Forget the Abmats .. Guys can Purchase thier six packs

Saturday, November 29;

Guess what ladies? It looks like we will soon be able to experience the dissappointment guys must feel when their lady friend removes her padded pushup bra. Yes, yes.. girls we have been doing this for ages. A little padding here.. a little suck-in back there and tah-dah.. we are the girl of their dreams (of course crossfit ladies never have to do this).

Now it's time for guys to get their revenge! It's an undershirt for men called the "Core Precision Undershirt" and it makes guys look like they have a six-pack (of course crossfit men would never need this).

So next time you notice joe six pack with a serious six pack you may want to take a second glance and even give him a pat down (can we do that?) before getting into anything serious. Of course, we would never date someone simply because they have a sick pack, so this whole post is ridiculous.

Also, can you tell that I have to write a 15 page paper and I'm procrastinating like no other?? Someone distract me!

A New Move!!

Friday, November 28;

A day of rest was enough for me. I felt so disgusting after Thanksgiving. Remember all of those pointers I suggested on Wednesday. Well, I'm full of crap. Who eats salad on Thanksgiving?? My family has borsin cheese, pate, great wine and fried oysters as our appetizers. Load your plate with good veggies.. our family.. loads its good veggies with shalot infused butter. Eat slowly.. done.. our family talks so much it's hard to eat fast. Unless your running your mouth with a chunk of turkey tucked over in the side of your lip. I think I mentioned one other tip.. save room for dessert. I did follow through on that one. I saved room for the pumpkin trilogy my mom and I created as well as the home-made creamy, vanilla ice cream my cousin wipped up.

What was I thankful for this Thanksgiving?? Easy.. my family filled with crafty cooks!

Unfortunately, my abs and back side were not appearing so thankful. I had to put aside the whipped mashed potatos and whip my ass into shape. I had to be clever, because I was down on the bay with not much equipment to work with. I did have my always handy kettlebell and my running shoes. Not bad.. To make up for the light weight of the kettlebell (it's only 16kg/35lbs) I thought I'd add a little umpfh to a trusty old move. I call it the SUPER Sumo Deadlift High Pull.

I demo it in the pictures. You stand on the top step of some stairs and put the KB on the step below. This forces you into a really deep squat at the bottom. Same hip thrust to get the KB up to your chest. Boom. You have one SSDLHP!

I made my mom take the pictures. She thought:

1) it's important to get the American flag in the background

2) her daughter is nutso

There are some positives and negatives with this movement. You HAVE to have perfect posture or you could really screw up your lower back. Also, you HAVE to keep your weight in your heels or you'll fall forward down the steps. Finally, it forces you to have a straight up and straight down motion.. no swinging the bell to the top. It was interesting. Try it some time.

WOD:

600 meter run

25 SSDLHP

25 KB Swings

600 meter run

20 SSDLHP
20 KB Swings

600 meter run
15 SSDLHP

15 KB Swings

600 meter run
10 SSDLHP

10 KB Swings

600 meter run
5 SSDLHP

5 KB Swings

Total: 23:58

I was happy with this time. I was hoping to get between 22 and 23 minutes, but I guess I'll take this for now.

Pick Your Poison a.k.a. Clean the Turkey

Wednesday, November 26;

I think working out before, after and during Thanksgiving justifies the unbelievable amount of gourging done on the festive holiday. Of course, we all hate that disgusting feeling we have after the meal is over. I found a good article in the Post with some obvious tips about avoiding that nasty, I-just-ate-a-load-of-bad-carbs feeling. I mean, I could tell you how to avoid it without the Washington Post byline...

• Start your meal with a salad
• Load your plate with greens and other veggies
• Eat slowly
• Avoid large amounts of complex carbs
• Save room for dessert!

These are all obvious.. also something I read yesterday. After your meal, go for a walk. It aids in digestion. Don't run though, because that will send blood pumping to your legs instead of your stomach. Huh, I thought that was interesting.

WOD

20 Med Ball Cleans - 20lb 20 Plyo Pushups 400 Meter Run 10 Over Head Squats - 45lb 20 Hang power cleans - 65lb 30 Pullups 400 Meter run 30 Push Press - 45lb 60 Squats 400 Meter run 75 Abmat Situps 15 Pullups

Time: 27:??

Good Mornings = Bad Morning

Monday, November 24:

I don't have much to say here except that my freaking shoulder was killing me with just about all of these exercises. I ended up subbing out a lot of the movements and shortening the workout to just 2 rounds. I think I'm turning into a softy.

WOD:
Three rounds for time (Only did 3 rounds)
21 Knees to elbows (subbed in 50 abmat situps)
21 Kettlebell swing - 35lb
21 Push-ups
21 Rope Pullups - (did first round, then subbed in jumping pullups)
21 Box jump
21 Good Mornings - 35lb
150 ft Walking Lunge

I didn't even get a time..

Sunday Two-a-day

Sunday, November 23;

I figured since I didn't get sweaty during this morning's workout, I'd go ahead and do the 5k tonight. I haven't done this workout for about a year. I've run several miles at a time, but the 5k is such a short distance that you're forced to run faster than you would usually run.

I made it in 28:34

I could go into further detail, but really the word "ouch" encompasses what I'm feeling about this one.

Fast and Loose

Sunday, November 23;

This month is flying by and every day I think about my looming surgery. The fear has manifested itself in some strange ways. I have this impulse to hit a PR everyday. To be the fastest I've ever been, to do the most pullups I've ever done, to lift heavier than I've ever lifted.
I'm not quite sure if this is the best way for me to be operating (pardon the pun). I can't get past this feeling that if I don't do it now I may never be able to do it. There's not a sadness in this thought, it's more just like a subconsious statement of fact. It's weird. I know that I of course will be back and running at full steam in a few months. It's more of a desire to really push myself to the limit RIGHT NOW.

Today, we hit max clean and jerks. I have a history with this movement. Last February, I was lifting with the DC Barbell club and we were doing clean and jerks. It was me and a bunch of guys, so of course I had to show off my physical prowess. I got up to 95lbs, 100lbs.. I don't know if I did it or not, but I think I may have done 105lbs. The problem was that the jerk really does a number on my shoulder. Last February the shoulder slipped out when the bar was overhead with at least 100lbs on it. It's not exactly unstable when it slips out, so it's not like I can't control the bar. It just feels really "off". So I put the bar down and called it quits for the day. Shortly after, I called it quits on lifting my left arm for several months.

I've done clean and jerks since then and we hit them again today. I felt really solid up until I passed that 100lb threshold. I can clean the bar without a problem, but my mind starts running when it's on my shoulders and I breathe in that moment before the jerk. My mind goes to, "what happens if my shoulder slips out again?" A natural thought. This causes me to slow down the movement, so I can only get it partially up. I have to push it the rest of the way.

Really what I should have done today is hit 95lbs and then stayed there and worked on speed and efficiency of movement. Of course I didn't do that. I wanted to solidify my clean and jerk PR, so I pulled out an ugly as crap clean and jerk at 105lbs.

Awesome, way to go. {note sarcasm}

Warmup:
---------
PVC pipe work
---------
"stretch the shit out of my forarms"
---------
3 rounds of:
5 pullups
5 squat cleans w/ the dynomax ball
5 max vertical jumps (about 5 inches off the ground for me!)
5 Turkish getups (right and left)
---------

WOD
Clean and Jerk
1,1,1,1,1,1
85lb, 90lb, 95lb, 97lb, 100lb, 105lb

RUN CANCELLED

Saturday, November 22;



Today's run was cancelled due to the fact that I have to research my term paper which needs to be researched, outlined and written before surgery. (I'm a little freaked about this one, I have to tell you). I cancelled the 5k run in order to get some work done on my paper. Of course, while I'm taking notes I dumped an entire cup of coffee on my laptop, which has rendered it virtually useless. That meant I had to drive to work in order to continue my researching. On my way in I was listening to my favorite Saturday morning radio show. I hear that the English language has stooped to a new low. It is tantamount to Crossfit deciding to put bicep curls or bozu balls in the WOD. The Collins English Dictionary has now made space for the newest word, "meh." The American apathy has creeped into our vernacular and is now threatening a new kind of takeover. The next thing we know, there will be words like "dunno" or "yes-huh" finding their way onto the pages of your family's dictionary. Have any of you seen the movie Idiocracy?? I often feel like it is getting closer and closer to becoming reality.

Stay pure!

Also, do you want to know what I have to say about missing this morning's run??

"Meh."