Bad attitude at the base gym

Something about working out at the base gym just throws me off my game... I don't know what it is.

Today I was able to do most of my stuff away from mirrors, and we were the only 2 people in the weight room area for most of the time, so it was something other than mirrors and crowds tonight...

The lack of a simple free-standing pullup bar and a few boxes to step on is one big frustration. Having to jump up to grab the two-handle grip thingy on a cable-crossover machine/rack to do knees to elbows was very fucking annoying.

And as I was struggling to do them, after feeling like I was really getting better at them on Tuesday in Charlotte, I just felt like a failure. I was thinking to myself how much I still suck at some of the movements that I practice.

I had some tears of frustration welling up in my eyes.

I know by now that the first thing that brings on those tears is a bad fucking attitude. A "can't do" attitude. Hate talk directed at myself.

STOP.

Instead, be aggressive. Focus. Attack. CONQUER.

Overcome.

Remember why you do this.

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Courtesy of Crossfit Ballantyne.

WOD: For time. 2 rounds.

• 20 KB Swings (1.5/1)
• 20 Knees to Elbows
• 20 Wall Balls (20/14)
• 20 Box Jumps (24"/20")
• 50 Double Unders skipped these, forgot my rope at home, the ones at the gym suck
• 250m Row

Results:  who knows, I didn't end up timing myself

Wouldn't you know that the 1 other person in the gym working out, and not playing basketball, was on the 1 available rowing machine for 30 minutes, right while I was trying to do this WOD? Seriously, it was just a bad night like that. I did a 500m row at the end instead.

Cheered myself up when it was all over by doing an awesome frog stand to hand stand in the stretching area. Booyeah. I intend to impress my family with those once I get home for Christmas. :-p

Row, row, row

WOD: Row 5000m for time.

Results:  22:38

Hollah! I thought this was a great time for me, and I was very happy with it. It's something I think I can still improve upon, but it will be a process of slowing shaving off seconds over time. I really gave this one my all. I grunted on like 80% of the pulls! hehe Hope I didn't scare away the new girl who was doing her first workout after the 3 "intro" sessions.

And she smokes their asses!

I'm in a freaking awesome mood because I totally blew away all the times on the whiteboard at the gym tonight. And I think I really motivated the 3 other ladies in there, because they did awesome too.

Great night!

WOD:

7 rounds for time.

• 12 kettle swings (24k/16)
• 9 box jumps 24"
• 100m overhead waiters walk (45lb plate/25)

Results:  23 or 24 minutes-ish. Best time on the board prior was 27-28 range, with most in the mid-30's. Woot!

This WOD definitely played up to my strengths. I love box jumps (I have since I did plyometrics for high school track) and I love kettlebell swings. And my secret time-saving weapon on the waiters walk is to jog a little bit. It makes everybody else crazy when I do that, heh. :)

Ultimate CrossFit

Today I took my second CrossFit "field trip" with a drop-in visit to Ultimate CrossFit, located in Charlotte, NC.

The facility was awesome, tons of pullup stations, barbells and plates. And they had a mural of Kool-Aid Man busting through the wall holding a kettlebell overhead with one arm. Awesome!

All the CrossFitters in attendance were totally welcoming and friendly, as were the coaches. I love a gym with a good positive attitude. I was also digging the hip-hop vibe of the music. It was the first time I got to hear one of the songs on my own CrossFit playlist in the gym -- "Tambourine", Eve.

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Strength:

Back squat 3-3-1-1

85-95-115-135-145 (did 1 extra 1rep)

WOD:

AMRAP in 15 minutes:

• 10 box jumps (24/20)
• 10 DB walking lunges (35/25 db in each hand)
• 10 knees to elbows

Results: 5 rounds

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Is it OK that I am still squee-ing a little from getting compliments on my squats? I love hearing that I am a "strong squatter". :-p

That was  PR on back squats, again. I seem to PR each time I try them. I think it's just a matter of the fact that this is only the 4th time I've done back squats. Now that I see my potential, next time I'm supposed to go heavy I will really go for it. Kind wish I would've gone for 1 rep at my body weight (155), but it's all good. My legs were plenty tired after the metcon!

Ah, the metcon. As requested, I tried to do the "quicker" version of the box jump where you jump down rather than step down. And as I kind of expected, I got a bit uncoordinated in my quest for speed, and totally smashed my shin. Doh. Oh well, it isn't really that bad, and I think it made me look like a badass. heh

Annie on a Friday

Still staying off the shoulder -- Annie seemed like a good one for that. Did it at home in my living/dining room, and scared the crap out of my dog. :)

My single-unders were kinda sucking. Maybe the differing beats of my music I had playing was messing me up? Who knows.

Annie:

For time, 50-40-30-20-10 of:

• double unders
• situps

Result: 15:29 -- subbed x5 single-unders for double-unders (i.e. 250, 200, etc)

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!

Working on deadlifts

Tonight at the gym the prescribed workout was press, push press and push jerk. Since I'd really like to get rid of this damn pain in my shoulder / back / rib, I opted to work on my deadlift instead.

Started at 95 and progressed up to 175. Started out with 5 reps, then moved down to 3. Got a PR by virtue of the fact that this is the first time I've ever worked on heavy deadlifts.

By the time I hit 175, my back was rounding, and I requested some assistance. After the coaches watched a lift, they determined I was set up too far back -- or, not far enough over the bar, if that's more clear. That was making it hard for me to engage my hamstrings.

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I definitely need to get more comfortable with this movement. I'm thinking about adding it to my long list of things I want to work on every day... frog stands, kipping pullups, overhead squats, double unders. I need to make a more structured plan of attack for my weaknesses...

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After two days of Celebrex, my shoulder is feeling much better. However, it seems to wear off overnight... so I'm not looking forward to tomorrow morning...

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Based on today's workout, my projected CrossFit Total would be 355.