12 days of Christmas

Warmup: Jump rope - got several right footed single skips. even managed to get three consecutive! It may sound like a terribly minor achievement, but it's actually pretty major. I have not ever had any success trying to jump exclusively on my right foot, and having enough balance to stay only on my right foot and make it over the rope three times is an exceptional achievement.

WOD:
On the first day of Christmas CrossFit gave to us.....

1 - Muscle-up - subbed 4 band assisted ring dips
2 - HSPU - subbed piked push-ups
3 - Dead-hang pull-ups - green band assisted (mostly) dead-hangs
4 - Jumping squats
5 - Burpees
6 - Push-ups
7 - Toes to bar - subbed knees to elbows
8 - Forward rolls
9 - Double Unders
10 - KB Snatch 1.5pd / 1pd - used 8kg
11 - Box jumps
12 - Virtual snow shoveling 45# plate/25# plate (24"barrier)

Comments:

This went pretty well for a workout I didn't really think i wanted to do.

Actually the most exciting part was pre-WOD when i decided to see whether I could do box jumps, and I managed to jump - without any assistance - to a stack of bumper plates. First I tried 2 of the fuzzy 45# plates - about 10" maybe? - and it was no problem, I put a smooth 45# plate on top of that - maybe another 4" - and tried it, and it was still totally manageable, so I put a 25# plate on top of that (another 3") and, while it was a bit intimidating, I found I could do that, too. I nearly took a nasty backwards spill when I tried to show Daniel my new achievement; I got distracted by someone else. But I got it on my second attempt. I was actually bummed not to get to the box jumps in the WOD. That's a first, for sure.

Since the 3 pull-ups were supposed to be dead-hang, i tried to keep my band assisted pull-ups as kip free as I could - and for the first several rounds, they were fairly static - as the rounds went on, as I started getting tired i started kipping a bit more.

I have to say that I find it very gratifying that I am still making improvements in some areas despite the fact that my diet has been absolute crap this month, and I've only been making it to a handful of workouts a week.

Diet wise, I've pretty much written off the month of December. There are just too many wonderful things out there this time of year, and I am enjoying my freedom to eat whatever terrible food i want, but I definitely feel and see the effects of not eating clean, so I am also looking forward to getting 'back on the wagon' in January.

KB strength WOD

WOD 090903

Kettlebell Swing 18-15-12-9-6

Kettlebell Clean and Push-Press, each arm 15-12-9-6-3

Kettlebell Snatch, each arm 12-9-6-3-1

Results:
All weights in KG

Swing 12-12-16-16-(tried 24 - couldn't get it overhead)-16

Clean & PP
R 8-8-8-8-12(f)
L 8-8-8-12-12

Snatch
R 4-4-8-8-8
L 8-8-8-12-12

Kettlemania

Max got some new, heavier kettlebells, and celebrated with a WOD designed to let us play with them (if we could).

Kettlebell Swing 18-15-12-9-6
Kettlebell Clean and Push-Press, each arm 15-12-9-6-3
Kettlebell Snatch, each arm 12-9-6-3-1

Swing: 2p - 2p - 80# - 88# - 88#
Clean/PP: 1p - 1p - 1.25p - 1.5p - 1.5p
Snatch: 1.25p - 1.25p - 1.5p - 1.5p - 1.5p

My shoulders are fried, and my hands very tender - ripped a little bit, but didn't pull any callouses off.

The new 80 and 88# kettlebells are pretty tough to use. The handles are thicker, very rough, and the opening is smaller such that putting both my hands in there smashes my knuckles together. Definitely not something I can do a lot of volume with with any comfort level. There's also a 97#, but that beast is just too damn heavy to get overhead.

MegaMetcon

WOD:
In this workout you move from each of ten stations after a minute. This is a ten-minute round from which a two-minute break is allowed before repeating once (two rounds total). The stations are:


Burpee
Push-Up
Kettlebell Swing 2.0/1.5P
Kettlebell Snatch Left 1.5/1.0P
Pull-Up
Pull-Up
Kettlebell Snatch Right 1.5/1.0P
Kettlebell Swing 2.0/1.5P
Push-Up
Burpee

Results:

Round	Time	Elapsed
Pullups	8	7
KB Snatch Right 8kg	13	13
KB Swing 16kg	12	12
Push-up	13	14
Burpee	8	9
Burpee	8	7
Push-up	12	11
KB Swing 16kg	11	9
KB Snatch Left 12kg	3	2
Pullup	4	9
TOTAL	92	93

Metcon mirror

Not sure what to call this:

In this workout you move from each of ten stations after a minute. This is a ten-minute round from which a two-minute break is allowed before repeating once (two rounds total). The stations are:

Burpee
Push-Up
Kettlebell Swing 2.0/1.5P
Kettlebell Snatch Left 1.5/1.0P
Pull-Up
Pull-Up
Kettlebell Snatch Right 1.5/1.0P
Kettlebell Swing 2.0/1.5P
Push-Up
Burpee

Post total reps completed

218 RX

Movement	1	2
Pullups	12	10
KB Snatch	12	10
KB Swing	12	10
Push-up	15	15
Burpee	12	8
Burpee	9	7
Push-up	12	10
KB Swing	12	10
KB Snatch	10	10
Pullup	11	11
TOTAL	117	91

My goal was 12 each movement the first round, and 10 the second. Managed to hit it more often than not (on average, at least), which was satisfying.

Been a while

OK, so...yeah. It's been a few weeks since I posted anything. Truth be told, I got a bit burnt out from the intensity of the training leading up to the games, and when they ended I decided to step back a little. I've still been CrossFitting, just not as frequently (2-3 times a week when I'm in town), and have been going back to previous interests: hiking, climbing, yoga. It's been pretty great. But my blogging has suffered as a result.

I did want to get last night's workout down, though, as it was a particularly intense one. Intensity at a level I don't go to very often.

10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1
Deadlift 250/185
Clapping Burpee
KB snatch right 2.0P/1.5P
KB snatch left 2.0P/1.5P

38:06 - snatches scaled to 1.5P

A clapping burpee is a burpee with a clapping pushup at the bottom.

This started off well. I was sharing a bar with Brandon at the RX deadlift weight (he was doing 2P snatches, though), and kept pace with him - even getting ahead of him for one glorious round. In the last 5 rounds, however, he kept going at his steady pace and I cratered, so he finished ahead of me.

If I had to identify the source of the difficulty, it would probably be the deadlifts. 250# is manageable for me, but 55 of them definitely adds up, and they were sapping my strength for everything else. My form went to shit (my back hurts today - always a bad sign). I kept expecting it to get easier as the reps went down, but it just kept getting harder, and I started to lose basic mental functions (ie, counting). When it was finally over, I was completely thrashed, and spent the rest of the evening in a semi-stupor. Apart from the sore back, I feel much better today.

I don't recall a workout of this level of intensity since the running/deadlift workout that caused me to nearly pass out a few months back. Something about deadlifts, apparently.

8-12-09

WOD:
10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1

Deadlift 250/185
Clapping Burpee
KB snatch right 2.0P/1.5P
KB snatch left 2.0P/1.5P


26:12

Round	Deadlift	Clapping Burpee	Snatches	Total
10	0:46	1:30	1:26	3:43
9	0:56	1:13	1:23	7:18
8	1:02	1:08	1:18	10:47
7	1:01	3:16	??
3	??	1:09	0:49	23:30
2	0:29	0:37	0:39	25:17
1	0:16	0:19	0:18	26:11

Comments:

Missing a few rounds on the watch - been so long I have no idea what belongs where. I think I used 100# as the deadlift weight so I could share a bar with a newcomer.

This was a killer workout - it would have been a lot worse if I could snatch anything even remotely heavy, or if I was deadlifting a little more weight. This workout nearly killed Daniel who can do both of those things.

The clapping burpees truly sucked - even though I could only manage a little hop, rather than a full clap.

Polly's Birthday Wod - 50% volume

WOD - only did 50% volume:
1x2400m run
2x12 c2b pull ups
3x8 2pd kettle bell swings
4x6 HSPU *subbed feet up on a box
6x4 reverse burpee *subbed regular burpees
8x3 Kettle bell snatch *used 8kg bell
12 x 2 muscle up *
24 x 100 meter sprint

Results and scaling:
40:35

12oom run
12 kip attempts - got 1 or 2 real pullups
12 kb swings - don't remember which bell - 1 or 1.25P (probably 1)
12 HSPU - with feet on a tall box - these felt better than they have in the recent past
12 regular burpees
12 KB snatch - 8kg
12 C2B jumping pull-ups - low box - chest touched bar on every rep, or it didn't count.
1200m run

Comments:
I had come to class prepared to do Cindy. I had bad shoes for all the running that was supposed to be in this workout. I decided to do 50%. at 50% this actually felt like a really good - not horribly brutal workout.

I started using an alternate grip for my pullups - both the kip attempts and the jumping C2B pullups, and it seems to really help. The jumping C2B were something of a revelation. I used a low enough box that it really had to work to pull the last few inches, and these felt closer to real pullups than subs I've done in the past. I ran out of them pretty quickly and I had to stop and wait a bunch for the muscles to recuperate enough to get the next rep, so I know I was working hard.

5-20-09

WOD:

Run 800 Meters
21 Power Snatch 95/65
Run 800 Meters
21 OHS 95/65
Run 800 Meters
21 Power Clean 95/65
Run 800 Meters
21 front Squat 95/65

Results:
36:23

Time Elapse Exercise
5:12 5:12 Run 1
1:38 6:50 Snatch 22#
6:35 13:25 Run 2
4:09 17:34 OHS 22#
6:32 24:06 Run 3
2:06 26:12 Cleans 42#
6:42 32:54 Run 4
3:29 36:23 Front Squat 42#

Comments:
I think the weights I chose were too light for everything except the OHS. There was a bit of a scramble for bars, so i opted/offered to use the preset bars from upstairs, but they only have 10# increments, and OHS with 30# just wasn't happening, so I chose the 20# bar for the overhead work, and then ran up to get a 2nd heavier bar for the cleans and the squats.

My run times were pretty pathetic - but except for about 50m the second run when i got hit with a nasty side stitch, I managed to run all of each run. I discovered that if i felt a stitch forming, I just had to slow down to keep it at bay .... though at some point i'm not sure it wouldn't just have been faster to walk.

Strength Cycle, week 1 cont'd - and Fight Gone Bell

Today was an experiment, to see if Rebecca and I could do our strength workout directly before the Firebreather WOD. The answer, for today at least, was yes - we'll see what happens when the strength weight gets heavier. The CFSB protocol calls for short and heavy metcons (~10 mins) after lifting, so I'm thinking this could be similar.

Deadlift x 5: 185 - 205 - 225
Deadlift x 21: 185
Press x 5: 65 - 70 - 75
Press x 21: 65

The deadlifts were pretty much fine, although my back was surprisingly sore - maybe from Friday's 3x7. I was able to knock out the 185 unbroken, though, with only medium discomfort - I'll go up next week. The 21 shoulder presses, however, were 12-5-4: I'll keep it at this weight until I can do all of them.

Following that, we got to go outside on a gorgeous sunny spring day for the Firebreather WOD.

Fight Gone Bell
3 rounds, one minute each movement (1.5 pood) with a minute of rest in between, of:

• Swing
• Clean
• Goblet Squat
• Push Press
• Snatch

225 RX

My first thought, looking at this, was that 300 would be a good goal: 20 reps of each movement. Upon further reflection, I altered it somewhat to 25-25-20-15-15 per round. I almost managed to actually do that for the first round, too.

Exercise	1	2	3	Total
KB Swing	25	25	20	70
KB Clean	25	16	14	55
KB Goblet Squat	20	15	10	45
KB Push-press	5	4	4	13
KB Snatch	20	10	12	42
TOTAL	95	70	60	225

Clearly, push-presses were my downfall. (Well, that and my vaulting optimism that I'd be able to maintain that pace for three rounds.) I'm sure the press workout beforehand did not help, but 1.5 pood push-presses have never been particularly strong for me (in fact, doing them at all is a pretty recent phenomenon). This was a good workout, overall - not as nausea-inducing as Gita (who designed it) hoped, but a good combination of many key ways to torture yourself with kettlebells.

Baby Fire Breather

Strength WOD
Warmup - ME, stripper stretch, hip openers, 20 air squats.
DL 5x3
Warmup - 45# x 10
95-115-120
95# x 21 (had to break @ rep 13 and every 3-4 reps after that to keep form safe)

Press 5x3
Warmup - 25#x10
35-40-45
25# X 21 - unbroken - 30# next week

Fire Breathers WOD:



Warmup: run 400m, ME, 25 situps, 10 pushups, WOD skills practice KB(swing, clean, goblet squat, PP, snatch)

WOD:
FGB Rules
Men 1.5P/Women 1.0P

Swing
Clean
Goblet Squat
Push Press
Snatch

Results:

Exercise	Set 1	Set 2	Set 3	Total
KB Swing	15	14	12	41
KB Clean	9	3R 6L	1R 8L	27
KB Goblet Squat	6	6	7	19
KB Push-press	0	2	1	3
KB Snatch	0	0	0	0
TOTAL	30	31	29	90

Comments:
Well - first of all, I can't believe my math was so bad. I originally though5 - for some unknown reason I cannot now figure out- that my score was 61. It was actually 90. Still less than half the next lowest score, but much better than 61!

I am extremely excited that I got 4 cleans total with the 1P with my right arm, and a couple PP with the 1P with my left. Both firsts for me :-) I think my form with the goblet squats was a bit better than on Wednesday - I did better at keeping my chest up.

In the first round i did some PP & Snatches with the 12kg KB, but in the second round Max told me just to focus on the stuff I could do Rx and to just rest for the rounds i couldn't get anything, so the reps that were done with the 12kg are not listed above. In the last round I was not ready to just rest for the whole last round, so I worked on KB highpulls (snatch progressions) with the 1P with my right arm (I didn't keep count). On a really good rep I could get it shoulder high, on a less good rep I got it a little less than boob high. I think this could be a really good exercise for me to practice to work on really strengthening my right arm & shoulder (and hip drive). I'll try to remember it whenever I am looking for "cash out" or even warm-up options.

Sleep:
12:54 - 9:45 Hooray for extra sunlight! A pretty sound night's sleep - think I woke up twice, but they were brief. Woke up with congested ears though :-( DO NOT WANT DANIEL's COLD. :-P

Food:
10:30 - 3 egg cheesy scramble w/ 2 pieces turkey bacon. 12oz coffee w/2/3 cup milk
11:00 - 1 multiv, 3 wellness formula, 2 glucosamine, 4 omega-3
2:15 - 16 oz milk
3:35 - 1 bowl orange curry, 16 oz milk
7:30 - House of Curries: Approx: 1 8oz cup chai tea, 1/2 order each of daal, chicken w/cauliflower, tandoori chicken tikka & paneer tikka masala.
11:15 - 2 zma

Hardly worth mentioning

Today is the last day of my half-volume recovery week. I also (rather conveniently) came down with a cold for the bulk of the week, but that's nearly over. I can tell I'm better because I'm resenting the low volume, and feel like I'm slacking. I've gained two pounds and hardly done anything that feels worth blogging about. I'm ready to go back to doing it for real.

I keep reminding myself of why I decided to do this to begin with. I was feeling consistently beat up, deeply sore, and plagued by many small, recurring injuries. All the little things are gone. My ankle is much better (I can walk on it in the morning), but it's still a bit sore. Rather than dreading workouts, I'm looking forward to them again, and my interest in attaining goals has come back. So mission accomplished - tomorrow I can play with the big kids again.

Today, however, was a bit of a joke.

For time
50 Double-unders
2 Pood/1.5 Pood Hang Snatch, 50 reps
50 Clap Push-Ups
50 Double-unders

7:16, half-volume
(subbed 1.5 pood snatches, and most pushups were just "hopping")

I was too apprehensive at the start of class to do the green 1.75 pood, but I was able to do five or so right-handed snatches with it afterwards, so I should have used that one - especially since I only had to do 25. Only James C. and Polly were able to do the RX weight - that's a lot of weight to stabilize overhead with one arm. Double-unders are getting closer, I think. I wish I had a place and time to practice these at home.

Rassafrassin' Double-unders

Only went half-volume for the morning workout, which is ultimately probably a good thing - though I always feel like a bum when I finish 10 minutes before everyone else.

AMRAP in 20 minutes
5 Push-Up
10 Sit-Up
15 Jump Squats

9 rounds in 10 minutes

After a long, pleasant lunch at Bacheeso's, it was back to the gym for the afternoon Firebreather WOD.

50 Double-Under
25 Kettlebell Swing, 2P/1.5P
50 Double-Under
25 Kettlebell Clean & Jerk 1.5P/1.0P
50 Double-Under
25 Kettlebell Snatch 1.5P/1.0P

16:21 RX

As expected, the worst part was the jerks. I did the swings and snatches 10-10-5, but the C&J's were sets of 5, and took much longer. It's technically the same amount of work as a snatch, but with less power, and I vastly prefer the snatches. I feel really solid with my KB snatches. It's gratifying to be really good at ONE movement, at least - particularly since everything else still needs so much work.

...speaking of which, my time on this would have been VASTLY better if I had reliable double-unders that I could chain together. Why, oh why will these not come to me?

Fears conquered here

I really don't know why I've been so apprehensive about the 100 24kg snatches. Maybe it's because the first time I tried to put that weight over my head, I thought my arm might snap. But it really wasn't that bad, actually - the 32kg swings were more painful.

for time: 100 kb snatches, 1.5 pood

10:09 RX

I did these about 60/40 right/left, I think. I didn't really keep close track. One annoying thing: the tape grips I made did protect my callouses, but they also quickly wore out the cloth backing, exposing the adhesive on the other side. So the kettlebell was literally sticking to my hand, and I had to either flip it hard enough to break the adhesion, or else let it pull my handwrap with it. Either way was painful. I wish there was a better way.

The level II skill for KB snatches is simply "30 each arm." Presumably, this means consecutive, which I did not do today (the most I did in a run was 20). However, since I did 160% of the volume, I'm going to count it. Someday maybe I'll test myself specifically for this skill, but I'm confident I could do it, so I'm not going to stress myself out about it.

In other good news: after class today, I was feeling a bit ambitious and had a little time, so I set up the rings to try and hit the 20-pullup skill (for whatever reason, kipping pullups are far easier on the rings for me). It's been a long time since I've even attempted this, and last time I tried I think I got 12. Well, I made it today! Chest-to-bar isn't really applicable on rings, but they were all clavicle-to-ring, which is...kinda close. I dunno, really.

Perhaps a Bad Idea

I was pretty sore yesterday, after Murph. But it was manageable. Enough that we decided to take a rest day, but not so much as to cause concern. This morning, however, was worse. The DO in DOMS seems to be a little longer than usual, this time. However, that did not stop me from doing the WOD, mostly because it looked like a lot of fun and would give me a real opportunity to practice my kettlebell snatch form, something I've been wanting to do (I've got my eye on that level II 60 x 1.5 pood KB snatch).

For time:
Buy-in: Run 800 meters
Get 10,000 pounds/7,000 pounds from the ground to overhead, anyway anyhow.
Cash-out: 25 Burpees

Rules of engagement:

• Object must begin at a point of contact with the ground.
• Object must be held overhead in a stabilized position.
• At the top of the movement, the knee, hip, shoulder and elbow joints must be at full extension.
• At the top of the movement an observer looking from the side must be able to see some portion of the athletes ear.

37:00 RX
Performed as:
240 x 1pood KB snatch
30 x 2pood KB clean & push-press(two-arm)
=10,500 pounds. Oops!

Math on the fly in these sorts of circumstances is not my strong suit, so I overshot the mark by 15 reps or so. Oh well.

I really like KB snatches, actually. Done correctly, the weight just floats up there. My forearms are not banged up at all, but the skin on the palms of my hands is really thrashed. I went through half a roll of tape today, and still have a nice little collection of ripped calluses and blood blisters to show for it. It was really the clean & push-presses that did it, though - which is why I didn't do anywhere near as many of them as I expected to do. After a while, I figured out a method with the snatches to sort of flip the weight back and forth from the saddle of my thumb to the top of my fingers, so it didn't stress out the top of the palm, where all my rips are.

Turns out Rebecca caught one of my sets-of-10 on video, so might as well throw it up here for posterity...

Worse, I am really. fucking. sore. Between this workout and Murph two days ago, I've done a LOT of volume. We're going climbing in a few minutes, but I don't think I'll actually climb. Just hang out and belay. Even if my muscles let me climb (a big if), I don't think my hands would.

...Edit to add:

OK, yeah. The climbing was brutal. Stuck with mock leading, since I was too tired to climb anything harder than a 10a.

ML10a(o), ML10a(f), ML10a(o)

The first 10a followed an arete up a bit of negative, and had a couple interesting moments of holds all going to one side of the arete, or only having one handhold. Still fine, though, and pretty short. The next one was a LONG 10a on the lead wall, about 60' with a long stretch of negative and a little roof. I got a bad clipping stance and could not get the rope into the damn carabiner, and my hand was slowly slipping off the hold - wound up falling, but could have done it if my hands weren't so weak. That climb made me want to weep. So I did another one - a fairly straightforward 10a complicated by the fact that the quickdraws were all about 2' to the left of the route, which made finding clipping stances awkward. That one ended on a sharp bit of negative and clearly was not meant to be led, as there were no feet for a stance at the top - Blake and I both fell almost immediately and didn't bother clipping the chains.

Rebecca and I are totally wrecked, and have elected to take tomorrow as a rest day. Max has posted two grueling options for the WOD, and while I might otherwise be interested in running 10k, my body is telling me in no uncertain terms that it needs a break.

"The 42"

Every year (so the story goes, as handed down by Evelyn), Max chooses a slate of his favorite exercises, and then combines them into a birthday workout to inflict upon the rest of us. This is his right as our trainer, and I do not begrudge him. And so, Sunday found us doing this...

42 Inverted Burpees
42 KB Swing 2P/1.5P
42 C2B Pull-Ups
42 KB Snatch Left 1.5P/1.0P
42 KB Snatch Right 1.5P/1.0P
42 Burpees
42 Double-Unders

41:11, 1.5 and 1P, Tuck Jumps

The inverted burpees were not as scary as I had anticipated, although I do have a goose-egg from continually bonking my head against the wall ~39 times. I did pullups on the rings, and they were pretty horrible - 6 sets of 7. So much harder than they should be. I REALLY need to get back on the GTG wagon with these guys. The snatches were far better on the right (3x14) than the left (6x7). It occurs to me that I really should step up to the 2 pood KB swing when the volume isn't too insane, so that I can develop a stronger hip pop and so the 1.5 pood doesn't seem so scary for snatching. I have the movement down, I'm just nervous about putting that much weight over my head, and the stress it puts on my shoulder and elbow.

Later that night, we went to Little Shin-Shin on Piedmont Ave to celebrate the Birthday Boy. It was PACKED! I think CFEB took up fully half the dining room, at two big (and augmented) tables. A fun time - CFEB folks are good folks, and we like hanging out with them socially as well as...er...exercisorially.

The 42 - Max's birthday WOD

Warm up: ME, 10 squats, 5 burpees, 1 terrifying handstand hold of about 5 seconds, 10 KB swing (16kg) 5 kb snatch each arm (8kg)

WOD: *subs

42 Inverted Burpees *regular burpees)
42 KB Swing 2P/1.5P *1P
42 C2B Pull-Ups *Jumping Pullups
42 KB Snatch Left 1.5P/1.0P *8kg
42 KB Snatch Right 1.5P/1.0P *8kg
42 Burpees
42 Double-Unders *tuck jumps

Results:
38:16

Exercise	Time
Burpees	7:10
KB Swing	4:23
Pullups	3:36
KB Snatch - R	7:02
KB Snatch - L	3:38
Burpees	8:43
Tuck Jumps	3:43

Comments:
Uh - LOL - looking at the times, I think I might have done as much as 10 too many snatches on my right side ... I kept losing count - and at one point i couldn't remember whether i was on 23 or 32 ... so I went with 23 ... I mean - i took a couple breaks - and I forgot to hit my timer for the left until I was 3 or 4 into the left - but I really cannot imagine that 42 right took twice as long as 42 left - at least not today when the form was really clicking and I was pretty easily able to string reps together - even on my RIGHT!

In fact, I'm very excited about finally getting this with weight on my right side - the form was working so well - that I thinkI probably could have managed to work with the 12kg KB, but I'm glad I did do it with the lighter weight, and really nailed the form.

The burpees sucked - but I did a little math, and even though i added 1:30 to the second round of them, that actually is only about 2 extra seconds per burpee. Really not bad, I think.

Daniel has said that he will take some time to work with me on handstand holds. - I really need to just take some time specifically to really work on them. I tried 1 in the warmup, and it did not go well. Daniel basically had to lift me up because I was too scared to kick up, and once i was there I just got really anxious. It wasn't a strength thing - I felt like my arms and shoulders could hold it, but I was just really afraid of falling. I'm determined to keep working on these though.

The Crossfitalypse

Due to the wildfires all over the state, air quality is TERRIBLE - and it's only supposed to get worse. Perfect day to run!

Four Rounds For Time:
Run 800 Meters
10 55#/35# Kettlebell Snatch Left
10 55#/35# Kettlebell Snatch Right

19:44, with 35# KB.

Frustrating, because this weight was just too light, and hardly any effort. However the next size up, 20kg, was OK with my right hand but uncomfortably sketchy with my left. It felt unsafe, and I don't like feeling unsafe while flinging large metal weights over my head. Hopefully soon I'll be able to go to a heavier weight.

The running was fine, except for the burning sensation in my throat from all the smoke in the air. Pretty sure it slowed me down. The splits were: 4:44 | 4:52 | 5:15 | 4:53

Not super consistent, but not too bad, I suppose.

Tried weighted pullups afterward with a 35# plate. I was able to do both a pullup and a chinup, but they were quite hard. No way I could do 60# (1.3 bw, for the skill level), so there's another thing to work on.

Waste of a Workout

WOD
Four Rounds For Time:
Run 800 Meters
10 55#/35# Kettlebell Snatch Left
10 55#/35# Kettlebell Snatch Right

Results:
24:56 - for 3 rounds and the last run was 400m

Comments:
Today's workout was just awful. Truly a waste. I'm not sure how much it will take for me to finally ACTUALLY learn that too few calories results in a horrible workout experience; one that often ends in tears of frustration.

Was it just Saturday where I was saying I felt like th 'poster girl for good nutrition'? Not this week. This week I am the poster girl for what happens when good nutrition goes out the window. Two sides of the same coin, I guess.

It's not like I haven't had that point hammered home on more than one recent occasion. But work has been crazy this week, and I have been very bad about remembering to eat while I am there all week. It is my goal to eat breakfast around 8:30 or 9, have a cottage cheese snack around 11:30, lunch around 2 and then an afternoon snack - if i'm hungry - around 4 or so.

Monday and yesterday I had breakfast (a piece of whole wheat toast with peanut or almond butter) around 10:30, cottage cheese around 1:30, forgot to eat lunch, and had a quick snack around 5 or 6:30 when I remembered I hadn't eaten lunch and had a good dinner at about 8:30.

Today, I knew that I probably hadn't gottenenough to eat the previous two days, so I brought a lot of food with my to work planning to try to eat all day long to try to 'catch up'. Well, I managed to have breakfast around 9:30 or so, and then didn't realize until 4 that I hadn't eaten anything since then.

A little backstory: I 'had' to get to work an hour early today. I had put a pricing matrix together for one of our sales people for a potential customer in NY. I gave it to him last night, but he wanted to go over it with the COO before submitting it to the customer, so he wanted to meet as early as possible in the morning (the COO was gone for the day by the time I got it to him yesterday) so he could get it to the NY people asap. I got to work at 8. The COO wasn't in, then we were supposed to meet @ 11, but the COO was occupied with other meetings and couldn't make it. The salesperson said he would come get me as soon as the COO was available. so i expectantly waiting to be called into a meeting - until 2:45! the meeting lasted until 3:45 then i had to run an errand for the owner of the company, and then it was like - oh yeah - i need food!

Class was @ 5. Not a whole lot of time to make up for the lack of calories. I opted for eating the cottage chese instead of the lunch I brought since I figured I might be able to digest that more quickly. Not a good base to start a workout from, and my workday did not put me in the best of moods.

On top of the limited calories, and my bad mood, my shoulders are STILL sore from saturday's workout - and not the good - 'i worked hard' kind of hurt - just the painful, bruised, tender kind of hurt, AND there are something like 800 fires in Northern California right now and the air quality is HORRIBLE here. I made the mistake of thinking it was was foggy. It's not foggy - the air is THICK with smoke.

AND I was 10 minutes late to class, so I missed some of the warmup. I probably should just have done something on my own. But when things are going like this, it can end in one of two ways - a wretched disaster, or a surprising success. I was hoping that by just going through the motions I could workout my stress and find the strength to get through the workout. Didn't happen.

50m into the first run I got smacked with a horrible side stitch and had to walk about 100m. I managed to run the rest of it though. 5:40

I actually did pretty well with the snatches. I thought I was going to have to use a 10# dumbell for my right arm, but it ended up being too light, so i struggled through with the 8kg kettlebell instead for both left and right.

The second run started off well, but I only made it about 200m before I had to walk, and I ended up having to walk MOST of it. Maybe 3/4. 6:45 I was so frustrated, and tired, and sore!

The third run, I decided to cut down to 400 figuring i could at least do that. Except that about 150m through i started having horrible phlegm issues (see note above re: horrible air quality). I ended up having to walk much of the 400m, too. I think it took 3:40.

Tomorrow we're going climbing with two of my coworkers - finally! And I am really looking forward to that. It can't help but go better than today. Today was just ... a fantastic reminder why i HAVE to get on a steady eating schedule. It's a little frustrating (ok - a LOT frustrating) to be SO reactive to what does or does not go into my body, but at least I know that as long I stick to a healthy, CONSISTENT diet, I'll be good. Now I just have to unlearn years of bad habits and make it happen.

6/15/08

Warm up
Mobility
10 Sun Salutations
20 Pullups - 10 assisted, 10 jumping
10 KB Swings - green - 26.2#
100 jump rope skips
35 air squats - consecutive unbroken!
10 V-ups

WOD
A mashup of the RKC snatch test and "Sprint 8"

90 seconds running*
30 seconds Sprinting
90 seconds running
30 seconds sprinting
90 seconds running
30 seconds Sprinting
90 seconds running
30 seconds sprinting
10 minutes snatch test 35#/55#

score = total mileage (including return mileage to test area) + total poundage lifted

*subbed rowing for running

Results
Rowed 1600m - approximately. I couldn't figure out how to get it to tell me meters and I accidentally cleared the data trying to figure it out. I know my average was 2:31.8/500m * 8 minutes = 1600m. Should have played with it before I started to get familiar.

KB Snatch.
Used the yellow - 8kg - for my left. I couldn't quite manage a snatch with it with my right so I had to use the tiny blue - 4kg - bell to snatch with my right. I really need something in between.

I got to 51 total snatches - i figure approximately 33 were with the yellow bell, and 18 were with the blue. For a total of 336kg or 739.2#.

Total score: 2339.2

Comments
for the assisted PU I used the IW gravitron with 90 lbs of assistance. I am SURE that the weight measurement for that thing is wrong. I've worked on other gravitrons with 50-60 lbs of assistance, and it felt about that hard. If I set the IW gravitron to 60# of assistance - which is half my bodyweight, there's practically no assistance at all.

At any rate, I felt like i was getting good use out of my back muscles, and not just using my arms. There was a line for the gravitron, so i decided to do my 2nd 10 as jumping. I don't feel like i did these as well. Prolly should have stuck to the gravitron and just traded sets.

:Happydance: I did 10 consecutive KB swing with the green kettlebell, and it honestly felt like that weight might be too light. I didn't have any trouble with them. Think I'll try the red kettlebell next time. One step closer to the level I benchmark. W00t!

The reason I decided to Row instead of run is that the idea of sprinting makes me extremely nervous since I have such a hard time running and such a hard time with coordination, especially since we basically do all our running in a parking lot with uneven pavement surfaces. I figured it would be better to just take my feet out of the equation so I could focus on going max effort for 30 seconds instead of spending a lot of energy worrying about falling and hurting myself. Unfortunately it led to a slightly skewed timing issue for the workout so neither the row nor the snatch numbers are quite as specific as I could wish.

For the snatches Max said that that we could use whichever hand we wanted for as many or as few reps as we wanted, so I started off primarily with my left. I got to about 15 with my left hand and started feeling lopsided. SO I tried a few intermittently with my right but stuck mostly with my left until about 28 or 29, and then realized that I'd never be able to figure out my poundage if I kept it completely random, so I started alternating left-yellow, right-blue. I tried to do a couple right-yellow, just because the blue was so ridiculously easy, but always failed to get it overhead. At least I was able to work on form a little with my right.

Fundamentals
On Sundays Max teaches a CF Fundamentals class, and we frequently try to attend if we have any energy left over after the WOD. Today was wall ball, KB deadlift, KB cleans, and KB push-press.

I was excited when Max said we'd be going over wall ball. I thought for sure today would be the day I finally hit that stupid X. My energy was good after the WOD, and I was feeling peppy. My wall ball was terrible. My form was cr@p, and I couldn't get anywhere near close to the height i did yesterday. Yesterday I actually got the ball as high as the X, but it didn't actually hit the wall! Waaah! So close! The sharp decrease in performance was a clear sign to me that I am past due for a rest day.

Push-Press: I am definitely getting better at push-pressing the yellow KB on my right side - in that I can most of the time, now (though I was better at it yesterday :-p ). And today I managed to push-press the green one with my left!! Go me!

I also got to cross 30 second static hang off my Level I goals today, and I managed to get about 1/3 of the way up with a kipping pull up. That's hard on the hands!