Get Some Sumo

Thursday, January 10

Warmup:

6 minutes Turkish getups

35lb KB right hand

25lb KB left hand!!

Shoulder felt solid here. I was able to hold the KB steady without shaking. No hurting. I've eliminted holding the weight overhead as a problem I think. Pushing=Pain, but holding weight with an active shoulder overhead is good!!

Workout:
Sumo Deadlift
95lb x10, 115lb x10, 135lb x10, 155 x3

Tabata Mashup:

Chinups & Pushups

79 total

Tabata Situps

14 Total

I've never done Sumo Deadlifts before. I guess this is a good start. I think my butt is a little high in these pictures. It's like I'm lifting my butt up and not bringing it in in time. Thoughts?

High Intensity

Tuesday, January 8

Workout:
300 meter Row
20 Kettlebell Swing
40 Air squat
Rest 2 minutes

Repeat for 5 total intervals
R1: 3:03
R2: 3:02
R3: 3:02
R4: 2:49
R5: 2:59

This was an awesome workout!!! I loved the intensity of this workout. It's so short that it's possible to have some really intense output. Special thanks to Danny for pushing me through the rowing machine. I think you were in my face for R4 and my time rocked. You get the credit! More special thanks to Jerry for the feedback on the rowing.. I guess it is truly a work in progress.

Back to Square 1

Monday, January 7:

Hurt my shoulder on Sunday's workout, but the pain didn't set in until last night. I slept on heat and got to CFOT early so I could warmup my shoulder. It sucks to feel like I'm back to where I was a month ago.

Warmup:
Jumping muscleups.. tried to do a ring dip, which used to be easy for me.. couldn't even do one.
Bear Crawl, which turned into a frog jump

Workout:
5 Rounds or AMRAP in 30 minutes

10 reps:
KB clean 35lb
2 squats
---------
18 pullups
36 situps

Total time: 25:07

The pullups feel fine.. actually any pulling feels fine.. pullups, highpulls it's the pushing and pressing that kills. I guess it's back to taking it easy. Thank to everyone who's been so encouraging and supportive of me!

The Exorcist Stairs (a serious case of the "I can'ts")

Sunday, January 6

Workout:
5 Rounds
5 pullups
10 pushups
5 times up and down the stairs

5 Rounds
5 knees to elbows
10 pushups
5 times up and down the stairs

Total time:
26:34

This workout is always humbling. I haven't done it since September, so it was like doing it for the first time. Still, there are no excuses for this pitiful time. The day started out on the wrong foot anyway. I woke up about 8 minutes before 9am (the workout was scheduled for 9am). I brushed my teeth, threw in my contacts and ran out the door with no coffee or food.

We warmed up a little bit and then hit the workout. I felt good for the first 3 or 4 rounds.. and then the negative thoughts invaded and took over. I felt like I was going to throw up and my legs were on fire. The pullups were much improved, since I started doing this workout back in April 2007 when my time was around 18 minutes. Mike Mann joined me for the workout, and he finished around 17 minutes.. while I was on my 7th set of steps. It was like inviting a very talented chef out to a great restaurant and then getting food poisoning after the appetizers! Not a great day for me. Mike gave me some good encouragement and I dragged my sad, sorry self up the steps two more times for the finish.

Needless to say, I shouldn't wait three months before doing the stairs.. it's definitely a workout that needs to be repeated every so often. A big thanks to Mike Mann for joining me and then grabbing coffee afterwords.

I think I'll be doing more group workouts on the weekends so keep an eye out on my blog.

Join Me on the Exorcist Stairs!

Please come join me Sunday morning 9am for a workout on the Exorcist stairs in Georgetown. For those of you who don't know what I'm talking about.. it's at the gas station right when you cross over the key bridge on your left hand side. It's right next to the Georgetown Car Barn.

This workout is not for the faint of heart and will involve plenty of pullups, pushups and lots of stairs.. LOTS OF STAIRS!

Bring water, a stop watch or timer and be ready to sweat!

Again:

Where: Exorcist Stairs in Georgetown

When: Sunday, January 6 at 9am (I'll wait a few minutes and then I'm going so don't be late)

What: Workout

Call me or shoot me an email if you want to come... (515) 554-1406.

Hit 17 Pullups! A new PR.. until I hit 18!

Wednesday, December 2

Today was good. Shoulder felt strong. I can feel the weakness in my pushups. My pullups are getting much better. I know I can get 20 pullups without much more work. I haven't really set it as a goal of mine so it's not something I work toward when I get on the bar. I think I've been just going for one more than I hit the last PR pullup test.

After I finished my pullups I thought about the ladies in the 6am. I was in class early today, and it was so awesome to see them fighting tooth and nail for those last few pullups. They were kicking and gritting their teeth. It was obvious they wanted to push those numbers. I think if I did a little more of that I would be able to kill my current PRs. Tonight, I'll sleep tight knowing that I did 18 in a row today. Cheers

Warmup:
3 rounds of
50 seconds of Medicine Ball Squat Cleans
50 seconds of Cals

Short Circuit:
AMRAP in 3 minutes
Medicine ball squat clean thruster and Slam!

Workout:
2 rounds
Max Chinups
Round 1: 17
Round 2: 18

2 rounds
Max Pushups
Round 1: 22
Round 2: 10

Strength, Power, Skill:
6 rounds
Sumo Deadlift High Pull x 10 reps
I finished at 65lbs

I'm in Love

At first I thought it was obsession, then infatuation and now I realize, of course, it's love! What other than love would have me getting out of bed, shoving my contacts into my eyes, downing a cup of coffee and making a 20 minute drive all before the sun has shown up for the day? It's a love for a group of people, a love for a common goal, a love for pain and even some love for myself. The past six months at Crossfit Old Town have launched me into a wonderful, sweaty world of self-exploration.

I came to CFOT, not broken but a little askew. I needed something that I could be good at, something that would remind me that I like who I am and something that would make me feel like I belong. I want to reinforce that I wasn't unhappy, but I was in need of a change. The supportive atmosphere at Crossfit allowed me to get back in control of my life. Lifting absurd amounts of weight over my head reminded me that I can do the seemingly impossible, and persisting through extending periods of exertion showed me that I had incredible stamina. In short.. it gave me those warm butterfly feelings in my stomach.. (not to mention an achy feeling all over).

I am hoping that 2008 continues to bring love to my life.

Happy New Year!

LOVE,
Adrienne