Catch up post

Still rocking the paleo!

The weekend was spent flitting back and forth between Potomac CrossFit and the Games Twitter accounts, the Games blog and OPT's blog to get updates on the Games. Pity about my awesome girl crush Joy Nguyen who busted herself up in the wicked evil run that started out the games and she DNF'd. I guess she will stay a mystery until next year when she will kill it. In other news CrossFit Calgary totally dominated and did awesome. Hopefully, next year, some Regina peeps will be joining them (working on it!).

Saturday was Happy Fun Ball at the park. It was happy. It was fun. It involved hucking medicine balls and sprinting! What's not to enjoy. I even scored a goal!

Sunday was a dissapointing 5k run. I was almost a minute slower than last week at 26:37. In my defense, I was feeling all kinds of bodily destruction from the 84 135lb front squats from Friday. Excuses, excuses...

Today was GREAT! We did WOD 5 from the 2009 CrossFit Games. I don't know how great it would have been after five other WODS, though! My time was 22:10. I was okay with it. After was strength club. I'm still on back squat detention, doing my 3x5's @165lbs until my left knee learns to behave and stops trying to wobble. It was better tonight but I still think I'll stay there over my holidays and start building back up when I get back. Bench was 3x5@88lbs and felt reasonable. Power cleans were funky at 3x3@105lbs. I wasn't agressively getting under the bar. I need to start doing them every week again or else I risk losing them. Squat cleans, however are just fine as I PR'd at 125lbs just a week ago. D'oh!

That's one I'll be fine with never repeating

Well, that was fun... okay, not really. I was happy that I met my goals of sub 30 and not having to scale back the weight but it was not a workout that I enjoyed.

21-18-15-12-9-6-3 of 135lb front squats and GHD sit ups

As rx'd - 27:09

This morning's Oly club was kind of a bit of a gong show. I've been all "oh, wow, I'm feeling so good, it's like I'm working out in someone else's body". Ha! Today, I got a lovely 55lb reminder to the head that I'm still me. Yeah, on one of the snatch balance attempts, I dropped under the bar, didn't lock out and konked myself in the bean with a loaded bar. All class, baby! The rest of it went well but I was swinging the bar out a bit on the 3 position snatch work. It went as follows:

- 3 position snatch (hang, knee and from the floor @ 60% x 4 - used 45lbs
- snatch balance @ 45, 55, 65lbs (this is where I started push pressing the weight instead of dropping under so that's my max)
- Romanian Deadlifts 3x 10 @ 45, 65 and 95lbs

The paleo thing continues to go well. It looks like my Team Asylum buddy Amy is joining in as of today and perhaps Telle when she's back from her powerlifting meet this weekend. Yay!

Badger, Badger, Badger, Badger

LOVED this WOD.

3 rounds for time:
30 95/65lb squat cleans
30 PLUs
800m run

As rx'd in 34:33. There's got to be something to this strict paleo business. This is the second HERO WOD in a row where I've had the fastest time for women in the gym (well, until Leah does this one Saturday, anyways!). I'm getting better times than people I usually am trailing after. Craziness!

Randy

Randy is 75 power snatches for time (75lbs for guys, 55lbs for women). LOVED this WOD. As rx'd in 6:32. FUN! Then, it was a lot of HSPU negatives. These, as well as more than one ring dip, are my big goals over the next couple of months.

30 days of strict paleo continue to go well. Off to go cook up some pork tenderloin with roasted tomatoes. Mmmm.

PR Party With Pam

5x1 Shoulder press tonight and finally broke out of the 70's and into the 80's. Managed 83lbs and failed two attempts at 85lbs. Was pretty pleased, though, as 78 is my old 1RM. Pam got 92lbs! Huge leap for her!

After was 21-18-15-12-9-6-3 of 16lb wall ball and DUs. I need to keep working on the 16lb ball because I SUCK at it. 10:45. After was strength club.

3x5 @165lb squats - knee still wanting to track in so I have to stay at that weight again next week. Boo-urns to having to use a reduced load but it is for the best.

2x5 deadlift @ 210lbs - LOVED this and again used hook grip. Have missed doing heavy deads

2x5 each arm TGU @25lbs. These didn't feel as out of control as the first time so I think I can start sneaking up the weight.

In all, a great CrossFit day. Tomorrow we tackle Randy!

10K Run and Almond Butter Lust

Almond butter is heaven on a spoon. It is going to single-handedly get me through these 30 days. I really, really feel for people with nut alergies. I've got to go put it back in the cupboard as Kurt is kind of policing nut butter consumption as that **** is pricy.

First 10k of the year at 59:54.

Found this on the onion and I enjoyed it:

Health Club Employee Stops Going to Work after Two Weeks

Tabata This

4 minute rounds of 20 seconds work, 10 seconds rest of pull ups, push ups, sit ups and squats. As rx'd:336 reps. I was hoping to beat Flood but it wasn't in the cards. After was 50 wall balls for time. Got roped into using the 16lb ball and my time was fairly deplorable at just shy of 6 minutes.

Afterwards, it was out to Earls and I stayed 100 percent strict paleo with a big ass spinach salad topped with prawns, scallops, strawberries, avocado and almonds. It was delish! I didn't even really miss the goat cheese I had them leave off my order.

Also, I just want my Joy Nguyen crush on the record before she goes and kicks some serious ass at the CrossFit Games, places all super high and stuff and then EVERYONE gets a girl crush on her. She was very down to earth at Qualifiers and you can tell she really gave each WOD all she had. It was inspiring to see someone perform at that level.

Nicole and 1RM at Oly Club

Nicole as rx'd: 7 rounds, 53 PLUs

Last time I did that WOD was in September (my second month at CrossFit Regina). I managed 5 rounds and 16 PLUs with the green band with that attempt. Heh! After was 1RM snatch and clean and jerks at oly club. We were being quite sticky about what constituted a lift (arms must be locked out overhead when recieving the bar in the snatch, etc) so that definitely impacted how much weight I could handle.

1RM Snatch: 75lbs (ugh)
1RM Clean and Jerk: 115lbs (I've got 120 in me)
1RM Clean: 125lbs (PR!)

30 day strict paleo is going well.

Getting back into tracking WODs

Can't guarantee I'm going to be posting anything overly exciting, but I am going to get back into posting my WODs. It's good to keep track and if I ever lost my notebook, I'd totally be screwed.

WOD - 5k Run
Today was supposed to be a rest day but Fun Bobby and Andrea from Qualifiers were into the gym and I had to run a 5k for my online fitness team this week so... well, I suck at taking rest days. Time was 25:57. Getting closer to my goal of a sub 25min 5k.

Also, I'm hitting the reset button for the next 30 days. I've never gone a full 30 days of eating nothing but healthful vittles. I'm kind of interested to see what types of foods I might have sensitivities towards. Anyone else care to join in?

Qualifiers Angst and More Food Journaling

F5! F5! F5! F5!

This weekend's WODS are set to go up on CrossFit Calgary's site today and I'm going to crash their site if I keep my crazy refreshing habit up like this. Getting seriously angsty about it all. I just wish they'd put them up already so I can do a combination of cheer/groan/panic/lose mind/get excited, get over it and then get back to work. Am trying to keep busy with tasks that don't require a lot of thought or concentration but I'm running out of busy work to keep myself occupied. BLARG!!!

On the threat of burpees (actually, I kind of like burpees), here's my food journal from yesterday. It wasn't the best day, nutrition wise but I'll take it.

F5! Nothing.

M1
tuna
mixed fruit (peaches, grapes, melon, pineapple, strawberries) with nuts
cukes, baby tomatoes, red pepper strips

M2
tuna
spinach, baby tomatoes, radishes, red peppers, goat cheese, pecans, rasp. vinaigrette

M3
tuna
mixed fruit (peaches, grapes, melon, pineapple, strawberries) with nuts
cukes, baby tomatoes, red pepper strips

M4 (not really a meal - where was the protein and veg? It was a tasty, though)
Banana
Natty PB

M5 (PWO)
chicken breast
green beans
a couple of dried apricots

M6 (this is where things fell apart)
Natty BP
2 rice cakes
bowl of mixed fruit

Yesterday, I got to try max reps 95lb OHS. I managed 5 and then 7. I want to get good at these puppies. Will definitely be working on them when I get back. Snatches were kind of disappointing in that I'm stuck at 80lbs. I need to practice, practice, practice those puppies to get the movement stuck in my head. I panic when the weight gets up there and my form goes wankey and I end up doing some sort of weird bar hump thing with crazy hip extension and forgetting to shrug.

F5! Nothing.

The metcon after was fun. Tried to do those floor-bouncy style burpees to see if they were faster or easier. Mostly, I just managed to get the front of my shirt dirty but they might have been a smidge quicker. Hands are still healing and my pull ups were kind of goofy as I went 100 percent full on mummy from the wrist down with tape. Will be using as little tape as possible on the weekend.

F5! STILL NOTHING!

*sigh*

2:25
F5! Dang.

3:13
F5! Dang.

3:48
F5! Dang.

4:23
F5! Dang.

4:46
F5! Dang.

8:02 - Still nothing! Felt like a slacker in the gym tonight. 2 k row at 8:21.1 and them some double unders but that was it. It was kind of fun watching everyone else work their buns off. Ha!

Gym Challenge

The gym challenge for the week is to keep a food log. Since I'm leading up to Qualifiers and need to mind my p's and q's nutrition-wise, I might as well do it. These always make for exceedingly boring blog posts. Blah, blah, I ate this. Yadda yadda, too much coffee...

If you get bored, enjoy watching this random youtube video of Canadian comic Jon Lajoie with my apologies


Here goes:

Coffee, two cups? I freaking love coffee. Sweet, sweet nectar of life! And water.

M1
albacore tuna with red pepper tepanade
carrots, cukes, cherry tomatoes and red pepper strips
mixed fruit (frozen, no sugar) with macadamia nuts
water

M2
more tuna
spinach and baby romaine with cherry tomatoes, red peppers, radish, currents, pecans, goat cheese with raspberry vinaigrette
water

M3
the last of my stupid tuna (meh, I miss my chicken but, alas, I was too lazy to cook it)
carrots, cukes, cherry tomatoes and red pepper strips
mixed fruit (frozen, no sugar) with macadamia nuts
water and some more coffee

M4 (PWO and HUNGRY)
macadamia nuts
4 dried apricots

M5
3 eggs scrambled with a bit of gouda
spinach and baby romaine with cherry tomatoes
frozen mixed fruit
water

I might also have some peanut butter. Yes, I know its a lentil. Thoughts on today about the food? Well, it wasn't too, too bad. Perhaps a bit too much cheese and not enough variety with my fruits and veggies (I'm working with no functional plumbing in the kitchen - I've been kind of lazy with the cooking as of late). But, it wasn't horrid, either. I should also probably attempt some type of portion control but right now but I don't want to.

And thanks for sticking through one boring blog post. To thank you, enjoy some quality thoughts on yogurt: the official food of women!



Training is going exceptionally well and I have to say that Aaron is a programming guru. He really put together an amazing program for us to follow. I feel I've learned a lot and have improved way more than I ever would have thought. I'd definitely recommend to anyone interested in training for Qualifiers next year to go for it. You'll be in good hands!

IF shelved/Almost Cave Girl Continues

LOVE this!



Okay, so IF nearly killed me. Or, at least, IF on the same day as Helen nearly killed me. And by nearly killed me, I mean that I sucked most royally at Helen and wanted to die sometime around round two, which is sad. Sad. Sad. Sad. So, now I want to do Helen again only with not having spent a large part of the day not eating food.

I would like to note, however, that I'm not going to give up on IF completely. From all that I've read about it, it sounds like a smart plan that should work, especially considering my aversion to portion control, counting, measuring, logging or bothering with macronutrient ratios. And it works for many CrossFitters who are nine million times more awesome at CrossFit than myself - Caity Matter for one, Robb Wolf another. These are people who DON'T suck at Helen. It has to work, just not the method I chose for myself. Regardless, I am now too close to Qualifiers to continue tinkering with it, obviously incorrectly. I may make an ass out of myself in Calgary in a few weeks, but I will be the best damned ass I can be.

So, I am continuing with the almost cave-girl plan (mmm, cheese) but will be a very well-fed one.

IF Take Two: The Workday...

So, I am IFing at work today and it is a bit of a different experience from doing it on a weekend. I still feel the same way (cold, spazzy) except now I am in public and trying not to seem like an over caffeinated lunatic (not that I am over caffeinated, I am just nicely so). Attempting to put together speeches and organize media calls and whatnot is interesting when one's attention span is roughly equal to that of a bird or a small mammal. I'm having a bit of fun trying to stay on task.

I thought 10:00 a.m. would be a biotch because I always eat a nice meal at that time but it came and went and the habit of eating at a certain time didn't really affect me at all. As a bonus, I have nothing to do at lunch time so I get to blog.

Its still too soon to say what benefits paleo/IF is having on my workouts. I think the real tell will be how I do with the ramped up strength training Aaron has us doing. If I all of a sudden can't keep up with Leah, Kelly and Robin on the squats, deadlifts and shoulder press, I'm going to have to back off or change my approach with the IF despite the fact that its dropping my weight like a stone (good in theory for pull ups, push ups, ring dips, etc so long as strength stays the same or increases) and it feels good. From everything I've read, its supposed to improve times and performance instead of hinder it.

Robb Wolf just posted a compilation of a bunch of his responses on both the main site's message board and also on Performance Menu. Great stuff and definitely worth a read... Check it out! Also got an answer to my question about quinoa (while its a seed, it still has a glycemic load comparable to grains so its a no-go for paleo, however its totally the better choice over wheat). Maybe I'll use it as an occasional post workout treat as I do enjoy it.

As for my adventures in going mostly Cave-Girl, it's been going pretty well! Can't say I'm complaining one iota.

Back to Cave Girl+Cheese

So, I meandered right back to CaveGirl+cheese mode after the fast with nary a hint of unbridled cookie lust or desire to fall face first into chocolate. Instead, it was back to the healthy vittles and I felt great all day. I have to say I had lots of energy and wasn't hungry aside from when it was time to eat. Kinda cool.

I got asked by someone who's new to working out and whatnot if I count calories or just make better choices. And because I am verbose at best and annoying at worst, it got me onto the subject of baby steps. Four years ago, if you would have tossed paleo and intermittent fasting at me, I would have lost my ever lovin' mind. And right now, I have to say it's almost easy.

I see it like a rubber band. You stretch it and stretch it and stretch it but if you stretch it to hard, too fast, it snaps and hurts your finger. But, if you take it slow and gradually add pressure to the band, you can pull it pretty far without any fear of zapping yourself with it.

I would guess everyone has a slightly different rubber band. Some are stretchier and more forgiving than others. For me, I had to take my time to get to the point where I could have a high level of compliance with a program that is essentially very strict. Other people might be able to jump into it no problem. Others might do best on something like The Zone, which for me would spell disaster in about 2.5 seconds (my adventures in extreme calorie counting and macro obsession I'll save for another time). A large part of figuring it all out is trial and error and slowly finding what works best for you, not just in terms of how your body responds, but how you emotionally respond to living that way.

Enough navel gazing. Tonight's workout:

Back squats at 10x45, 5x95, 3x135 and 3x5x150
Deadlifts at 5x95, 5x 135, 5x185 (all with double overhand, didn't need snatch grip!)
Handstands - Crystal helped me out and I didn't piss myself in fear being upside down propped against a wall. PROGRESS!

Heavy MetCon
5 rounds of
5 65lb power snatches (modded down from the prescribed 95lbs)
5 55lb bell swings (yikes!)
5 burpees (yay burpees)

I was the slow poke of the bunch at 10:28. It felt freaking awesome being back in the gym. Deloading week was a bitch, mentally. I needed a CrossFit fix.

Stuff I found awesome today:
Uncle Karl, Advice Columnist
I09's Dollhouse Review
Because birth control is SO. LIKE. CRACK. Or, you know, a shiv.
If Odysseus had a Twitter account

I haven't eaten since supper. And I haven't died!

I got my start following Body for Life, which preaches the six meals a day doctrine. I also dabbled with Cosgrove's Afterburn and the Schuler/Cosgrove spectacularness that is The New Rules of Weightlifting for Women and wholeheartedly heart the awesome nutritional guidance that is Berardi's Precision Nutrition. All promote the eating every two to three hours business as well. And, you know, its SOUND advice. But, its also ingrained in me a petrifying fear of going more than a few hours without noshing down a lovely meal of lean protein, veggies, fruit and nuts.

Well, I haven't eaten since yesterday at 7:00p.m. It's now 10:00a.m. and I have not died.

I actually don't even feel bad. I kind of feel... good?

Weird!

So, the plan is to continue not eating every two to three hours until supper this evening, when I'll go back to my normal paleo+cheese eating habits.

Also, I stumbled across this the other day. BRILLIANT! Actually, her entire blog is fantastic. I've whiled away a good chunk of my weekend poking through her posts. Anyhoodle, my Fuck Off list includes coffee, goat cheese and natural peanut butter.

1:00 p.m. Feeling a wee bit peckish but otherwise okay. Kind of like I'd enjoy a handful of macadamia nuts. Filled with spaz energy akin to being a wee bit over-caffeinated.

2:00 p.m. Tummy growling. Cold. Otherwise, fine.

4:00 - Decided to break fast. Had some macadamia nuts. We're off for meat and veggies at a restaurant somewhere.

7:00 - Just got back from The Abbey. I had seared halibut and scallops on a bed of green apple, red peppers and mixed baby greens. It was fabulous and I feel great! I definitely think I will give intermittent fasting another attempt sometime this week, likely Wednesday or Thursday.

So, no IF today

I thought about the whole IF thing and think it might be a stupid plan to attempt my first fast when I am also recovering from a flu. So, I'm putting the whole IF think on hold until next week. It also gives me some time to research it a but better.

Inititially, I was thinking the plan would be 3 on 1 off, much like the WOD schedule I've been doing (and will stick with after Qualifiers) with my IF day starting after supper after my last WOD and ending with supper on my rest day. So, basically, there would be no day that I go completely without food and I will be able to have a full meal after each WOD to aid in recovery with the day I have less energy expenditure required being the day of the fast.

And then I read this:

"In fact, I’d bet that in an evolutionary perspective, exercising in a fasted state is much more natural than exercising in the presence of pre-workout shakes and BCAAs and other such things. Consider that it’s unlikely Ug was up looking for a wildebeest after just chowing down on flame-broiled emu. It’s more likely that Ug ate his emu, slept for awhile, ate some more emu perhaps, and when the food was gone and hunger struck, Ug got himself up and went back out looking for dinner."

Dude has a point. So, more research is needed.

As for what I'm already doing... Operation Mostly Cave Girl continues to go swimmingly and deloading week has been welcomed whole heartedly by my shoulders. Right now I'm sitting down to a fucking awesome salad made with spinach, organic greens, roast chicken, tomatoes, cukes, peppers, nuts, currents and goat cheese with an apple. Yumtacular! Tonight, I am going to rescue the barbeque from the snow bank and do us up some meat, veggie and fruit kebabs (I'm thinking chicken, pineapple, tomato, red pepper and mushrooms in a coconut pine apple glaze. Dang, that makes me drool just contemplating its awesomeness.

Mostly Cave Girl Day Three

So, I'm day three into my attempt at going only mostly cave girl. So far, so good. We even went out to a restaurant last night and managed to stick to the plan (bison, roasted veggies, spinach and mushrooms...mmmm). My food options are basically are if it can be hunted or fished and killed or grew up out of the ground, I will eat it. This is mixed with some nuts and seeds, which are paleo compliant and... cheese because, dang, I LOVE cheese. Yes, cheese is a "no-no" apparently because it is highly acidic. I've been sticking to just using them to add a bit more flavour (goat cheese on my salad, a tbsp of feta mixed into some spinach.

Of course, options are limited due to the lack of functional plumbing in our kitchen keeping us from really wanting to clean dishes. Oh, yeah, in addition to going to the cert, training for qualifiers and the nuttiness that is The Office, I am also gutting my basement and redoing it. Then we will be gutting and redoing our second floor with some modifications to the half story as well. So far, its meant a lot of pre-cooked shrimp rings and raw veggies and salads. I shall not emulate Kramer and shower with my pots and pans. Sorry, but no.

After this evening's supper, I am going to give intermittent fasting a shot until lunch time tomorrow. Bascially, it's only skipping three of my 5-6 meals. I'll survive. But, no, I am not giving up the dark roast in the a.m.

No idea if its going to make a significant difference in the workouts or not as of yet because, well, I'm sick with the flu and its deloading week so I've been a forced gym slacker.

Uhg, I think my basement dude is smoking. I can smell it amidst the other bad odors of old dirt, crumbled basement and dirty dishes. Despite the fact that I feel like kaka, I think I'm going to escape my sty-like hovel and make for The Office. Ya gotta love renos...

Okay, now basement dude is singing along with The Doors on the radio. The day is improving! And now he is grunting to Thunderstruck. Awesome! I don't think they know I'm home. Oh, please, please, please let him break out some falsetto screaming.

My very exciting training logs...

Well the training for the CrossFit Qualifiers is going fairly well. We're on the following schedule:
Day One - Strength Day with mini metabolic conditioning workout
Day Two - Sprint work with Skill Training
Day Three - Heavy metabolic conditioning workoug
Day Four Rest

Then we rinse and repeat it again and again until we go!

I've had one little setback. I've managed to gain 10lbs (I blame going on BCPs as I DON'T randomly gain weight anymore). Its mostly water but gravity gives a rats ass about body comp when it comes to things like pull ups. So, I'm doing negatives again like a mad fool to try and build up my strength.

Anyways, here's my training log over the past two or so weeks.

09-03-02 - Strength Day

Back Squat
45lbs x 5 reps x 2 sets
95lbs x 5 x 1
115lbs x 5 x 1
135x5x3

Shoulder Press
45lbs x 5 x 2
55lbs x 5 x 3

Deadlift
95lbs x 5 x 1
135lbs x 5 x 1
160lbs x 5 x 3

Mini met-con
4 rounds of 10 45lb bell swings and 5 20" plyo box jumps
Time was either 5:07 or 3:07 - I can't read my hand writing.

A bunch of my training partners went to a barbell certification course with Mike Rippetoe (author of Starting Strength and a big name in the strength and conditioning world). They passed on some fantastic tips on all of our lifts. Mostly just tweaks on form - like using a hook grip on the deadlift and stance on the squat.

09-03-03 - Sprint Day

8 x 200m rowing sprints on the rowing machine

Times were as follows:
1 - 45.7s, 2 - 45.3s, 3 - 45.9s, 4 - 46.2s, 5 - 46.9s, 6 - 46.8s, 7 - 46.5s, 8 - 46.3s

Afterwards, I worked on double unders and l-sits.

I was a bit slower than I would have liked as my movement disorder was acting up.

09-03-04 - Heavy Met-Con Day

Altogether, for time:
1km row

10 reps-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 of :
- 2x 15lb renegade manmakers
- 20" box jumps

Time was as rx'd: 26:12

Again, I was slower than I should have been because I was having movement disorder issues. Usually, I'm really fast at these kinds of met-cons.

09-03-05 - Rest Day!
Yay! I was stiff and sore. Also, it was really, really messed up with my movement disorder so I would have had to bail on my workout anyways as I wasn't really controlling my movements at all that day.

09-03-06 - Strength Day
I was doing a lot better Friday and was able to make my workout and I didn't have that rough of a time of it save for a bit of jazz hand action during the mini met-con after.

Back Squat
45lbs x 5 reps x 1 sets
95lbs x 5 x 1
120lbs x 3 x 1
140lbs x 5 x 3

Bench Press
45lbs x 5 x 1
65lbs x 5 x 1
80lbs x 5 x 3


Power Clean
65lbs x 5 x 1
75lbs x 5 x 2
100lbs x 3 x 1
75lbs x 5 x 2

Pull Up Work
0 deadhangs (D'oh!)
3 negative pull ups (overhand grip)
2 negative pull ups (mixed grip)

What I did was kip myself up and then very slowly lower myself down.

Mini Met-Con
3 rounds of:
10 45lb bell swings
10 long jumps
10 push ups

I forgot to record my time.

09-03-07 - Team Trevor
Our trainers opted to have us do two met-cons in a row instead of sprinting work as both were pretty awesome. This was the first of two. In a team of four, together share the work to complete the following:
300 pull ups
400 push ups
500 sit ups
600 air squats

I was able to string together 5 kipped pull ups in a row, then it all kind of went down hill. I ended up on the band to save my hands. Push ups were awesome. I was able to do 21 in a row, then went down to 17, then knocked the rest out in sets of 10. For sit ups, I started with 40 in a row, dropped to 30 in a row for 3 sets, then dropped down to 20 per set for the rest. For squats, I did 70 a row, then 50, then dropped to sets of 30's. This was a super fun workout but wow, I was pretty stiff and sore after!

09-03-08 300 Make-up

I finally got to try the 300 workout. This one is awesome - my new favourite for sure! It goes as follows:
25 pull ups
50 95lb deadlifts
50 push ups
50 24" box jumps
50 95lb floor wipers (brutally fantastic!)
50 25lb dumbbell clean and press
25 pull ups

Here's a video demo:



I started with regular pull ups but switched to a 25lb resistance band to help with the load when my hand started to bleed so I could keep going. Otherwise, I did this workout as rx'd. My time was 36:06. I LOVED the floor wipers. Those things are CRAZY!

09-03-09 - Rest Day
So, so happy for rest day. Every part of me was hurting in some very good ways.

09-03-10 - Strength Day

Back Squat
45lbs x 5 reps x 2 sets
95lbs x 5 x 1
125lbs x 5 x 1
145x5x3

Shoulder Press
45lbs x 5 x 2
58lbs x 5 x 3

Deadlift
95lbs x 5 x 1
135lbs x 5 x 1
155lbs x 3 x 1
175lbs x 5 x 3

I also did 10 negative pull ups where I kipped up and then slowly lowered myself as I again could not get any deadhang pull ups.

I finished with one of my faves: Bottom to Bottom Tabata Squats! Here's one you can try at home!



I managed 120, which is 30 more than the last time!

09-03-11 Sprint Day

1000m row
75 burpees
100 double unders

I finished this workout in 20 minutes on the nose. Funny how I was hoping for 20 minutes on it.

09-03-12 - Heavy Met-Con

As many rounds as possible of:

12 30lb one armed dumbbell snatch (no video - sorry!)
12 pull ups
12 20" box jumps

I used the 25lb resistance band for the pull ups on the workout but the proper weight for the snatches. This one was fun! I managed 5 rounds plus 12 snatches plus four pull ups.

09-03-13 - Rest Day

I actually felt pretty good this day. But I rested as per my trainers orders anyways!

09-03-14 - Strength Day

Back Squat
45lbs x 5 reps x 1 sets
95lbs x 5 x 1
145lbs x 5 x 3

Bench Press
45lbs x 10 x 1
65lbs x 5 x 1
83lbs x 5 x 3


Power Clean
65lbs x 5 x 1
85lbs x 3 x 1
80lbs x 5 x 2

Pull Up Work
0 deadhangs (D'oh!)
3 negative pull ups (overhand grip)
2 negative pull ups (mixed grip)

What I did was kip myself up and then very slowly lower myself down.

Mini met-con
2 rounds of 250m row

1st round: 54.1s
2nd round: 54.2s

Afterwards, because the weather was so nice, I came home and did a 5km run. It felt great to get back out there!

09-03-15
Again, they opted for two met cons in a row instead of a sprint day and a met con. Secretly, I think its due to our love of met cons and plain old sprints are boring!

As many rounds as possible in 30 minutes of:
10 95lb deadlifts
10 20" box jumps
10 25lb dumbbell push press

This was a great workout! I felt very strong and ended up with a score I was pretty happy with - I managed 16 rounds plus three deadlifts.

09-03-16
And this is how CrossFit humbles you. I may have had a great score the day before and, guess what, I had my butt handed to me in spectacular fashion on this workout. I easily had one of the worst scores and I didn't do full knees to elbows. They started out as knees to arm pits and kind of degraded from there. Something I need to work on, apparently.

The workout was 7 rounds with the 45lb bar of:
10 hang power snatches (no video - sorry!)
5 overhead squats
15 dreaded knees to elbows

My time was a dismal 32:38. I whined, I grunted, I made cranky faces. My hand bled. But I finished.

Also, did 150 double unders just for fun, including 27 in a row. Woo!

Anyhoodle, this weekend, I`m off to a CrossFit level one certification seminar in Calgary with a bunch of women from the gym. I`m looking forward to it - it should be interesting!

My Latest Experiment

Okay... lots of workouts to log in and my records got a bit spotty at the end of the month! But first, details on my experiment:

Every so often, I get it in my head that I’m going to try some new experiment with my body or my mindset or whatever to improve my life exponentially and achieve some sort of ridiculous and lofty ambition. This is one of those times.

Now, usually these peter out in about a week and a half but, every so often, one happens to succeed and I do something rather stupid and run a marathon or something (2001). This time around, I’ve somehow agreed to compete in the 2009 CrossFit Games Qualifiers in Calgary. Yep. I am about to get my ass handed to me in spectacular fashion. Of course, the fine folks organizing the thing are being super awesome about it and have noted that they allow for modification and the qualifiers are open to any and all people, regardless of ability to do a handstand push up (yes, someone thought it was a good idea to combine those two exercises together). Um, I am NOT one of those people.

To get myself ready for this latest challenge, I’m going to see exactly what happens when a 34 year old reformed smoker and excouch potato follows the “CrossFit in 100 Words or Less” prescription. Just how quickly can I progress? Here it goes:

"Eat meat and vegetables, nuts and seeds, some fruit, little starch and no sugar. Keep intake to levels that will support exercise but not body fat. Practice and train major lifts: Deadlift, clean, squat, presses, C&J, and snatch. Similarly, master the basics of gymnastics: pull-ups, dips, rope climb, push-ups, sit-ups, presses to handstand, pirouettes, flips, splits, and holds. Bike, run, swim, row, etc, hard and fast. Five or six days per week mix these elements in as many combinations and patterns as creativity will allow. Routine is the enemy. Keep workouts short and intense. Regularly learn and play new sports."

I’m also going to be proper and stick to the three on, one off schedule that I don’t usually follow (I usually string six or seven days in a row on followed by a couple off to heal up whatever body part is nearing horrific injury). Aaron and Robin have put together a pretty cool program for us to follow that includes one strength day, one sprint day and one heavy metabolic conditioning day followed by a day of rest.

So, yeah, because nothing really happens unless you post it on the internets, I’m going to blog this little experiment to see how I do with my workouts and if following the core basics of the program really improves my fitness levels quickly.

Today’s my first strength day and we’re doing the back squat, deadlift and shoulderpress followed by a short met con.

Ps. I want some fucking sugar. Arg! Sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar!

P.p.s. I'm super excited for my first actual workout in Lucy, the new gym. Yay!

P.p.p.s. SUGAR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Update! My lifts were as follows:
Back squat:
45lbs x 5 x 2
95lbs x 5
115lbs x 5
135lbs x 5 x 3

Shoulder Press
45lbs x 5 x 2
55lbs x 5 x 3

Dead Lift
95lbs x 5
135 x 5
160lbs x 5 x 3

The mini workout after was 4 rounds of 10 45lb bell swings and 5 20" box jumps. Kelly and I finished together at 3:07, with Chrystal and Robin finishing just ahead of us.

My nutrition was also spot on today. I've let way too many treats sneak in lately and, wow, I had some fun with sugar withdrawl. I was CRAVING. Oh well. It only lasts a couple of days and then it goes away and I was already rewarded. I gotta say, the better your nutrition, the more awesome your workout.

Anyhoodle, I have assloads of workouts over the past few weeks to put in here...

09-02-17
2km row
2 minute rest

3 rounds of:
30 sit ups
30 35lb good mornings

I opted to uber rx this one and used 45lbs on the good mornings and then I finished with another 2km row. My times were as follows:
8:24 (row 1)
7:45 (sit ups and good mornings)
8:52 (row 2)

09-02-18
Push Press
3-3-3-3-3

65lbs. 75lbs, 85lbs, 95lbs, 105 x 1, 100lbs

I also practiced my L-sit (crazy core exercise) as well as double unders (skipping).

09-02-19
10 rounds of:
10 135lb deadlifts
10 Knees to Elbows (okay I am linking to these because they're crazy)

But wait! After the 100 deadlifts and 100 knees to elbows, there's more!

Rest 2 minutes then 2km row.

My times were 28:52 and 9:01 on the row. I am not good at knees to elbows and need to work on them. This is one of those workouts that made me love CrossFit even more. Completely evil workout and I was trashed after but, wow, it sure makes you feel like a rock star!

09-02-20

Cindy on Steroids
I LOVE the workout Cindy. This had a few more reps!

As many rounds as possible of:
15 pull ups
30 push ups
45 squats

I managed 3 rounds + 15+14. I had to switch to the 50lb resistance band half way on the pull ups since I'm switching my grip from an incorrect full-palm grip on the bar to the proper finger grip and I was losing a lot of skin on my fingers as I don't have a good callous built up on them yet. A bit less of a load helped my get through it. I'm happy to report that I'm off the band again and back doing proper pull ups. It just took a couple of weeks to get the grip issues resolved to some degree. Its still something I need to focus on, though.

09-02-22
Jeff's Modified Jim Jones Unworthy Workout

Jim Jone's trained the guys from the movie 300. If you are unfamiliar with his work, may I present to you King Leonitus of Sparta. Feel free to drool a bit on your keyboard:

Here is a mash up of two different workouts that they did to look like that in the movie. I'm linking to these, too. Manmakers are KRAZEE. Go do some!

Squats 80-40-20-40-80
35lb Kettlebell Swings 40-20-10-20-40
2 x 15lb Renegade Man-Makers 20-10-5-10-20

You do it as a circuit so 80 squats, 40 kbell swings, 20 manmakers, 40 squats, 20 bell swings, 10 manmakers, 20 squats.... etc until you're done.

My time was 41 minutes and change. I didn't write it down (boo!) but I was faster than Shannon but slower than Brad and both of them handily (unlike me) posted their results on the message board.

09-02-24
Christine - another benchmark workout (they're named after girls). Christine is a great workout that really tries your lower body strength and endurance by just shredding you up. She's one of my faves! The last time I did Christine was on December 26th and I got 17:02. This time, the goal was to break 15mintes and I did with a time of 14:45. Woo hoo!

The workout is as follows:
3 rounds of:
500 meter row
12 body weight deadlifts (145lbs for me)
21 20" box jumps

I was especially happy with my time as I also managed to fall off of the box into our trainer, Chris, and the GHD machine. Gouged my leg up but kept on going.

09-02-25
Burpees on the minute and practice with power cleans and shoulder presses!

On the minute workouts go as follows, minute one, one burpee, minute two, two burpees, minute three, three burpees... continue until you can't do the required number of burpees in the minute alloted. I managed 11 minutes plus 10 (so close!). I then practiced my power cleans and shoulder press and learned some great techniques from Robin, the gym owner, who'd just got back from a training course with Mark Rippetoe.

09-02-26
As many rounds as possible of:
10 pull ups
15 burpees
20 15lbx2 dumbbell push press

I managed 4 rounds + 10+11. I stayed off the band the entire time for the pull ups and stuck exclusively with the finger grip but, wow, I managed to mangle my poor fingers. Blister city! Good workout, though!

09-02-28
Last workout at our old CrossFit Regina facility that was lovingly referred to as Betty. I met up with a couple of the trainers who're also going to qualifiers for some strength work. I tackled 3 x 5 back squats and picked up a few great pointers from both Ang and Robin. It was great. Then came the workout. For time, as a team, carry all of the gym equipment from Betty to Lucy, the new gym a block away.

Here are some highlights!

It was fun! We got everything moved over in under an hour! Also, can I just say this is one of the things I love about CrossFit - the community aspect. Seriously, how much fun is it that we physically moved the gym together as a big team.

09-03-01
Outdoor Carry, Run and Press

Um, you know how I said I am refusing to run outside until it warms up? Yeah, well, scratch that because Lucy has no plumbing so they ran the workout outside.

It goes as follows: With a -30C windchill:

3 rounds for time:
400 m run with 45lb salt bag or 20lb medicine ball
400 m run without bag or ball
10 Clean & Press with bag or ball

I started with the bag but it broke open half way through so I had to switch to the ball. I preferred the bag, honestly, as it was a bit easier to run with. I didn't have my book with me so I didn't write down my time but it was 21:something, if I remember correctly.

And, I already noted today's workout! I guess I'm done and all caught up.

CrossFit Convert

As a quick update, in August Jim posted some YouTube videos of CrossFit workouts that looked like hella fun. About the same time, Carol did up a Team Asylum (my online fitness team peeps at Tracker) team thread about trying new things and not being a chicken shit. So, I decided to give CrossFit a try and, luckily, a box had just opened up in Regina in May. Signed up for Foundations and gave my first workout a try (it was 1000 Islands) and have been hooked ever since.

I've been blogging my workouts over on Fitcysters and I'm going to drag them all over here so I have my info all in one place... It'll take me a while as I've blogged every workout from late September 08 to Feb 09 and I go five days a week.

September 25, 2008 - Hey Runners - Try this one!
Wow, just, wow. My hamstrings are toasted. My hip flexors are done. The runs reminded me of nightmares I used to have as a kid where someone is chasing you and you're running as hard as you can but you're moving sooooo very, very slowly. I'm a runner and I'm pretty fast but this workout so completely exhausted the muscles I use to run so I ended up barely able to do the measly 800 meters at a pace where old people and possibly turtles and even sloths could have passed me easily. It was ridiculous. I am hoping I will be able to walk tomorrow. I LOVE CROSSFIT!

3 rounds for time:
800 meter Run
50 Good Mornings - 45/35lb
50 Situps (sit ups, not crunches)

I am very happy to say that I completed this monster is 28:20 and as Rx'd. Yes!

As for if I could do a chin up - sorta. I could do it from a 20" box but not from a dead hang. So, they're coming along. I was also able to do a static ring hold for almost 20 seconds, which is the first step to being able to do a ring dip!

As for the burpee challenge, I am short 20 today. I got half done before my workout and was able to do about seven after before I fell on the floor and couldn't get back up.

September 24, 2008 - Cleans on the Minute
Today's WOD was fabulous! I LOVE power lifts. We did power cleans on the minute. You do one power clean on the first minute, two cleans on the second minute, three cleans on the third minute, etc until you can no longer complete the required number of reps within 60 seconds. I made 11 rounds with an additional six cleans before I konked out. I used a 65 pound barbell - next time I'll go for the prescribed weight of 75 pounds for women. Finished it all up with a timed 2k run - did the first lap with the hubby and then took off on my own for the second so I was a bit slower than I'd like at 10:30. I also did my 55 burpees (from the knee) for the burpee challenge this morning before work and then threw an additional 50 (rx'd from plank) into my warm up before the workout. My knees are getting cranky so I think I'm done for the day.

For a demo of the power clean, here you go!
http://media.crossfit.com/cf-video/CrossFit_RipBBPowerCleanJump.wmv

Tomorrow, I am going to make an attempt at an unassisted chin up before my workout when I do my negatives. I think I'm pretty close. Pull ups, on the other hand, not so much. :)

September 23, 2008 - Running Burpees - First workout as Rx'd!
Today's workout was a gooder and CrossFit Regina's puke bucket was finally christened by some poor guy at the 6:00 a.m. session. Here's the workout of the day, for time:

400m run
15 burpees
200m run
12 burpees
200m run
9 burpees
200m run
12 burpees
200m run
15 burpees
400m run

I did the push up portion of the burpees from a plank position instead of from the modded knee position so I finally accomplished a workout as Rx'd. Yay! My time was 17:54. I'm feeling pretty good tonight so, once my supper settles I might try and knock a hundred or so burpees off what's left of my buy in amount (400 left of 820) for the burpee challenge.

08-09-22 - A bell, a box and a skipping rope (and 53 non modded burpees)

Oh, and a pistol squat. Woot!

Here was today's CrossFit workout.

AMRAP in 20 minutes:
(AMRAP = As Many Rounds As Possible)
10 Bell Swings -55lbs/35lbs
20 Box Jumps - 24"
30 Double-Unders

I used 30lbs for the first round and it was easy so I switched to the 35lb bell for the rest of the workout. Box jumps I modded down to a 20" box because there were only two 24" available and the class was full up so I left them for the folks who were going for the workout as Rx'd. I did 30 skips and 30 tuck ups for the double unders until I can get that skill down. Managed to make 4 rounds plus all swings, box jumps, skips and 19 tuck unders - so I was close to getting in five. Also got in 53 burpees for the challenge and I didn't have to modify the push up portion - woot! I'm getting stronger!

As for the pistol squats, which are part of the gym challenge, I was able to do them with my left leg but not my right. I thought that was pretty cool!