Ropes and Running

Wednesday, Dec. 30;

This one is going to be short because I'm typing this update with my fingernails. My fingertips and palms are raw and all torn up. Blessed ropes! We climbed and ran today at the OT.

WOD:
3 rounds for time
3 rope climbs
50 GHD situps (1st round: subbed 75 abmat situps, 2nd & 3rd rounds: 60 abmat situps & 10 GHD situps)
800 meter run

Time: 29:55

Did I mention that my multiple layers of clothing may have slowed me down??

Getting Regionals Ready

Tuesday, Dec. 29:

The whole gym is a twitter with Regionals fever. About 10 of us have signed up for the Regionals in March. It's time to clean up the diet and increase the WOD weight. As a little hat tip to all of the preparation we're getting ready to do, we did two of the workouts that they held for last year's regionals.

WOD I:
2,000 meter row
8:59.3

This is NOT the thing you want to see the first day back from the holidays. I was slow and sluggish. Kept around 2:10 500 meter pace for the first 3:30 but then I dropped to a 2:17 and even got up to a 2:25 at one point. When we retest, I'd really like to stick below a 2:15. I think I could cut my time back exponentially.

WOD II:
3 rounds for time
10 deadlifts
50 double unders
11:08

Ugh! I got loud on this one. Felt good and bad at the same time.

The Few, The Proud

Monday, December 21;

Two days after a massive snowstorm hit the DC Metro area, the roads are still crummy, the ditches are covered with feet of brown snow and people have decided to hide out under the covers. Not Crossfit Oldtown.. not the 6am crew. No way. In fact we're so hardcore that we even had a visitor from the 6:45am class! Yeah!

Tried something new.. technique work for the first 20 minutes. Then an Interval WOD.

I have to admit that we made about 6 batches of non-zone/paleo friendly cookies while trapped inside this weekend. They taste great going down, but look terrible on the hips and thighs. Gotta pick it up to work that off this year.

Technique WOD:
Snatch 1-3 reps each minute for 10 minutes
3 reps at 75lbs = 30 snatches
I can nail these with power snatches, but I still can't pull under the bar. That's something to work on from here. Maybe get comfortable with a lighter load with the second pull. Then ramp up. Other than that, my technique with the snatches is getting stronger. I've gotten better at eliminating the hip bump (like used in KB swing). I just keep patient as that bar pulls right up my body and then I pull as it passes my hips. Nice.

Interval WOD:
4 rounds:
350 meter row
25 pushups
15 pullups
3:55 / 4:08 / 4:33 / 4:50
(I may have made these times up)
I realized now that I should have scaled this workout because I was moving SLOW here. The only thing that was moving slower than me was my math skills. Terrible.

Harold stopped in for this morning's WOD. Always good to have a visitor especially one who takes his shirt off during the WOD.. hint, hint OT boys!

That Girl Has Some Ups!

Thursday, December 17;

Nope, I'm not talking about myself. This 5'2" girl can barely get herself off of the ground. No, I'm talking about Grace. Now that girl can jump. As she informed the rest of us today, she also used to play basketball in grade school. Bet you didn't know that!

Jerry brought out the tape measure this morning. The purpose was to force us to do burpees with some air! He measured 8 inches about our stretched out finger tips, and made a mark to indicate a target we had to touch for our burpees. Ugh. Seriously!

WOD:
250 meter row
20 burpees w/ 5'10" inch target
15 back extensions
Time: 24:33

I actually stopped for about 2 minutes in the middle of this workout because I felt like I was dying on the inside. Once that stopped, it was too late for me to put up a decent time. I was still able to finish though. I'm good with that.

2 days in counting for the Hopper Re-Challenge. I hear that muscle ups are now in the mix.

Crap!

Legs, Legs & Legs

Tuesday, December 14;

This workout was a leg KILLER. God bless Jery and his psycho lab. I was in heaven this morning, despite the nasty cramp in my side and the unbelievable desire to throw up.

WOD:
15 Deadlifts - 175lb
45 Jumping lunges
400 meter run
12 Deadlifts - 175lb
36 Jumping lunges
400 meter run
9 Deadlifts - 175lb
27 Jumping lunges
400 meter run

Total: 17:27 (elite)

Going Strict

Monday, December 14;

The only thing that got me out of bed this morning.. 1 rep max strict press. I just couldn't miss it. I've hit 85lb x 2, which means I should be able to lift more than that for a 1 rep max. Unfortunately, I did 85lb without a problem and then hit a wall. I wonder if I take fewer attempts and get to 85lb more quickly, if I'd be able to get a higher number. I'm pretty sure I have a 90lb press in me.

I'd also like to flash back to over a year ago, when I was desperately pushing for an 80lb strict press. I remember Cara and Ray assuring me that I had it in me. Thanks for believing in me! Feels good to get it.

WOD:
1 rep max
85lb
90lb - failed
87lb - failed

Strength work:
2 rounds
10 ring dips
30 double unders

Back in Effect

Sorry my little blog is as well kept as a 60 year old, female divorcee. I've been drowning with work. I didn't write about the CFOT Hopper, the last First Friday or nearly dying from doing Murph. I don't think I'll go back and update. It's only forward from here.

I'll post a few PRs..
Strict Press - 2 reps @ 85lb
Jerk - 1 rep @ 125lb
Overhead Squat - 1 rep @ 120lb
Front Squat - 1 rep @ 125lb

Nothing major (except the strict press was a big one for me)

I'm back.. You'll hear more from me. I promise.

Big Enough to Sit On

Thursday, November 5;

The grammarian in me hates this blog title because of the preposition at the end of the phrase. If we were being proper it would read, "Big Enough on Which to Sit." Now that we've acknowledged that, I'd like to say that I'm not that big of an asshole. Sometimes it just feels good to end a sentence in a preposition. Sometimes it feels as good as this morning's workout.

I've finally done an Elite WOD as prescribed, and I did it with one of the moves that's been the most elusive throughout my Crossfit tenure... the Deadlift.

WOD:

3 Deadlifts 205lb

10 GHD (all the way back)

400 meter run

Total: 20:26

I'll take it. I'll also say.. damn it feels good to be a gangsta. Now that I've thrown down, it's time to get back to my day job.

Abandoned Blog

Sorry I've abandoned this thing since the Hopper. I haven't been in the gym much over the past few weeks.

Monday, Nov. 2;

WOD:
3 Snatches - 75lb
6 Lou Burpees
9 Box Jumps 24 inch

Total: 10:??

Tuesday, Nov. 3;

WOD:
3,3,3,3,3
Backsquat

145lb, failed at first rep of 155lb

That's a 20lb improvement over my last triple set, which was 125lb. I used the manta ray to get the bar on my back. I'm not quite sure how to prevent the bar from sitting askew on my back. It's just funky. Maybe a few visits with Dr. Bills will help me fix this thing?? Who knows.

Hopper Challenge: WOD III - Part II

Saturday, October 17;

The Chipper WOD:

321... Go!

30 Double unders
I start off with the double unders. I get three done and then hit the rope. I get back on it.. bang out 25 or more. Smooth and easy. Once I get in a rythmn I just tell myself to relax and keep my hands close to my hips. I trip one more time. and bang out the last two.

7 Backsquats - 85lbs
On to back squats. I had practiced getting the bar on my back before the WOD. I knew I could do it, but I'd have to be gentle. I got the bar on my backed and banged out 7 quick back squats. Dropped the bar from my back and went to the next station.

30 GHD
I flew on these. I have a strong core, and I can just go forever. Squeeze the glutes and hammies and come up.. then back down. I may have rested once for a second or so.

7 Snatches - 85lbs (fail) , 35lbs
This would be the breaking point for me.. like it was for so many other women. A 75lb pound snatch would have been manageable, but 85lbs after the morning WOD was seriously tough. Compound that with my mindset and my fear of hurting myself. I had defeated myself before I had even started. I tried once.. pulled to my chest.. failed. I tried twice.. pulled to my chest.. failed. Told the guy to scale my weight. I hated myself for doing it, but in retrospect it was a smart call.

What's funny is that I thought I could scale to 65lbs. That way I wouldn't look like such a pansy out there with a naked bar. I asked my judge where the 15lb plates were. He looked at me like I was crazy! He said, "this is it." There I was.. pissed that I had to pick up and snatch a 35lb bar. For real? I said, "fine." Like I was going to show him. Who knows what crazy thoughts I was thinking. I banged through those mini-snatches with no problem.

30 wallball
Really, wallball? Really? I won't go through the painful details, but we'll just say that I probably did about 80 wallballs here. None of them counted because I couldn't get that ball to clear the black line. You read right. In order for it to count it has to clear the line, not just touch the line. CLEAR IT! Adrienne "5 foot all up in your face" Hoar, was wishing she was about 6 foot all up in your face. This was super humbling. I didn't stop. I just kept throwing the ball up there and jumping as high as I could get. Not happening. I think I got to about 24 official wall balls that actually cleared the line. I think my poor judge took pity on me and told me to go on.

7 Jerks - 35lb
The plan was to clean the bar once and just throw that bar up there. No problem. I caught up on time here.

30 toes to bar
Same story here as the GHE. The solid core helped, and the "5 foot all up in your face" finally helped! It's easy for us short people to fly through these things. The limiting factor is your grip. I banged out 10 in a row. I was sharing my bar with this huge dude and he had been fighting through the move for a while. I told myself I was going to beat him. We were back and forth 15, 16, 17 reps. I was getting about 2 or 3 at a time. Then my thumb started freaking out. It was seriously bizarre. I actually lost control of my thumb because I had burned through my forearms so seriously. My thumb wouldn't move away from my pointer finger. Bizarre, but it wasn't going to stop me. I had three more to go, but I was afraid that I'd kick myself off the bar. I did the last few one at a time. Finally, I finished.. the big dude next to me finished one second before me.

We both collapsed next to each other. After about a minute, we helped each other up and walked out of the workout area.

My takeaway from the Hopper.. Everyone should try something like this. The point of the Hopper for most athletes is not to win. It's to push yourself to try something you don't know if you can do. The mystery of what the WOD will be adds to the anxiety. It's a test of both mental and physical strength. The key is improving your weaknesses while your in the gym and believing that you will at least try to do anything that comes your way.

In the end, the entire CFOT crew proved to be the winners. We didn't walk away with metals, but we all walked away with big smiles on our faces and people who are incredibly supportive of each other. What was so apparant was the strength of the CFOT community. From the coaches, to the athletes to the cheerleaders, we all just want the best for each other. That's exactly the kind of gym I want to be a part of. (and.. we're freaking strong!)

Can't wait for a bigger crew next time!!

Hopper Challenge: WOD III

Saturday, Oct. 17;

So, I waited a day before posting the third workout. I wanted to similate the feeling that I had waiting for my heat. It felt like for-ev-er. We all had lunch and after we ate they pulled the final WOD from the hopper. As I sat there safe and warm in my little snuggie.. I heard the three words I dreaded the most.. wall ball & snatch. Noooooooo... I can do a mean wall ball, but a mean wall ball with an 8 foot target! I knew it'd be a big struggle for me to hit the ball above that 10 foot target. I'd had trouble with it at CFOT, and it was going to be even worse here. My shoulders were beat from the morning WOD, and the other moves in the chipper would make it even more difficult. The other move.. the snatch. It couldn't have been worse. It's not that I can't snatch, because I can. I'd snatched about 75lb after surgery, but I have a long history with this move.

Here's the rest of..

WOD III:
For time.. 15 min. cut off
30 double unders
7 back squats 85lb w, 135lb m
30 GHD
7 snatches
30 wall ball 14lb w, 20lb m
7 jerks
30 toes to bar


It was two years ago (this weekend) that I went to a Olympic lifting seminar. I think I snatched so many times, that it contributed to tearing my shoulder up. It was right after that weekend that my shoulder started hurting. I don't know if this is actually what happened, but this is the story I've made up in my head. That means that every time I attempt heavy snatches it literally scares the pants off of me. It is such a huge mental block for me. I knew it would be a miracle if I could do these in this final WOD at the prescribed 85lbs. I just envision myself going to snatch the bar, and I catch it and my shoulder just pops right out of socket. Ugh, it makes me queazy just thinking about it.

I had decided to go with the scaled weight, which I assumed was 65lbs. I knew I didn't want to hurt myself and thought 85lbs was too heavy. I was fine with that until Jerry called me over. He knew I could do it. We went back and worked on my snatch. I pulled 45lb no problem, 65lb no problem, then put the 85lb on. I pulled, dove under the bar, caught it, stood up. Solid! That was the first time I had snatched 85lb in years. I did it one more time for practice. It was a little wobbly, but I hit it. Decided. I was doing the final WOD RX.


Then.. I had 2 hours to weight. Two hours to psych myself out. Two hours to think about the transition from snatch to wall ball. Over and over again in my head.. snatch.. wall ball.. snatch.. wall ball. I was defeating myself before I even began. My fear and some self doubt just took over. I knew if I could hit the WOD as RX I'd make it in the top 20, because so many women were scaling this thing. Then it was my turn..

4:20pm
I was going with some bruisers. This huge, tall guy was next to me and I knew he'd struggle on the situps and the toes to bar. I knew what I'd struggle with too. Ugh. The CFOT crew was screaming. I was pumped. I had told my judge to get me the RX weight. There I was.. jump rope in hand and 85lbs on my bar. Go..

Hopper Challenge: WOD II

Saturday, Oct. 17;

The Mid-Atlantic Hopper Challenge

Most people were pumped when they pulled Deadlifts for the strength WOD.. a two rep max. I wasn't. Deadlifts have been my nemesis for years. There was a two year span, where I was stuck at 190lbs. Just recently I lifted 215lbs. Good for me, but I knew that wouldn't be nearly enough to compete with some of the other women at the Hopper.

The rules for the Deadlift were that you could not remove your hands from the bar once you've begun your lift. You have to fully standup, and you can't drop the bar. I did a few warmup sets at 175lb. They felt light. Then I pulled a 205lb with no problem. So, I decided to pull 215lb as my first attempt. I did that with no problem.

After talking it over with Jerry, I decided to go for 225lb. I knew I had it. That would be a 10lb PR for me. I took a few minutes to rest and then went for my pull. I pulled a clean first rep, then lowered for the touch and go. I pulled for the second rep and staggered backward a little bit. I caught my balance and straightened to full extension. I was so pumped I got this, that I dropped the bar. I didn't even realize I did it. Until my judge said, "that didn't count." Crap! My second attempt didn't even count. A PR and it didn't even count!!! I decided I'd rather get a solid 225lb on the board than attempt a 235lb and miss.

I took a few more minutes.. a few deep breaths.. got some chalk.. clapped my hands and went for it. The 225lb pulled off the ground with absolutely no problem. The touch and go happened. I pulled again. The second rep came up easily. I stood up. My judge nodded that I had hit my rep, and I lowered that bar slowly. I stepped back, put my hands up in the air, and celebrated. I was so pumped! I had hit a PR deadlift (twice). Now, 225lb is nothing compared to some of the other weight that other ladies were pulling that day, but it was a huge personal success for me. I'll take it.

By the end of my first two WODs, I was ranked 30th out of about 60 women. I wasn't thrilled with this, but I was satisfied. I had finished both of my WODs, and I had given it all I had. Lunch time!

Hopper Challenge: The Setup & WOD I

Saturday, Oct. 17;

Mid-Atlantic Region Hopper Challenge

It rained all day long.. some times it was a heavy rain, but mostly just drizzle through the day. It was cold too, but CFOT was in super high spirits! We had been getting mentally and physically prepared for this thing for months now. We had been posting back and forth about what we'd bring, what we'd eat and how to manage our nerves. Really, for a Hopper challenge the best way to prepare is hitting every WOD hard and trying to fight through your weaknesses. Oh.. and you have to eat clean. Weeks of clean eating.. because it's always easier to move your body weight when you're lighter. Right?!

Anyway, we were ready. At least as ready as we were going to be.

The setup for the day was... Two WODs in the morning. One was a strength WOD and the other was a mono, couplet or triplet. During lunch the scores would be tabulated and that would determine your heat time for the final WOD.. a chipper.

WOD I: A Triplet

21, 15, 9

OHS, Bastards (a burpee with a lateral jump over the barbell), and Pushups

(65lb w, 95lb m)

Danya and Alyssa were in the first heat. A tough deal, because they were like the guinea pigs. Everyone could watch them and see what the judges were letting people get away with. Unfortunately, they didn't get that luxury.. thus the flawless form on all movements.

Blain and I were set to go at 9:40am. Like always.. numbers and time confuse me, so I was sticking to Blain like glue. I didn't want to miss my heat. Blain was at the front of my row, and I was all the way in the back. Directly in front of me was Steve O. from Crossfit DC.. an old friend, who is a beast! My goal was to try to keep up with him.

They said go, and I was off. I cleaned the bar, got it overhead and started squatting. OHS are an easy movement for me. Especially at 65lbs. I just needed to worry about my squat depth and shoulder fatigue. I did all 21 without putting the bar down. I dropped the bar and went for my Bastards, but my judge said I had only done 19. I had to pick the bar up and do two again. I could feel the shoulder fatigue setting in, but I was going to fight through this one. 21 bastards and 21 pushups. The bastards are fine, but they burn your legs. The judges were pretty lax on the form in the bastard pushup, so I was basically collapsing my legs and doing pushups from my thighs. The pushups were rough too.. the shoulder fatigue is unbelievable. I pieced 10 together off the bat, but then I had to break the pushups down into sets of 3 and 2. Definitely humbling!

On to 15.. I banged out 8 OHS, put the bar down and then did 7 more. Should have just done them all at one go, but I was concerned with the fatigue. I tried not to rest too long and fight through the burn. There was one point when I wavered a little with my core strength, but I refocused, repositioned the bar and went right back at it.

My perfect pushups came into play here.. both with the bastards and the pushups. The judge was pretty strict with me and didn't count any reps of pushups where my hips and chest didn't touch at the same time. No cheating these. I had to repeat a few reps, but I'd rather that than know I did a half-assed job.

On to 9.. I cleaned and jerked the bar up and my arms were so close together. I was so exhausted that I knew I didn't have the strength to snatch the bar, and I still won't jerk the bar from behind my head. The position feels so gross on my shoulder. I should really work on this! You can see how close my hands are in this picture. There's nothing "wrong" with this, meaning the judge wasn't going to hold it against me, but it makes the squat a little more difficult. I did all 9 at a time and went to bastards. I did the first bastard and my judge told me it didn't count because I started on the wrong side of the bar. Really? So, I did that one over again. The key to the bastards is just to keep moving, and don't stand up all the way. The judges weren't looking for full hip extension. They were looking to make sure you didn't step over the bar. You had to jump it. The final 9 pushups were greuling. I was doing one at a time. Thank God Steve was laying next to me and yelling for me to push through and finish.

I finished this WOD in a very painful 11:33 seconds... as RX!

Strict Press

Tuesday, October 13;

WOD:
Strict Press
1,1,1,1,1

75lb

lesson learned... I know I can do 75lbs, so the jump from 70lb should be to 77lb. Don't wear yourself out on things you know you can do.

WOD II:
"Annie"
I didn't time this thing... but it gave me a chance to work on double unders.
50, 40, 30, 20, 10
Double unders
Situps

Meeting Pukey

Monday, September 12;

Workouts like these make me super nervous! I get the butterflies in my stomach and I get all restless right before the clock starts. Then it's go time. I guess it'll qualify as a triplet and a run. As prescribed with muscleups it'd just be a nice little couplet. I couldn't do it the "easy" way, so I'm forced into pullups and dips.

Some noteworthy progress.. I did the first round of dips without the band. It was one at a time, but I was so pumped to be moving my full body weight on the rings.

WOD:
4 rounds:
9 muscleups (subbed 9 ring dips & 9 C2B pullups)
9 Squat clean - 85lb
400 meter run

I was ahead the whole workout. I attribute this to the fact that I was subbing out muscleups for dips and pullups. It's a much easier sub. The squat cleans rocked me. I was trying to push through two at a time, but by the end it was rough.

It was also rough when I realized how close I was to losing my first place finish (this is a relative statement, because I wasn't doing as RX). I was ahead as I went out for the last run. In my head I kept telling myself to push the run. It's not a rest. I was running hard. I was almost at the turn, when I heard a little voice behind me saying, "you better push." What the F%$#? It was Emily, the mother of 5 including twins. She's a fierce competitor. I had no other choice other than to push. It turned into an all out sprint. We were running down the hill. She said, "Don't let me pass you." At that point all you can ask yourself is who wants it more. She was breathing down my neck, literally. I pushed harder, while wondering.. holy crap.. she has the breath to talk. She's not even gassed.

A few more steps and a glance at the clock. Time! I finished before her, but only by a second. Then both of us promptly leaned over and threw up! Thanks for the push Em!

Total: 21:28 (I think...???)

What's Holding Me Back?

Friday, October 9;

We're nine days away from the Hopper Challenge. That means the training at CFOT is turning into high gear. Jerry's giving our small, but fierce Hopper challenge crew a big push. In turn we should be pushing as well. If that's the case, then what is holding me back. We had a nasty little workout this morning. Short enough that it is possible to push hard, but technically difficult enough to test your abilities. Instead of flying through the workout, I went slow and steady. Probably too slow. I could probably have shaved 5 minutes off of my time. I never used to workout like this, so it makes me wonder what has changed?? I've pinpointed three different aspects.

Fear:
I think the major culprit here is fear. I am afraid to push too hard, because I don't want to hurt myself again.

Change of mindset:
I used to want to win at all costs. I'd push so hard just because I didn't want anyone else to finish before me. That was a great mindset to have, but with that mindset I also tore my shoulder apart. Is that better? I wish I could get parts of that mindset back, but I can't convince myself it's worth the injury.

Strength:
I've just lost strength that I haven't gotten back. I'm stronger than ever in certain areas, but I still have some significant weaknesses to work around. My lack of strength slows me down as well.

Any suggestions on working around these issues, or capitalizing on these in order to improve performance?

WOD:
7 Rounds
3 Deadlifts: 185lb
6 Lou Burpees (two pushups per burpee)
9 C 2 B pullups (we learned I have to do these underhanded)

Total: 21:??

Subbing out Jerks

Wednesday, October 7;

So, yesterday we did cleans, and today was Jerks. Take a look at Saturday's workout. Clean and Jerks, which left me with a nasty barbell kiss on my chest. I thought I could do the jerks without a problem. If I hold the bar above the scratched area, I can jerk without a problem. Unfortunately, when I got to 105lbs (the same weight I jerked 55 times on Saturday) the bar was just not moving. As soon as I dipped, so did the bar.. right into my chest. I like to call this failure to launch.

I'd move the bar behind my back, but even the thought of doing this makes my shoulder scream in pain. The best second option was working the strict press. I got up to 75lbs, but my upper body is just shot from Saturday. I fought hard to get the 75lb up and failed at 80lb.

Subbing out Cleans

Tuesday, October 6;

Heavy cleans in today's workout. After Saturday's killer bruiser (literally), I wasn't even going to attempt this sillyness. No cleans for me today. I subbed out cleans for heavy deadlifts. This worked well, eventhough it slowed me down. I need to work my heavy deadlifts anyway. My form took a hit after a while, because the weight is still really tough for me to move. Got a good sweat in and a nice push to finish.

WOD:
3 Deadlifts, 180lbs
5 L-sit Pullups
7 ring dips (floss)

31:??

Backsquat.. still Off Kilter

Monday, October 5;

I still can't really do backsquats. It's a little frustrating to see this move come up in the hopper. I can squat with weight on my back. Actually, this is a move that I should be very strong with. In the old days I used to squat with 160lbs or so. Since surgery I have trouble getting the bar positioned properly on my back. It's not a huge problem at 80lbs or 100lbs. Once I get past 115lbs or so, I have some problems. The bar sits at an angle on my back. On the right side I can get it below my shoulder, but on the left the bar sits right on the back of my shoulder bone. I can stand the pain for one rep, but 2 or 3 reps is really tough. Besides getting past that pain, I just can't get drive out of the bottom with the bar positioned the way it is.

I'm not quite sure how to fix this flexibility problem. I've been using PVC pipes to stretch my shoulder in that rotation, but there's just not enough resistance with that. Any suggestions? I'm happy to hear them.

WOD:
3, 3, 3, 3, 3
125lbs

Week in Review

I didn't post at all last week. There were a few lifts of note, but I missed two days including First Friday. I'll post some quick stats and two pictures of the week's highlights.

Saturday, October 3;

We were given the option of an interval workout or a lifting WOD. Since I missed First Friday, I went with the lifting. That in itself was not stupid, but lifting 80% of my bodyweight WAS stupid.
Here's what the WOD looked like:
For time:
Clean & Jerk Latter 10, 9, 8... 1
Chest to bar Pullup Latter 10, 9, 8... 1
Total: 43:49

I did rounds 10-4 with 104lbs. My max clean is about 122lb and my max jerk is around 115lb. It may have been smarter to have done the complete workout at 75% BW or maybe 70%. With the Hopper Challenge in my sights I wanted to push myself. By round 3 I was so smoked that I failed 3 attempts and dropped 20lbs to finish the workout. Rounds 3-1 were done at 84lbs. This workout was seriously humbling and left me with the nastiest bar hickey (it didn't help that I was wearing my necklace for the first half of the WOD.

Friday, October 2;
Rest Day (this was an unplanned rest day... two margaritas put me on my butt)

Thursday, October 1;

WOD
Strict Press
5, 5, 5, 5, 5
maxed at 70lbs.. may have been able to go heavier, but I was still sore from FGB.. and wasn't fighting for it this morning.

Wednesday, September 30;
Rest Day (planned)

Tuesday, September 29;

WOD
Deadlift
3, 3, 3, 3, 3
Did 205 for 3 PR
1 rep, two times 215 (single rep max PR)

I was stuck at 190lbs for years with this list. Something has FINALLY clicked. I am pulling big lifts (for me) here. I couldn't be more happy, and I actually enjoy doing deadlift days now.
I think I really just liked lifting a bar with 4 big wheels on it!!! Bam!

Monday, September 28;
A light day of lifting
AMRAP in 20 minutes
15 weighted situps
15 pushups
30 double unders

Total: 5 rounds

Weighted Pullups
pulled body weight plus 30lbs.. I don't know what's happened on this moove for me. I have done a BW + 35lb pull. I havent' had it in me since then. I'd like to get a 40lb pull.

Fight Gone Bad IV

Saturday, September 26;


I'm going to deem Fight Gone Bad IV a huge success for Crossfit Old Town. It's the third year we've done the workout at OT. This year we had more people show up than ever, and we raised more money for Athletes for a Cure and for the Wounded Warrior Project than ever. When all the final donations come in, I'm going to bet that as a team we raised over $20,000. In addition to the amazing amount of fundraising going on, there was also some crazy effort and some truly serious numbers put up on the board on Saturday. I was on such a high the rest of the weekend, because it's so great to be a part of such a wonderful group of people. Alright, enough sentimentality for me.

I scored 281 this year. The lowest I've ever scored, but a solid number considering the real box jumps we had to do this time. The highest CFOT scorer was Blain with a hardcore 360-something. Check the video. He's at the end.

FGB at CFOT.. there's some history here

Thursday, September 24;

This will be the third year we've done Fight Gone Bad at Crossfit Old Town. A ton of things have changed since then, but the excitement and sheer will to at least attempt to destroy this workout has not changed at all. Another thing that NEVER changes is the fall to the floor everyone does at the end of FGB. I think the best way to show the changes are through video.. I'll point out some of my favorite differences...

Year 1, FGB 2007



-Ladies Using the 45lb bar for push presses... Karen and Keturah using the 45lb bar :)
-Dumbell Thrusters instead of Wall ball
-Pullups instead of row machine
-Elise using the band to do pullups
-Box jumps on mats (I miss these so much)
-Leslie pre-pregnancy and baby, Steck had not yet joined us either
-Elizabeth pre-pregnancy and baby
-Some faces who will be with us in spirit, but are no longer with us at CFOT (they didn't die.. just have found other things to do at 6am).. Magoo, Vivek, Judd, Sarah, Ray, Robin, Melanie, Kevin
-We raised $14,400 in 2007

Year 2, FGB 2008




-Same location with some new equipment and some new faces
-Keturah had JUST had knee surgery (explains pullups and DB STRICT PRESSES)
-Sean wearing a hat while he works out
-wall ball through the ceiling
-me working out through some shoulder pain, pre-shoulder surgery
-Some faces who will be with us in spirit, but are no longer with us at CFOT.. Andrea, Lef, Alyce, Matt Komar, Yanna.. the russian ballroom dancer, where in the hell is Craig?

If you want an idea of one of the ways to game FGB, take a look at my blog post from last year. I tried two different techniques. The first year I tried setting goals for each round and meeting those goals to break 300. Last year, I just went balls to the wall. I'd say last year was a success. I scored 328. The previous year was a heart breaking 297.5.

2008 FGB Blogpost: http://theblogofadrienne.blogspot.com/2008/09/fight-gone-bad-for-real.html

So, here's a look through CFOT's history with Fight Gone Bad. We are preparing for the third edition of FGB this weekend. As of 12:30pm on September 24, CFOT has raised $13,813. Plenty of time to beat the 2007 amount raised. Get ready to get freaking pumped and wreck this workout!

Squat a Lot

Wednesday, September 23;

When I say Squat a Lot.. I don't mean that I squatted a lot. Took a glance around the room this morning and there were lots of big wheels on the bars. I couldn't seem to focus this morning. I was all over the place. Nearly hit my previous PR of 122. I tried 130, but couldn't seem to pull it out. Tomorrow.. I'll be a little more focused.

WOD:
Front Squat
1,1,1,1,1,1

120lb

WOD II:
1 mile run with the guys

If it ain't perfect, don't count it.

Thursday, September 17;

Oh, why? Pushups. Really, you get to pick your pain today. You pick the number of pushups to do, and then everytime you fail or rest you have to do a coinciding number of pullups.

The choices were:
Pushups: 150 - 120 - 90 - 60 - 30
Pullups: 15 - 12 - 9 - 6 - 3

There's no real incintive to pick 150 pushups.. other than the glory of being able to say that you did it, and getting stronger. I guess those are all the incentives we need as Crossfitters. I pick 150 pushups and go for it. It took forever, but the standard remained strong throughout. Full arm extension at the top, a strong plank, and chin and chest touch at the bottom.. EVERY TIME... 150 times... The pullups were a rest.

The workout looked like this:

Round 1: 30 pushups, 15 pullups
Round 2: 20 pushups, 15 pullups
Round 3: 15 pushups, 15 pullups
Round 4: 15 pushups, 15 pullups
Round 5: 20 pushups, 15 pullups
Round 6: 20 pushups, 15 pullups
Round 7: 20 pushups, 15 pullups
Round 8: 10 pushups, 15 pullups
Total: 30:48 (It was around this time, I'll update with WB post)

Fast and Furious

Tuesday, September 15;

I love these couplets with a run. They're super fast and they kick your butt. These are my favorite type of Crossfit workouts!

WOD:
400 meter run
20 push press - 55lb
15 high pulls - 55lb
10 pullups

Total: 14:14

Body Weight on Drugs

Monday, September 14;

Okay, it's not really on drugs.. but I couldn't come up with anything better. Weighted pullups. Hmm.. These were a challenge, because I stopped doing pullups for a month or so to heal up some pain in my left arm. I've lost some strength, which is a pain, but it also means I just have to get it back.

WOD:
Weighted Pull up:
27.5lb weight + 132lbs (body weight) = 159.5lbs of pulling power. Nice.
My previous PR was 35lb. I can get that back easy.

WODII:
AMRAP 10 minutes
5 Power Cleans - 65lbs
10 Pushups
Total: 7 rounds

Shout out to an old standbye.. and an old foe

Wednesday, September 9;

An old friend and a nasty foe all in one workout. Today brought a return of the Tabata to CFOT. One of my favorites. Tabata squats. I'd love to know what Andrea could do on these things now. A 20 total in a round of Tabata's is impressive. I bet she has about a 22 or 23 in her. Would love to see it. I aimed low today. I haven't done them in a while. My first round went to 18. Then I realized others had done 20, so I went for 19. I had seconds to spare on all of the rounds. That means I have an easy 20 in me, especially with fresh legs.

The foe.. oh, you bastard muscleups. I've been working on these things since before surgery. They remain elusive. I think that's all I'll say about them now. grrrrr...

WOD:
2 rounds of three 4 minute stations.
First station:
Tabata squats

Second station:
AMRAP muscleups (sub 5 pullups and ring dips)

Third station:
Rest and try to add up your score

Score is determined by multiplying your tabata number by your muscleup number
Round 1: 18x4 = 72
Round 2: 19x5 = 95

Push Press PR

Tuesday, September 8;

Don't know what was happening today, but I felt solid. Good form. Strong. I was dialed in. I shouldn't have been dialed in considering the beer I drank on Monday, but I was.

It was a strength workout.. push press 1 rep max.

I pushed 95 pounds. That's a PR for me. I'm pretty sure I have a 100lb push press in me. Actually, I'm completely confident. I think It may be best to eliminate the small jumps in weight and go for it while I have the umph. Next time, load the bar from 90 to 100 and do it.

Can't wait.

WOD:
Push Press
1,1,1,1,1,1
95lb - PR

The Fast and the Furious

Friday, September 4;

I needed something fast.  Very fast.  I got off of work early on Friday, which means I could squeeze in a workout before heading out for the night.  The obvious choice is Fran.  It's the quickest workout I can think of.  

The last time I did this one it took me 7:39 to complete.  I was hoping I have cut some time off of that score by now.  My pre-surgery PR on this one was 7:09.  I got in and got right to it.  Did some warming up and put the weight on the bar.  I was ready to go.  

The goal in the first round is always to get each round done without dropping the bar or getting off of the bar.  I did that just fine for the first round.  21 straight Thrusters and 21 straight pullups.  Solid.. took a few deep breaths and went back to the barbell.  Picked it up and did one rep.  I dropped the bar once in this round.  Same thing with the pullups.  Final round.  My goal was to get a sub 6 minute Fran.  I started the final round at 5:00.  Should be easy, right?  Just 18 reps to go in one minute.  I broke the final 9 reps into 3 sets of 3 and did the same with the pullups.  Missed my goal by about 30 seconds.  I said I'd be happy with a sub 7 minute Fran, and I am.  I'm also pretty sure that I can break that sub 6 minute goal as my shoulder endurance improves.

Next First Friday!

WOD:

"Fran"

21 - 15 - 9

Thrusters (65lb)

Pullups

6:36

So Fresh and So Clean, Clean

Thursday, September 3;

Today was suppossed to be a rest day, but I just couldn't stay away. I woke up at 5am, stayed in bed for a little bit, and finally realized that I was up and I should just go to the gym. I was a little late, but there.

Good thing too! We were working cleans. I've been stuck at 115lbs for ever. At some point I hit a 120lb clean, but I have no idea when I did that. Finally today, I hit a 120lb clean again. I was pumped. Hoping for a 125lb clean very soon. I think I can get it, because we haven't worked cleans in a while. Should be fun!

WOD:
Max Clean
1,1,1,1,1
120lb (this ties my PR)

Ring Dips are a Doozy

Wednesday, September 9;

Ring dips.. a lot of them! After taking some time off from the rings because of wrist pain, I tried it again today (with a little bit of help).

WOD
3 rounds of:
600 meter run
20 ring dips
20 wall balls

Total: 19:52

When Jerry tells you to do something...

Tuesday, September 1;

When Jerry tells you to do something, you better listen. Here we are... a heavy barbell day. Single rep max front squats. We're going balls to the wall here. Heavy. The ladies are front squatting over 150lbs.. shoot... the ladies are front squatting over 200lbs! It's just sick.. Check out this old front squat pic I pulled out from my personal archives in the blue room. Look at the weights. Now consider the kind of weight the women were moving around today. I'm just blown away. I can't even explain what a difference a year and some new bars, a new location, new athletes and stationary pullup bars makes.

You may be asking yourself why I titled this entry what I did. Jerry warns before we start going up in weight that we should not put bumper plates on the floor in front of the rack. We avoid this because if you have to bail out the weight, you don't want it to hit a bumper plate and bounce back into your shin/knee. Glad he mentioned it, because I didn't notice a lovely set of plates sitting right in front of the bar when I dumped my bar. The thing bounced then went right into my shin (leaving a sweet indentation) then into my knee (it's been swelling all day long). Fun times. So, lesson learned. When Jerry tells you to do something.. you better listen.

WOD:

Front Squats

1,1,1,1,1

125lb PR

1 mile run (about 8 minutes)

Back At It

Monday, August 31;



Some days you own a workout, and other days workouts own you. Today, it was the latter for me. I had to really fight through this workout. No quitting. There was a moment when I was about 1/4 of the way through this WOD. I looked at Jerry and gave him that big Cheshire cat smile.. you know the one where you know you're getting your ass kicked, but you love him for doing it to you. He gave me a Cheshire back. He knew he was kicking my ass, and he loved it! Sick! Sweet and Sick!



Two movements that really push my weaknesses. Strict L-sit pullups and strict shoulder presses. I'm really good at movements that allow me to use my body to move weight. I'm less good at using pure strength to move weight, especially when it comes to shoulder strength. On days when the workouts are really challenging, I've been ignoring the clock and working on perfect form and full range of motion. If I can't do it fast, I'm going to take my time and do it right. I always thank Elise for this lesson. She worked out with this very same attitude. Take your time... do it right. Get stronger. Then get faster. She's beast now. I figure it's a winning recipe for strength.



WOD:

21, 18, 15, 12, 9, 6, 3
L-Sit pullups
Strict Shoulder Press (65lb)


Total: 51:40

Forced Rest

Tuesday, August 25;



It's time for some forced rest. I am taking a small break from Crossfit due to a brief vacation and a request from my doctor. She has told me to rest for a week. I guess it's a request I can't quite argue against. I'm starting to really think that the "rest" thing is so important, especially when you are Crossfitting regularly. The three days on and one day off sounds like a good way to go. Admittedly, it's hard to adhere to. I hate taking the day off and then finding out that we did a movement that I love or one that I've been wanting to work but haven't in a while. Sometimes it's just something you have to do. Whether it's at the doctors request, for a little bit of vacation time or just because it's the fourth day of the week. Rest is a movement, I'm working for the next few days. Be back at CFOT next Monday!

Tackling the Snatch

Monday, August 24;

A few months ago I couldn't even do a snatch. It tweaked my shoulder like crazy! It was one of the moves that contributed to my shoulder injury way back when. I nearly cried from happiness the first time I was actually able to do the move. Monday I did the move 36 times and I did it heavy (for me it was heavy). No tears this time, but my neck and upper back are totally sore this morning!

WOD:
400 meter run
15 snatches (75lb)
15 pushups
400 meter run
12 snatches (75lb)
12 pushups
400 meter run
9 snatches (75lb)
9 pushups

Time: 26:56 (I think, waiting for the white board pic)

I was supposed to do c2b pullups. I haven't been doing pullups because of my wrist, so I subbed in pushups. This worked fine for me, but I think it was a little easier than the prescribed workout. I was thinking Crossfit Virtuosity for this one. I really worked on doing the move correctly, but as Jerry pointed out I was swinging the bar like a KB snatch instead of pulling it straight up my body and getting underneath. May need to scale back weight to perfect and get more comfortable with the pull. Sometimes the move felt really solid. Sometimes it didn't. The biggest help was the line Jerry taped at my feet. The goal was to start at the line and jump with the weight without landing in front of the line. Jump back! That helped. The snatch is certainly a work in progress.

The Clock Never Stops aka A New Wrinkle

Wednesday, August 19;

Another early morning at CFOT. This morning we did Cindy.. but different. This workout had a new wrinkle. It's actually a benchmark workout named "Chelsea". Instead of doing AMRAP in 20 minutes you do 1 round every minute for 30 minutes. Most people can get to about 10 rounds before they have to take a break or miss a round. I like this one, although it was hard for me to maintain intensity after I missed my first round.

This WOD should be done with pullups, but I'm avoiding pullups for a bit. I subbed situps for pullups.

WOD:
9 pushups
12 situps
15 squats

9 rounds on the minute (11 rounds after that)
Total: 20 rounds in thirty minutes

Max Pull and Push

Monday, August 17;

Back at CFOT this morning. Good to be back. We did the Onion Peel this morning. It's been ages since I've gotten to do this one. Felt pretty solid, and I got a (non-swinging bar) pullup PR. Happy with that one.

WOD
5 Rounds
Max Pullup - 2:30
Max Push Press - 2:30

Round One: 21 Pullup, 20 Push Press
I don't remember what the rest of my numbers were.. Maybe Jerry will post the white board. I'll update.

You Know What Today is...

Friday, August 7 (First Friday!!)

The first Friday of the month means nothing but pain at CFOT! Thought it would be fun to hit something I've never done before. I know I am strong at Overhead Squats, and Blain was doing Nancy. Perfect. A race to the finish for Nancy.

My goal was to do as few Snatches as possible. That means 5 rounds of 15 straight OHS'. Could I do it??

WOD:

"Nancy"

5 Rounds for Time

400 meter run

15 OHS (55lb)

Time: 17:22

AMENDMENT: I did not do it. :( Because I am not so good with math skills I did Nancy with only 55lbs. I miscalculated the 35lb bar. A little annoyed at myself for the miscalculation. This means the time doesn't count. No wonder I wasn't winded. Unfortunately, my shoulder is smoked. Iced it all weekend. Maybe it's a good thing I can't add??

I did it! No bar drops! Not bad for a girl with a whimpy shoulder. Finished up with Annie (Double Unders & Situps - I didn't time this one) and then a mile run with Gar. A good First Friday!

Cleaned Up

Thursday, August 6;

Usually, I'm a fan of the cleans. I love this little movement. I'm trying to back off on weight though, so I can perfect my form and then go for some higher numbers. A bodyweight clean would be awesome. I'm about 10 pounds away, so that's a very realistic goal.

WOD:
Squat Cleans
3,3,3,3,3

95lbs (technique work)

Getting my Backsquat Back

Tuesday, August 4;

The Backsquat is still one of my weaker moves. It's strange. I have a body built for this move. Strong, short legs. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to work this move very much, because it's tough for me to get my shoulder in that rotation to hold the bar. I've been stretching that rotation every morning before class. I noticed the improved flexibility today. It's far from perfect, but it's getting better. I'm happy with that. After the flexibility returns I'll be able to improve the strength. The last time we worked the backsquat, I maxed out at 3 reps of 115lb. Not very good for me. Today I improved a good bit. I hit 125lb for 5 reps, but I hit 145lb for 3 reps and 135lb for 4.

I can work with it.

WOD:
Backsquat
5,5,5,5,5

125lb

Team Competition Cuts Back on Work Productivity

Monday, August 3;

I don't know whether it's my love for the 6am or my buring desire to win that has kept me glued to FB today. It's been kind of sad. I have gotten things done at work today, but I've been so distracted. Today was the big team competition day at CFOT. We have some scary gamers in our class. Metcon murderers and just freaky strong people too.

Here's how the workout is setup. There are 5 different stations: row, Push press, Snatch, Pullup and box jump. The barbells are 45lb for women and 95lb for men. Very manageable weights. There are five rounds with five minutes of work in each round. There is one minute rest between rounds. Tally each rep (cal. on the row) for each individual station. Classes will be compared by number of reps at each station. The class that has the highest number of reps at the most stations wins the title of the Strongest Class at CFOT and bragging rights until the next competition. Not that we needed this to brag.

We've gone through 6 classes so far. 5:15am, 6am, 6:45am, 7:30am, 9am and 12:30pm. Right now, the 6am is in the lead with the high scores in two categories. We still have the 5pm, 5:45pm and 6:30pm. We'll see how the world spins later tonight!!

The mighty 6:00 am takes the day! The final scores are below:
1. 0600 w/17
2. 1745 w/20
3. 1700 w/23
4. 0515 w/24
5. 0645 w/26
6. 1230 w/28
7. 0730 w/28
8. 1830 w/28
9. 0900 w/31

Another Crazy Saturday

Saturday, August 1;

What in the heck? This one doesn't look too bad on initial glance, but at second look you realize that this thing is a freaking high rep nightmare!

WOD:

800 meter run
30 hang power cleans, 30 pullups, 30 burpees

800 meter run

20 hang power cleans, 20 pullups, 20 burpees

800 meter run

10 hang power cleans, 10 pullups, 10 burpees

Total: 34:02

Overhead Squat

Friday, July 31;

Overhead squat. I can do these things, but I can't get really heavy. The problem is pushing the bar up from my back. It's not that I don't think I can do it, but it's that I'm really afraid of doing it. I've noticed a new fear that I never had before surgery. Maybe it's that I realize I'm not unbreakable. The thought that I may dislocate or tweak my shoulder is enough to freak me out enough. If I don't have to, I don't see any real reason why I would try doing something that worries me like that.

WOD:
Max overhead squat
5,5,5,5,5
85lb (I think)

Max Front squat
3,3,3,3,3
115lb

A fine days work after a week of working out.

Doin' The Dip

Monday, August 3;

Oh, working the weakness. Thankfully, I've been doing ring dips after our WODs to try to strengthen mine. I still can't do too many without a band, but I'm getting back my old strength. It's great too! I don't have that nasty tearing feeling along the front of my shoulder. Here's to healing!

WOD:
10 ring dips (no band)
30 toes to bar
10 ring dips (floss)
30 double unders
10 ring dips (floss)
30 box jumps
10 ring dips (floss)
30 KB swings (35lb)
10 ring dips (floss)
30 burpees

Don't know my time??

A Crossfit Breakthrough

Wednesday, July 30;

A huge breakthrough today for me. Huge. I've been working on deadlifts for years. I used to think I was good at them until I came to CFOT and saw what some other women are doing. They're pretty incredible.

I had hit the ugliest 190lb deadlift before coming to Old town and hadn't hit it again until this spring. That 190lb deadlift has been my max since April or so.

I was a little bummed when I saw we were doing 3 rep deadlifts this morning. I figured it would just be another day of frustration, and I'd be stuck lifting 180lbs for 3 reps. Ugh!

Jerry gave some great cues this morning, and I think the cue to get a deeper squat and really use my leg drive really helped out. I was really ON this morning. I hit 175 without a problem and got a little timid with another 20lb jump, but some other ladies knew we could do it. I went for it. Stepped up to the 195lb bar and lifted it once, reset.. lifted it twice.., stood up then reset and lifted 195lb 3 times! That means not only did I surpass my PR.. but I did it 3 times in a row. I was so pumped!!

We made a little jump to 200 pounds. I just wanted to lift it once. I didn't even try doing it for 3 reps, which I'm regretting now. I may have been able to do it.

Then we added 2 pounds, and I ended the morning lifting session with a 202lb deadlift!! Oh the glory! I have finally broken the 200lb barbell ceiling, and I'm ready to lift some more.

Fast....

Tuesday, July 28;

Like Helen but shorter and worse...

WOD:
5 Rounds for time
300 meter run
20 elevated jumping lunges
10 pullups

Time: 9:58

Feeling Pressed

Monday, July 27;

WOD:
Max Strict Press
75lb

Max Push Press
85lb

Max Push Jerk
95lb

Should be able to go heavier. A little dissappointed in these numbers, but I'll take it.

This reminded me of a workout we did years ago. Take a 65lb bar and you can't put it down. Max out on strict press reps, then go to push press reps and max and and do the same with the push jerk. How many reps can you get without putting the bar down? I'd love to retest this!

A Chipper

Saturday, July 25;

25 Hang Power Cleans (95lb)
50 C2B pullups
75 Wallball (14lb)
100 Abmat Situps

Total: 19:58

Plenty of Perfect Pushups

Friday, July 24;

Today's workout was pushups... just pushups. Over and over again. Hips, chest & chin touch the deck and back up again. The key was that you had to buy in several times over the workout. You had the option of going to 30 pushups and stopping, 60 and stopping, 90.., 120.. and finally for the pushup proficient you could go to 150. If you did 61 pushups, you had to push onward to 90. At each stopping point you were forced to decide, "do I move on, or do I stop."

For me the decision was easy. 150 pushups. That was the only option.

Each time your pushup failed or you rested in plank position for more than 3 seconds you had to do a shuttle run. This was enough to freshen up your shoulders and go back at it.

This workout gets a thumbs up... or is it a push up??

WOD:
150 pushups
with 16 shuttle runs
broken up: 20, 10, 10, 10, 5, 5, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 10

Time: 15:53

WOD II:
a ton of walking lunges (tons)

Snatch Work

Thursday, July 23;

I'm timid with the snatch. It's how I messed up my shoulder, so I have been hesitant with going heavy on the move. I tried to go heavy for the first time today. I was pleased (not thrilled) with the progress. I think my fear and not my strength is keeping me from getting heavier.

WOD:
Heavy 1 rep max
80lb

WOD II:
3 rounds
250 meter row
20 jumping slam balls
15 box jumps

Total: did not time

Flying!

Tuesday, July 21;

I wasn't expecting to be so good at this workout. It's nice to be surprised sometimes.

WOD:
15 push presses (65lb)
300 meter row
45 Abmat Situps

Total: 20:17

Monday Mania

Monday, July 20;

It's mornings like this that make me just wonder, "why"?? Why does Cindy need to go heavy? Why?

WOD:
AMRAP 20 minutes
3 Weighted pullups (15lb)
5 Front Squats (85lb)
7 Elevated Pushups

Total: 8 rounds

OUCH!

A Sunday Reunion

Sunday, July 19;

Skipped the Saturday workout, so I decided that I'd go back to an old standard. I hit up the Exorcist stairs in Georgetown. The last time I did this workout as prescribed was with Mike Mann way back in February of 2008. Crazy! I had spent several weeks resting my shoulder. It had been feeling better. Then I did this workout and it messed the whole thing up again. It wasn't because of the workout. It was because I was all messed up. I was a little nervous going back, but I figured I had to do it some time.

Here it is:

WOD
5 Rounds
5 pullups
10 pushups
1 run up and down the stairs
then...
5 Rounds
5 K2E
10 pushups
1 run up and down the stairs

Total: 20:??

It's been a while since I've done this one, so I'm okay with the time. It should be closer to about 18 minutes. I also realized that I don't have a stop watch, so I can really only go by the minute timer. It's a good start. I guess. I'm really happy to be back!

Bringing Back the Snatch (Slowly)

Friday, July 17;

I know I did this workout, but I don't really remember doing it. I think the snatches hurt my shoulder. These things still freak me out, so I go pretty light. I was happy with my time, despite the fact that I wasn't trying to go fast in the beginning. By the end, I was pushing it.

WOD
5 Rounds
12 Barbell Snatch (35lb)
12 Pullups
12 Burpees

Time: 19:20

Rest Day

Thursday, July 16;

I woke up this morning and promptly went back to sleep! God, sleep is good sometimes. Looking forward to a punishing workout tomorrow.

Back in Action

Wednesday, July 15;

I've been busy at work and unable to update my blog for the past few days. I don't remember times and numbers for some of the workouts, but I want to post to keep up to date. I'll check on the times and update later.

WOD:
Clean & Jerk
max weight - 105lbs

I'm close to maxing out here, but I didn't go to failure. I'm still really weary about pushing really heavy weight overhead. I smiled to myself when I remembered the last time I put more than 100lbs overhead my shoulder popped out. There was none of that today, but it's hard to get over the fear of the possibility of dislocating. It's what's keeping me from going much heavier.

Finisher:
500 meter row
1:58

1 mile run

Tuesday, July 14;

WOD:
5 rounds for time
15 pullups
30 pushups
45 abmat situps

Time: 23:20

Crazy high reps. I've never been so happy to do pullups in my life. 15 pullups is a piece of cake after doing 30 pushups. Pushups are still tough for me. It's hard to get much more than 10 in a row. I broke them up into sets of 5. It takes a while, but it doesn't give me crazy arm burn.

Kudos to Lynette who kept me going through this one. I can't tell if she secretly competitive or just an unassuming ninja. The mother of two who kicks my butt regularly. Whatever she is.. it's great!

Saturday, July 12;

Strength work and some fun..

WOD
Perfect form cleans
We worked Muscle cleans (which eliminates the diving underneath the bar, essentially there is no second bend in the clean similar to a push press as opposed to a push jerk). This move forces you to really use your hips to move weight. When it gets really heavy this move is super tough.

Power clean from floor - 115lb (This is my PR. I can't break above 115. I can't wait to hit 120lb.. then 125lb)

WOD II
7 rounds
7 pullups
14 jumping lunges
1 shuttle run

About 11 minutes

Friday, July 10;
"Filthy 50"
50 box jumps
50 KB swings (35lb)
50 jumping slamball (10lb)
50 pushups
50 Sledge Hammer Swings
50 Wall ball (14lb)
50 Abmat Situps
50 calorie row
50 burpees
50 doubleunders

Total: 36:??

This sucked. I sucked at this workout.

The Quad

Wednesday, July 15;

Thank God for quads! My knees have been off tracking lately. I think it has to do with the additional running I've been doing after the workouts. Strengthening my quads helps keep those knee caps on track, which is why I was so pumped to see today's workout.

WOD:
4 rounds for time

400 meter run
50 squats

Total: 13:46

1K Row

Deadlifts

This is not my move.

WOD:
1 rep max deadlift

190lb (this is my previous PR)

1 mile run

CDSG

Monday, July 6;

I was talking about this morning's workout with my co-worker who is a 7'3" former UVA basketball player from Australia. I told him how much weight we were moving. His response, "CDSG." They call me "SG" for Super Girl in the office. I asked what "CD" stood for. He said, "Cocked Diesel."

Do I need to write anymore?

Warmup:
500 meter row - 1:58

WOD
15, 12, 9
Thruster - 78lb
Ring Dip - floss
Pullup

Time: 13:??

1 mile run

Pick Your Punishment

Friday, June 3;

As always, the First Friday in each month at CFOT forces you to pick your own poison. Do you do a quick smoker like a Fran or a Grace? Do you do a long burner like Murph or Badger? Strength, metcon?? Which is worse? Is there an easy choice? It's all about personal preference (and a little bit of peer pressure.. okay a lot of peer pressure).

Today I went for a quick little burner. Helen. There's no part of this workout that I think is particularly difficult. The movements are simple. It's a matter of pushing yourself through the run, the KB swings and the pullups. Just like Helen the harder you push the more punishing this workout can be.

WOD:
"Helen"
3 rounds for time
400 meter run
21 KB swings
12 Pullups

Total: 11:05 (PR)

Finisher:
Double unders
25 (PR)

Backsquats - my nemesis

Thursday, July 2;

Pre surgery and pre Crossfit I would have said that I liked backsquats. I might have even ventured to say that I was good at them. Post surgery the story has changed dramatically. It's the one move that really highlights my lack of flexibility in my shoulder. The chink in my armor. It's the positioning that kills me. It's the exterior rotation that I just don't have have back yet. I always forget to stretch that too. Maybe this time I learned my lesson and I'll add it into the daily stretch repertoire.

Jerry even pulled out the good old mantaray to help me relieve some of the pressure from my shoulder and put the bar in proper position. It's frustrating that I can't work on strength, because I'm so focused on avoiding shoulder pain. I'd really like to see some much higher numbers closer to where I used to be.

WOD:
Backsquat
5, 5, 5, 5, 5

115lb (incidentally the same weight I cleaned two days ago)
---------------------
Weighted Pullup
1,1,1,1,1

35lb
---------------------
1 mile run

Protection - Crossfit Style

Wednesday, July 1;

As if last week's beating wasn't enough, Jerry puts doubleunders in this morning's workout again. 150 of them. I still have a massive bruise on my leg from last Wednesday's workout. I knew I couldn't go through this workout with another beating, so I had to do something to protect my leg.

I did what any resourceful woman would do.. I grabbed my sweatshirt and wrapped that thing around my thigh, then taped it up. It wasn't going anywhere. That thing protected me too. Freaking brilliant. I got two whip marks on my elbow and that's it. I know it's probably a better idea to just get better at doubleunders, but I think that's hard when I'm worried about beating myself into bloody submission. One step at a time here. Fitness is a process.

WOD:
50, 40, 30, 20, 10
Double Unders
Pushups
27:?? (I actually have no idea what my time was)

Pushups were the limiting factor here. I was super slow. I guess I haven't been doing them much lately. I'll have to fix that. Hmm

1 mile run

Keeping it Clean

Tuesday, June 30;

You guessed it.. cleans today, but clean cleans. The emphasis was on improving form and not going as heavy as you can. Pretty happy with results.

WOD:
Hang Power Cleans
2 reps, start at 70% of max then work up 2.5% until form fails

110lb x 2, 115lb x 1

My max clean (pre-surgery) was 120lb. I feel like I'm getting close!

Fran Gone Wild

Monday, June 29;

What in the Hell?

WOD
21, 18, 15, 12, 9
Barbell Thrusters - 65lb
Pullups

Rest as needed in between sets. Total is amount of working time.

Total:
11:12

Seriously? I mean.. seriously?

A Team Effort

Friday, June 26:

Friday is pick your poison. The entire 6am class went for the metabolic monster this morning. Stupid was what I called it. The other option was front squats for 3 reps. Who wants that when you can feel the terrible burn of lactic acid and sweat in your eyes?

Here's what we did:

WOD
For time:
800 meter run
---------------
50, 40, 30
KB High Pulls (45lb)
Jumping Slam Balls (15lb)
Jumping Lunges
---------------
800 meter run

Total: 29:25

Blaine and I finished it up together. Thanks for the push!

A Serious Ass Whoopin'

Wednesday, June 24;



I worked on double unders for a little bit yesterday, but stopped when I started feeling the whip marks on my leg. I seriously regretted doing that this morning. It was the first time I integrated double unders into a workout, and I am feeling it now. It hurts to walk from the whip marks and I can barely sit down.

Warmup:
3 Rounds
10 PVC pipe overhead squats
5 knees to elbows


WOD:
400 meter run
30 double unders
20 KB swings (35lb)
Total: 29:15

Going Heavy

Tuesday, June 23;

Went heavy today. Well, we were suppossed to go heavy today. Deadlifts, which always seem to be a rough movement for me.

WOD:
Deadlift (no touch and go)
3,3,3,3,3

165 x 3, 175 x 1.5

I'm okay with that. I should have been able to hit the 175.

If you have an hour to spare...

Two worlds collided this weekend. Elise mentioned that her dad had done a talk about his book "The End of Overeating" and C-SPAN taped it. It actually aired this past weekend on BookTV. If you have an hour to listen/watch this program I highly recommend it. It's a really fascinating look at why we eat the way we do. It's not just another author talking about being fat.

Here's a short clip (sorry I can't embed it). The tease.. Elise's dad goes dumpster diving and learns a scary lesson about some of your favorite family restaurants.

Click here to read some information about the program.

Click here to watch the full program. It runs about an hour.

Monday Madness

Monday, June 22;

What a way to wakeup on a Monday morning.

"Fran"
21-15-9
Thrusters - 65lb
Pullup

Total: 7:45

First post surgery Fran. I actually haven't done this workout in over a year. I'm pretty happy with the time. Can't wait to get faster.

Saturday Madness

Saturday, June 20;

"Badger"

3 rounds for time:

30 hang power squat cleans

30 pullups

800 meter run

Total: 

55:24

Yikes

Dragging Ass

I think we've all had these moments. At least I'd like to think we've all had these moments. You notice your pants are a little tighter than usual. You just aren't looking that cute in your favorite shirt any more and you think it might have something to do with the little fat roles it is covering up. It's not that you're fat. You're far from it. You've allowed yourself to "just eat one more piece" a few too many times.

Then it hits you.. wham.. you get a glimpse of yourself in a picture or a passing glance in a full length mirror and you think to yourself, "What the f**k is that?"

I've been dragging (for me) for a few months now. I haven't quite worked off the post surgery weight, and I think I returned from China with a few extra pounds of rice on my ass. Usually, I need a huge shock in order to recognize these things. Like a big slap across the face. So, I stepped on the scale the other day. There it was.. my pre-Crossfit weight. Yikes!

We all know that's not acceptable, and no it's not muscle weight. Thanks for the possible excuses. I'm not a big excuses kind of a girl. Either you're fat and you like it or you're fat and you don't. If you don't like it, you either whine about it and drive everyone else around you crazy, or you pick your ass up, stop shoving food in your freaking mouth and start sweating your balls off until your back to your desired weight.

There it is. That's my pep talk to myself and to anyone else who might read this and think that you too have put on a few extra pounds. If anyone's interested I'm up for a post-WOD run.

Good to be Back

I returned from my trip late Sunday night. I miss the traveling, but I'm happy to be home. I've never been so excited to eat cottage cheese and strawberries for breakfast. I don't want to see dumplings or any other sort of rice product for a very long time. I tried updating my blog while overseas, but the blog site was blocked (especially around the 20th anniversary of Tianamen Square). I'm back and I'll post up some fun pictures and video of my trip over the next week or so.

I have a few fun things to share about exercising in China. I was actually able to find a group of Crossfitters to work out with. They had a different understanding of what made a "Crossfit workout," but it made me sweaty and sore. I never turn my back on that! Here's most of the group. The guys up front at the table were the people I worked out with. This is not so much a workout, but the sushi restaurant we went to post-workout. The guy on the right in the front was the leader of the whole thing. He put together about an hour long WOD. It was made up entirely of isometric holds. It started at a minute for the first round and then worked up to about 2 minutes by round 5.

We did:

pullup hold

side plank (right and left)

V-sit hold

pushup hold

Handstand hold

squat hold

I suggested adding an L-sit hold to the mix. They "loved" that.

After the workout I challenged them to a round of Tabata Box Jumps. Only one person took me up on the challenge. I got 11. He got 15. Jerk!

When I wasn't working out with those guys, I was usually running around Nanjing. By the way, running in Nanjing is far from pleasant. The combination of thick smog and thick traffic congestion makes it slow going and really trying on your lungs. Now I understand why the Chinese spit so much. When I got tired of running on the street, I hit this track which was on the Nanjing University campus. It was a solid setup. I loved that there were always people flying kites or doing thai chi in the grass in the middle of the track.

I definitely freaked some people out when I jumped up on the pullup bar. Usually, the bars are used for stretching. You don't see many muscle building exercisers in the country. The focus is generally on flexibility and agility. They thought it was a little bizarre seeing someone doing pullups (let alone a girl doing pullups). I didn't mind. We all know I'm an exhibitionist.

I usually did a "Cindy" like workout with pullups, pushups and squats. I would also add some running in here and there. I think the Chinese were impressed. I even caught a few people doing kipping pullups! What can I say? Passing along the good work of Crossfit. It's WORLDWIDE!!!

Farewell for now

Thursday, May 28

I'm heading out. I'm scheduled for my flight to China tomorrow morning. I'm heading to Shanghai for a few days. I'll be there "alone" until Sunday. I wonder if it is possible to be alone in a city of millions??

Then I head to Nanjing for two weeks. I'm planning on working out, but I don't know if I'll be able to post depending on the internet connection. If not, you'll hear from me later in June.

Overhead Squat

Wednesday, May 27;

It's not the squat that's the problem. I love the overhead squat. It requires crazy, core tension and some serious shoulder stability. The tight core is there for me, and the shoulder stability is getting better. For me, the sticking point with this move is the rack jerk. Basically, pushing the bar from the back squat position to an overhead position. I don't have any confidence in the movement, so it's hard for me to be really agressive with it. It'll come with time...

WOD:
Overhead squat
Max - 95lb

I think this was a PR. I haven't done a heavy overhead squat in ages.

Katie pulled a 150lb overhead squat.. literally schooling the men today. I'd post it, but I can't grab the video off of Facebook or our ning site. Boo.

DT in Slow Mo

Monday, May 26;

Took my first attempt at the new Hero workout DT. It's 100lb prescribed for women. I'm just not that strong. I started with 95lb, but went to 85lb after the first few cleans. I forget that my strength isn't where it used to be. Even at 85lb I took forever to do this workout. Deadlifts and Jerks were no problem, but the cleans were the sticking point. Since when have cleans become my sticking point??

WOD:
"DT" at 85lb
12 Deadlifts
9 Cleans
6 Jerks

Time: 22:22

Murph - 'nuf said

Friday, May 22;

We hit Murph. In just a few hours 40 people at CFOT hit Murph. Just incredible. That doesn't even include the people that will go through the workout in tonight's two classes. This morning was wild! People were flying in and out of the door. Pullup bars were breaking, callouses were ripping and all the usual Crossfit crazies were out in full force.









This is a long, long workout. It feels interminable, especially in the 9th round of 5, 10, 15. I was asking myself if this workout would ever be over!!?? One thing about long workouts, besides the toll it takes on your body, is the test of your mind. The danger is that your mind wanders. There's always the possibility of psyching yourself out. With these workouts I like to think about people who inspire me. People who wouldn't want to see me resting on my haunches. People who have done this workout despite their pain. It's how I force myself to get up on the bar or to do one more pushup.

I haven't done Murph since October of 2007. I'll never forget the first time I did it. I was looking for an old post from Jerry back when we did it, but that predates the current ning site. If my memory serves me correctly, I finished the workout in about 50 minutes or so. Back then I was gaming workouts, and the plan was to hit Murph kind of like it was Cindy. Do a round of 5, 10, 15 every minute for 20 minutes and then do two 8.5 minute mile runs. That's a 37 minute Murph. An incredible score for just about any fire breathing elite Crossfitter. Now, I never said I actually DID that, but it was the goal.


There was no gaming Murph today. The goal was FINISH a prescribed Murph. I had a quick first mile run, then a very slow pullup, pushup, squat portion. The pushups were the sticking point. I was doing about 5 at a time. The last 5 rounds couldn't be called "chest to deck" pushups. The strength just wasn't there for me, but I refused to go to my knees. I went as deep as I could, then kept a tight core and pushed up as hard as I could. They weren't pretty by the end, but I'm happy I did it.

I threw on a 10lb weight vest for the last run. Finished in a decent, but not stellar, hour and change.

WOD:
"Murph"
1 mile run
100 pullups
200 pushups
300 squats
1 mile run (w/ 10lb vest)

Total: 60:57

Some extra kudos today (I know I'm missing some and sorry for that):
-Christine, one of CFOT's super moms, she did Murph AS PRESCRIBED today.
-Gar busted butt today. He was the first to finish all his pullups, pushups & squats in our class and booked it out of the door. High five brother.
-Grace, the lady who pushes me to do better every day. She finished all her squats first and then fought through pullups and pushups. Yikes!
-Danya where do you get your speed from? Where?!
-Caitlin, I'm glad you got to do Murph as a final farewell... I hope it's actually just a farewell for now. -Katie.. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!

-All the guys and girls who put on those nasty weight vests and kept them on for nearly an hour!