makes me want to re-test my press 1RM (which had dropped down to 90 in the fall), in light of all my pullup work. I think it's helping, and that's exciting!
Pullups: 3x10
Performed mostly unassisted deadhangs, and a few kipping pullups. I logged this as a day in my Get Strict program.
Abmat situps with medball: 4x15 (14# ball)
--
This morning I attended an 8:30am CrossFit class, which I'll start teaching next Tuesday, along with the 6:30am class. It was the last day for one of our coaches -- he's been splitting his time between the gym he co-owns and our gym, and will be focusing in on his own place from here on. He programmed a fun barbell triplet for us.
5 rounds:
5 squat clean thrusters
10 shoulder to overhead
15 front squat
load: 77#/55#
Results: 15:51
I certainly could've rested a lot less. And I didn't really string together the squat clean thrusters. But I did unbroken sets of ground to overhead and front squats on all 5 rounds. For shoulder to overhead, I did a combo of push presses and power jerks.
I'm happy to report that my back felt a little funky in my warmups, but I didn't feel a single twinge at all during the WOD. Yay!
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Weightlifting practice
Went to my first weightlifting practice in a billion years. And I arrived late, per usual -- I just can't be on time for Saturday morning at 10am. heh
With the status of my back*, my plan was just to work my speed and bar path at light weights. Coach approved.
2 front squat + 3 back squat + 1 jerk behind the neck4 sets at 70%
I worked up to 65#. The back definitely got a lil "twingey" when I was squatting. Also, I hate jerking b.t.n. at light weights -- love it at heavy weights, though.
Power snatch - 2 reps
4 sets at 80%
Did full snatch, and slowly lowered the barbell through each of the positions to set back up for the 2nd snatch. Worked at 65#.
Power clean - 2 reps
3 sets at 80%
Full clean. Worked at 85#.
--
Get Strict - A
Did 3 sets of 10 strict pullups with the skinny band. They were still broken up: 6-2-2, 7-3, 6-2-2. I was pumped the second set I got 7. Can't wait to get all 10.
I skipped my assistance exercises. Booo on me for that.
I do feel like with these long sets I'm learning the way to fire my muscles at each point in the movement. For me the issue has always been the bottom. I am doing my best to eliminate using any "shoulder pop", and start from a true dead hang. Husband says a tiny pop is OK by Marine Corps standards -- so my ultimate goal will be to do 10 strict with no bands and maybe an itsy bitsy shoulder pop to get out of the hole. :)
--
Here's the deal with my back... It's not that I am in pain in my trouble spot. It's just that I can feel when I'm moving that muscle, in a way that's not normal. For example, if you "felt" your bicep flexing as you sipped from a glass of water, that would be weird. Well, I "feel" my Q.L. "flexing" as I squat, or lean over or put on my socks and shoes.
So while I have had any big "tweaks" -- that is my word for super excruciating muscle spasm things that were happening before I took a ton of rest -- after a few good workouts, I can "feel" my trouble spot.
It's so hard to know how to respond when coach is asking me "how's the back feeling".
With the status of my back*, my plan was just to work my speed and bar path at light weights. Coach approved.
2 front squat + 3 back squat + 1 jerk behind the neck4 sets at 70%
I worked up to 65#. The back definitely got a lil "twingey" when I was squatting. Also, I hate jerking b.t.n. at light weights -- love it at heavy weights, though.
Power snatch - 2 reps
4 sets at 80%
Did full snatch, and slowly lowered the barbell through each of the positions to set back up for the 2nd snatch. Worked at 65#.
Power clean - 2 reps
3 sets at 80%
Full clean. Worked at 85#.
--
Get Strict - A
Did 3 sets of 10 strict pullups with the skinny band. They were still broken up: 6-2-2, 7-3, 6-2-2. I was pumped the second set I got 7. Can't wait to get all 10.
I skipped my assistance exercises. Booo on me for that.
I do feel like with these long sets I'm learning the way to fire my muscles at each point in the movement. For me the issue has always been the bottom. I am doing my best to eliminate using any "shoulder pop", and start from a true dead hang. Husband says a tiny pop is OK by Marine Corps standards -- so my ultimate goal will be to do 10 strict with no bands and maybe an itsy bitsy shoulder pop to get out of the hole. :)
--
Here's the deal with my back... It's not that I am in pain in my trouble spot. It's just that I can feel when I'm moving that muscle, in a way that's not normal. For example, if you "felt" your bicep flexing as you sipped from a glass of water, that would be weird. Well, I "feel" my Q.L. "flexing" as I squat, or lean over or put on my socks and shoes.
So while I have had any big "tweaks" -- that is my word for super excruciating muscle spasm things that were happening before I took a ton of rest -- after a few good workouts, I can "feel" my trouble spot.
It's so hard to know how to respond when coach is asking me "how's the back feeling".
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Weightlifting, Get Strict
Wanted to do some weightlifting practice today, but didn't want to drive the 25-45 minutes to one of the gyms with a platform. So I did what I could in the gym on base.
Front squat:
3-3-3-3-3
85-95-105-115-125
I paused at the bottom on all sets except the last. I really wanted to retest my current 3RM of 135, but didn't want to push things with my back, or with dropping weights in a gym where they're not supposed to be dropped. :)
Split jerk:
3-3-3-3-3
45-65-85-90-95
Not heavy, just getting back in the groove after a few weeks of not practicing. Didn't feel like I really got my speed until the last 2 sets. This weight felt kinda heavy for some reason!
After the weightlifting work, it was time to start a new pullup program that I came across online.
Get Strict, from CrossFit Virtuosity
Today was a volume day.
A. 3 sets of 10 strict pullups
used my skinny band; sets were broken -- 6-2-2, 7-2-1 and 6-2-2
B. 3 sets of 10 --superset of barbell row and pushups
45# barbell
pushup sets: 10, 6-2-2, 6-2-1-1
Front squat:
3-3-3-3-3
85-95-105-115-125
I paused at the bottom on all sets except the last. I really wanted to retest my current 3RM of 135, but didn't want to push things with my back, or with dropping weights in a gym where they're not supposed to be dropped. :)
Split jerk:
3-3-3-3-3
45-65-85-90-95
Not heavy, just getting back in the groove after a few weeks of not practicing. Didn't feel like I really got my speed until the last 2 sets. This weight felt kinda heavy for some reason!
After the weightlifting work, it was time to start a new pullup program that I came across online.
Get Strict, from CrossFit Virtuosity
Today was a volume day.
A. 3 sets of 10 strict pullups
used my skinny band; sets were broken -- 6-2-2, 7-2-1 and 6-2-2
B. 3 sets of 10 --superset of barbell row and pushups
45# barbell
pushup sets: 10, 6-2-2, 6-2-1-1
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
Workin' on my (front) rack
Forgot my damn lifting shoes, which pissed me off! But still managed to do decent on the WOD in the flat Nike's. :)
Negative: I still have that weird twinge over/in my right hip bone/oblique, so the burpees were very slow. As soon as I would lean down to start the first burpee after the front squats, I would get a *huge* twinge and nearly fall over. But if I kept moving slowly, it would ease up. So I was basically leaning over in a lunge type position, stepping both feet back one at a time, doing a strict pushup, and stepping the feet back in. No jumping out of the feet for me today. Jumping up and over the bar was no problem. Honestly I think moving so slowly on the burpees is what made me able to do all 10 front squats -- I have a real problem with squatting when I'm out of breath, because I can't hold my breath both down and up.
All in all, a nice little workout to keep me limbered up for my Oly session tomorrow with Coach H. :)
PS - After trying to PR on the 5k Saturday morning, and doing Jerry yesterday night, my ass hurts!! heh
5 rounds for time:Positive: All 5 sets of 10 front squats were unbroken. The 9th and 10th reps were kinda ugly near the end, but it's cool. I think I did well with maintaining a strong back, and pushing my knees out. Yay my Oly lifting stuff is working!
10 front squats* (135/85)
10 lateral burpees (jump over barbell)
*from the ground
Results: 13:48, Rx
Negative: I still have that weird twinge over/in my right hip bone/oblique, so the burpees were very slow. As soon as I would lean down to start the first burpee after the front squats, I would get a *huge* twinge and nearly fall over. But if I kept moving slowly, it would ease up. So I was basically leaning over in a lunge type position, stepping both feet back one at a time, doing a strict pushup, and stepping the feet back in. No jumping out of the feet for me today. Jumping up and over the bar was no problem. Honestly I think moving so slowly on the burpees is what made me able to do all 10 front squats -- I have a real problem with squatting when I'm out of breath, because I can't hold my breath both down and up.
All in all, a nice little workout to keep me limbered up for my Oly session tomorrow with Coach H. :)
PS - After trying to PR on the 5k Saturday morning, and doing Jerry yesterday night, my ass hurts!! heh
Friday, June 11, 2010
AMRAP goodness
AMRAP in 15 minResults: 3 rounds + 5 squats & 5 CTB pullups
5 front squats (185lbs/115)
10 chest to bar pull ups
20 double unders
Didn't even hit 60% of the male load on this WOD, bummer. But I knew from a workout at CF KoP that my 3RM on front squat was 135, so 5 @ 115 during a metcon sounded not good. Plus (as always) I was taking the bar from the ground, and my 1RM on the clean is still 125.
So anyway, 105 sounded challenging strength-wise, but still do-able to clean from the ground and then squat 5 times in an unbroken set. :)
I honestly can't remember if I did all 4 sets of front squats unbroken, but I think yes? I hope yes. :)
The most time in this WOD was cranking out the pullups. At this point, my kip was still all jacked, so I wasn't kipping my chest up, I was kipping mostly up, and then slowly finishing out the rep. And I'm not sure they were absolutely "true" CTB -- but I know the front of my shoulder touched even if I didn't get the elbows/shoulders back far enough to finish it off.
Happy to report I can still do double unders. :)
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Three days at CF KoP
For some reason I've been lazy about posting my WODs this week. Time to catch up. :)
But first, shoutout to Donkey -- if you're reading, leave me a comment! Profanity welcomed! :-p
--
Monday morning I drove to Philly (this week of my trip I'm staying with my in-laws) and hit up CF KoP for the 6:30 WOD. It was fun to be back and see lots of familiar faces. As a bonus Aimee was even teaching the 6:30 class -- I didn't get to see her over Christmas, as she was taking a well-deserved vacation.
We did 4 mini workouts, each 3 minutes long.
Got some good feedback on row from Aimee -- only go back to 11 o'clock on the pull. I will give that a shot next time I'm rowing.
--
Tuesday was a benchmark WOD, which made me nervous all day, but I was excited to WOD with Steph and Cindy.
If anyone heard a sound during my first round of pullups, that was the sound of me blowing my own mind. I did 6 freaking pullups in a row! Then squeezed out 2 more before I dropped off the bar. Holy hell!
Proof of two things. I perform better when I feel like I'm working out in a supportive environment. And I perform SO MUCH BETTER when I'm eating food that is good for me. I've been focusing on cutting out sugar and dairy for the past few days, and upping the protein, and I'm back to feeling normal, instead of feeling like shit. I love Paleo. Hoping to dial back into being grain free very soon, but I'm just taking baby steps back into it at the moment.
I wish I had written down the rounds, but I think they played out something like this: 8-7-7-6-5-3
After the amazing first round of pullups, I was sooooo wanting to get to 40, but it just didn't happen. I would've been 2 closer, but 2 of my attempts on round 6 didn't quite get chin over the bar. I'm just happy I gutted out 3 good ones that round.
PS - This is another Rx'd benchmark WOD to check off the list! Woot! :-D
--
Tonight (Wednesday) was a strength day, which I was soooooooooo ready for. Haven't had a good strength day in what feels like forever.
Front squat: 3-3-3-3-3
Weighted ring dips: 1-1-1-1-1-1-1
Front squats were a bit challenging because of my aforementioned Atlas stone clavicle bruising. Owie! I got somebody's old tshirt out of the lost and found to pad my shoulder, and that really helped for my last three sets. Set #2 was almost a train wreck because I was so distracted by my shoulder hurting.
Results: 95-105-115-125-135
I am happy to report a new PR! My old 1RM was 125, and tonight I did 135 for 3. It was definitely a *struggle* on the way back up for each of the 3 reps, but I made it! What a great feeling! And it was cool to have a little cheering section right there with me, I felt a little bit like a CF rockstar. :-p
Next, it was on to dips. I just worked body weight dips since I can barely do a single body weight ring dip right now. First attempt I missed, then I got the next two. Then the ladies decided I needed to try a muscle up, which I totally wussed out on. My kip was just weak and I know I wasn't focused enough to do it. But I got some good feedback from Jason, and I have some things to practice.
Fourth attempt was a jumping muscle up, I went through transition by jumping and then pressed out of the bottom to do my dip. Fifth attempt was the end of another assisted muscle up, with my feet on a box in front of me. Got the sixth just on the rings, and failed on the seventh.
--
All in all, fun times, and a great three days of CrossFit. Tomorrow might be a rest day -- my dog seems to have ripped off part of her dew claw, so I have to get her to the vet. Poor girl. On a happier note, SHOPPING! It's so nice to be near stores I like, even if it's only temporary. :-D
But first, shoutout to Donkey -- if you're reading, leave me a comment! Profanity welcomed! :-p
--
Monday morning I drove to Philly (this week of my trip I'm staying with my in-laws) and hit up CF KoP for the 6:30 WOD. It was fun to be back and see lots of familiar faces. As a bonus Aimee was even teaching the 6:30 class -- I didn't get to see her over Christmas, as she was taking a well-deserved vacation.
We did 4 mini workouts, each 3 minutes long.
- Wall ball - as many shots as possible above 10 foot line in 3 mins
- Deadlift - as many reps as possible in 3 mins
- Row - as many calories as possible in 3 mins
- Atlas stone - as many ground to shoulder as possible in 3 mins
- Wall ball - 32 @ 14#
- Deadlift - 40 @ 95#
- Row - 47 w/ regular damper (noticed some people were putting theirs on 10)
- Atlas stones - 12 @ 60#
Got some good feedback on row from Aimee -- only go back to 11 o'clock on the pull. I will give that a shot next time I'm rowing.
--
Tuesday was a benchmark WOD, which made me nervous all day, but I was excited to WOD with Steph and Cindy.
"Nicole"Results: 36
As many rounds as possible in 20 minutes of:
400m run
Max pullups
Score is total number of pullups.
If anyone heard a sound during my first round of pullups, that was the sound of me blowing my own mind. I did 6 freaking pullups in a row! Then squeezed out 2 more before I dropped off the bar. Holy hell!
Proof of two things. I perform better when I feel like I'm working out in a supportive environment. And I perform SO MUCH BETTER when I'm eating food that is good for me. I've been focusing on cutting out sugar and dairy for the past few days, and upping the protein, and I'm back to feeling normal, instead of feeling like shit. I love Paleo. Hoping to dial back into being grain free very soon, but I'm just taking baby steps back into it at the moment.
I wish I had written down the rounds, but I think they played out something like this: 8-7-7-6-5-3
After the amazing first round of pullups, I was sooooo wanting to get to 40, but it just didn't happen. I would've been 2 closer, but 2 of my attempts on round 6 didn't quite get chin over the bar. I'm just happy I gutted out 3 good ones that round.
PS - This is another Rx'd benchmark WOD to check off the list! Woot! :-D
--
Tonight (Wednesday) was a strength day, which I was soooooooooo ready for. Haven't had a good strength day in what feels like forever.
Front squat: 3-3-3-3-3
Weighted ring dips: 1-1-1-1-1-1-1
Front squats were a bit challenging because of my aforementioned Atlas stone clavicle bruising. Owie! I got somebody's old tshirt out of the lost and found to pad my shoulder, and that really helped for my last three sets. Set #2 was almost a train wreck because I was so distracted by my shoulder hurting.
Results: 95-105-115-125-135
I am happy to report a new PR! My old 1RM was 125, and tonight I did 135 for 3. It was definitely a *struggle* on the way back up for each of the 3 reps, but I made it! What a great feeling! And it was cool to have a little cheering section right there with me, I felt a little bit like a CF rockstar. :-p
Next, it was on to dips. I just worked body weight dips since I can barely do a single body weight ring dip right now. First attempt I missed, then I got the next two. Then the ladies decided I needed to try a muscle up, which I totally wussed out on. My kip was just weak and I know I wasn't focused enough to do it. But I got some good feedback from Jason, and I have some things to practice.
Fourth attempt was a jumping muscle up, I went through transition by jumping and then pressed out of the bottom to do my dip. Fifth attempt was the end of another assisted muscle up, with my feet on a box in front of me. Got the sixth just on the rings, and failed on the seventh.
--
All in all, fun times, and a great three days of CrossFit. Tomorrow might be a rest day -- my dog seems to have ripped off part of her dew claw, so I have to get her to the vet. Poor girl. On a happier note, SHOPPING! It's so nice to be near stores I like, even if it's only temporary. :-D
Friday, April 30, 2010
Trying to get back in the saddle
Ah, an unplanned hiatus... Those are never good.
I've gained back about 5-7 pounds, and based on pullups yesterday, I am back to sucking at those (i.e. lots of singles with 3/4 kip and 1/4 dead hang to finish).
Gah.
This past week was just about getting my ass into the gym; not about performance or skills or anything. Just showing up. Back to the basics, because I am struggling with my headspace right now.
--
Saturday, April 24
Went out of town with husband last weekend, and we hit up a little WOD I wrote up in the hotel gym. They had a cable crossover machine with pullup "handles" attached and a tile removed from the ceiling for head clearance -- that was a nice surprise. After a week off, and two weeks of eating total crap, I felt pukey the entire time. But it was very good for me to get my body moving, I'm glad that my husband has such wonderful abilities to motivate me to want to exercise. :)
--
Tuesday, April 27
In a word, horrible. I had a bad attitude, and I was sluggish and sucked at ring dips. I hate having to use the freaking band, even the tiny one. Gotta get these ring dips conquered so I can move the fuck on.
--
Wednesday, April 28
I used two abmats for my handstand pushups. After the total debacle the day before, where I finished about 5-10 minutes after everyone else, I decided to scale the HSPU to 10ish per round during the first round. When I got to 11, I just kept failing attempts. So I freaking moved on, and got the freaking WOD done. Not my usual style, but this week was seriously ONLY about showing up and moving.
--
Thursday, April 29
I coached this one in the morning, and then came back to WOD with the group that night. I'm glad I did, because the press turned out better than I expected. Plus I shared a bar with 2 dudes, and went heavier than one of them -- it's the little things that make my inner feminist happy. :-D
Then it was metcon time.
That is a sad 1k row time, geesh. But oh well, at least I have a bench mark now -- I didn't have a 1k time written down anywhere.
My pullups in this WOD were so damn ugly, like I said at the beginning of this post. I tore the shit out of my hands with going on and off the bar so damn much doing singles. ARGH! I wanted to punch a hole in the wall I was so angry and frustrated. This was supposed to be a metcon, not some kind of grind-it-out-WOD. Good lord... I just have to keep telling myself that this is what happens when you eat shit, gain weight and take a week off and do nothing.
Not to mention that what I ate on Thursday before the WOD was ridiculous and totally uncalled for... But bad food choices are a topic for another post another day...
--
Friday, April 30
Coached at 0630, then a fellow trainer who was hanging around offered for me to do the WOD at 0830 while he coached. No problemo, I needed a kick in the ass to get my workout in today.
I could've done this one faster, but overall I was OK with how I did. Did all sets of squats unbroken, though I did take time to rest between the runs and squats to make sure I had enough juice to pump out all the sqauts.
--
And that brings us to today, how nice. Time to go through and put a shit ton of labels on this post and publish it...
I've gained back about 5-7 pounds, and based on pullups yesterday, I am back to sucking at those (i.e. lots of singles with 3/4 kip and 1/4 dead hang to finish).
Gah.
This past week was just about getting my ass into the gym; not about performance or skills or anything. Just showing up. Back to the basics, because I am struggling with my headspace right now.
--
Saturday, April 24
Went out of town with husband last weekend, and we hit up a little WOD I wrote up in the hotel gym. They had a cable crossover machine with pullup "handles" attached and a tile removed from the ceiling for head clearance -- that was a nice surprise. After a week off, and two weeks of eating total crap, I felt pukey the entire time. But it was very good for me to get my body moving, I'm glad that my husband has such wonderful abilities to motivate me to want to exercise. :)
5 rounds for time:Results: ~22 minutes
5 pullups
10 squats
10 situps
10 pushups
10 lunges (each leg)
handstand hold (20 seconds)
--
Tuesday, April 27
In a word, horrible. I had a bad attitude, and I was sluggish and sucked at ring dips. I hate having to use the freaking band, even the tiny one. Gotta get these ring dips conquered so I can move the fuck on.
21-15-9 for time of:Results: ~20 minutes
DB thrusters (35lbs/25)
ring dips
double unders
--
Wednesday, April 28
I used two abmats for my handstand pushups. After the total debacle the day before, where I finished about 5-10 minutes after everyone else, I decided to scale the HSPU to 10ish per round during the first round. When I got to 11, I just kept failing attempts. So I freaking moved on, and got the freaking WOD done. Not my usual style, but this week was seriously ONLY about showing up and moving.
3 rounds for time of:Results: ~20 minutes
15 med ball cleans (20lbs/14)
15 handstand push ups
400m run
--
Thursday, April 29
I coached this one in the morning, and then came back to WOD with the group that night. I'm glad I did, because the press turned out better than I expected. Plus I shared a bar with 2 dudes, and went heavier than one of them -- it's the little things that make my inner feminist happy. :-D
PressMy first 95 went up s-l-o-w-l-y and it was ugly, but I got that bitch locked the fuck out. Booyeah! PR by 10 pounds, hollah! My second attempt at 95 unfortunately did not go anywhere -- guess I only had one in me. But I'm happy because my old PR of 85, and also 90, both went up nicely, very solid. I am convinced doing unscaled pullups is what is making all the difference in my overhead strength. There's some kind of synergy there, where gains in each area helps move the other along.
1-1-1-1-1-1-1
75-85-90-95-95m-85-75
Then it was metcon time.
Complete the following for time:Results: 19:45 total time; 4:14 row
1000m row
40 kettlebell swings (24k/16)
25 pull ups
20 kettlebell swings
15 pull ups
That is a sad 1k row time, geesh. But oh well, at least I have a bench mark now -- I didn't have a 1k time written down anywhere.
My pullups in this WOD were so damn ugly, like I said at the beginning of this post. I tore the shit out of my hands with going on and off the bar so damn much doing singles. ARGH! I wanted to punch a hole in the wall I was so angry and frustrated. This was supposed to be a metcon, not some kind of grind-it-out-WOD. Good lord... I just have to keep telling myself that this is what happens when you eat shit, gain weight and take a week off and do nothing.
Not to mention that what I ate on Thursday before the WOD was ridiculous and totally uncalled for... But bad food choices are a topic for another post another day...
--
Friday, April 30
Coached at 0630, then a fellow trainer who was hanging around offered for me to do the WOD at 0830 while he coached. No problemo, I needed a kick in the ass to get my workout in today.
5 rounds for time of:Results: 10:04
7 front squats* (155lbs/95)
150m run
*wt will come from the ground
I could've done this one faster, but overall I was OK with how I did. Did all sets of squats unbroken, though I did take time to rest between the runs and squats to make sure I had enough juice to pump out all the sqauts.
--
And that brings us to today, how nice. Time to go through and put a shit ton of labels on this post and publish it...
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Quiet Wednesday AM in the box
Usually Wednesday mornings are crazy since we don't have any classes in the evening, but things were really quiet today.
I need to get to the salon for a pedicure (getting ready for my anniversary weekend!), so here's a quick recap of what I did today.
Strength:
Metcon:
Highlight for today -- I did 6 or 7 double unders in a row. Maybe I finally watched enough videos? Maybe it was practicing in my parents' basement between the rafters? Whatever it was, THANK GOD I can do double unders now. Currently my goal is to do 10 in a row -- I may need to update that if I continue to rock the consecutive double unders...
Now we wait in suspense to find out what my next frustrating movement will be... Knees to elbows is certainly still on that list. Maybe wall balls...
I need to get to the salon for a pedicure (getting ready for my anniversary weekend!), so here's a quick recap of what I did today.
Strength:
front squat
20-1-15-1-10-1
65-115-65-120-70-125
Metcon:
21-15-9
double unders
med ball cleans (20/14)
ab mat situps
Results: 7:17--
Highlight for today -- I did 6 or 7 double unders in a row. Maybe I finally watched enough videos? Maybe it was practicing in my parents' basement between the rafters? Whatever it was, THANK GOD I can do double unders now. Currently my goal is to do 10 in a row -- I may need to update that if I continue to rock the consecutive double unders...
Now we wait in suspense to find out what my next frustrating movement will be... Knees to elbows is certainly still on that list. Maybe wall balls...
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Bear-ish complex in da Burgh
Had an awesome time at CrossFit Pittsburgh this morning. I felt so nostalgic driving around my hometown, and then it was a crazy juxtaposition to go do some CrossFit. Fun times. :)
We did a bear complex kinda thing, with good mornings added at the end. Jenn said it was the CF Football version of the bear. Honestly, the good mornings freaked me out because I've only ever done them with PVC. So I started with a much lower weight - an empty women's bar -- than I would've without that added on.
WOD:
So, not only did I go light, I went really, really SLOW. Disappointing. I know I need to go easy on myself when I haven't done a movement before... But I've been wanting to try the bear complex for a while, so it's a bit of a letdown to have done it with such a light load.
I'll get some next time - heavy, hard and fast. :)
After the WOD we went through a fun little cool down with Jenn. Three static holds per round: handstand, wall sit and plank. 1st round - 30 seconds on, 30 seconds off; 2nd round - 1 minute on, 1 minute off; 3rd round - 30 seconds on, 30 seconds off. It was great! That is exactly what I need to do on my own to develop my handstands, and getting comfy upside down.
--
CrossFit Pittsburgh has a great vibe -- I really liked the space they're in (cool climbing hold on one wall!), and I met the owners Jenn and Mike and two other trainers and several members and they were all super-friendly and welcoming.
No group warmup -- this is the first box outside of CF Camden that I've been to that doesn't do the group warmup. I agree with the concept that Mike explained that each person has their own preferred way to warm up... but I also agree with Bryan from Ultimate that sometimes people don't do the best job getting warmed up on their own... Maybe the best strategy is to just go class-by-class, or person by person. Group warm ups for the less experienced, self-directed warm ups for the more experienced.
For some reason I was loving their pull-up bars. The width or the height maybe? I asked, and they're 1 1/2 inches wide. I just felt super stable in my grip -- that's the best way I can describe it. The height was just slightly above my reach, which I love love love love love.
Good news for the day -- I did 2 kips in a row that took me the whole way up over the bar, instead of my usual "most of the way there, then PUUUULLL" style. Woot! Progress!
One more note on their pull-up setup -- they have two bars setup at the height needed to do jumping pull-ups. What a great idea. Jenn explained that for beginners, it's so much easier for them to do the kip-jump from the floor. I totally agree, because I've seen how learning to do pull-ups and also standing on a box that you're afraid you might miss coming back down can complicate the learning process. And she made the point that Filthy Fifty calls for jumping pull-ups, and they're good for that too.
That's a perfect example of why I love my CrossFit fieldtrips -- those cool little adaptations that each affiliate discovers.
Next trip home I will definitely be back in the box for another WOD. For sure! And I will probably be hitting up Jenn with more training questions too. :)
We did a bear complex kinda thing, with good mornings added at the end. Jenn said it was the CF Football version of the bear. Honestly, the good mornings freaked me out because I've only ever done them with PVC. So I started with a much lower weight - an empty women's bar -- than I would've without that added on.
WOD:
Complete 4 rounds of:Results: 17:11 -- 33-43-48-53
Complete the cycle 7 times per round:
Power Clean
Front Squat
Push Press
Back Squat
Good Morning
So, not only did I go light, I went really, really SLOW. Disappointing. I know I need to go easy on myself when I haven't done a movement before... But I've been wanting to try the bear complex for a while, so it's a bit of a letdown to have done it with such a light load.
I'll get some next time - heavy, hard and fast. :)
After the WOD we went through a fun little cool down with Jenn. Three static holds per round: handstand, wall sit and plank. 1st round - 30 seconds on, 30 seconds off; 2nd round - 1 minute on, 1 minute off; 3rd round - 30 seconds on, 30 seconds off. It was great! That is exactly what I need to do on my own to develop my handstands, and getting comfy upside down.
--
CrossFit Pittsburgh has a great vibe -- I really liked the space they're in (cool climbing hold on one wall!), and I met the owners Jenn and Mike and two other trainers and several members and they were all super-friendly and welcoming.
No group warmup -- this is the first box outside of CF Camden that I've been to that doesn't do the group warmup. I agree with the concept that Mike explained that each person has their own preferred way to warm up... but I also agree with Bryan from Ultimate that sometimes people don't do the best job getting warmed up on their own... Maybe the best strategy is to just go class-by-class, or person by person. Group warm ups for the less experienced, self-directed warm ups for the more experienced.
For some reason I was loving their pull-up bars. The width or the height maybe? I asked, and they're 1 1/2 inches wide. I just felt super stable in my grip -- that's the best way I can describe it. The height was just slightly above my reach, which I love love love love love.
Good news for the day -- I did 2 kips in a row that took me the whole way up over the bar, instead of my usual "most of the way there, then PUUUULLL" style. Woot! Progress!
One more note on their pull-up setup -- they have two bars setup at the height needed to do jumping pull-ups. What a great idea. Jenn explained that for beginners, it's so much easier for them to do the kip-jump from the floor. I totally agree, because I've seen how learning to do pull-ups and also standing on a box that you're afraid you might miss coming back down can complicate the learning process. And she made the point that Filthy Fifty calls for jumping pull-ups, and they're good for that too.
That's a perfect example of why I love my CrossFit fieldtrips -- those cool little adaptations that each affiliate discovers.
Next trip home I will definitely be back in the box for another WOD. For sure! And I will probably be hitting up Jenn with more training questions too. :)
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
Working on front squats
Strength
Metcon: 3 rounds for time.
Front squat: 8-8-6-6-4-4
Results: 85-95-100-100-100-100
Metcon: 3 rounds for time.
- 15 box jumps (20'')
- 7 handstand push ups
- 5 burpees
Results: 6:29 (feet over barbell for HSPU)
--
Considering how much crappy food I've eaten in the last 2-3 days, I'm not surprised I dumped 105 on my first set of 6, and then just stuck with 100 for the rest of the strength stuff. It just wasn't my day. I also forgot to take off my shoes, and my knee was feeling a little "tweaky" after the first 3 sets. Better once I went barefoot.
Metcon was meh. Was nice to do only 5 burpees, after that other brutal workout with back squats and burpees.
Did some frogstand/headstand work, and some kipping pullups after my GHD situps and stretching. Kips are coming along. When I'm not feeling that "middle of a WOD" intensity, that seems to be when I can't quite kip my chin all the way up to the bar. I ended up doing a few half-kip and half-deadhang, and some dead hangs with the white band.
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Running with balls
Yeah, the workout today looked as goofy as that title sounds.
WOD: For time.
3 rounds:
- 400m run with med ball (20/14lb)
- 20 overhead squats (95/65)
Results: 17:??
I substituted front squats for the OHS, and did 75# to try to make it "fair". I think the substitution was pretty good because I finished just 20 or 30 seconds faster than the two people who work out at 630, and that's typical.
The mood in the gym today was just very "eh". No one was encouraging anyone else, several people had iPods and headphones. And that just made me feel really grrrrrrrrrrrrr. I am in love with the community aspect of CrossFit, and crave that experience at our gym. It just isn't there on some days.
I worked on my frog stand and head stand after the workout. Then two people were doing hand stands and hand stand pushups after I cleared out from the mat. And that pissed me off because I'm not there with that skill yet. ARGHHHHHH!!! Yet another goal -- stop comparing yourself to others so much!
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