8/10 - Saturday Sports Class

1) Back Squats

10x3rep @85% (+ 5kg's to last week)

10x3 @73kg

2) Comp WOD

9min AMRAP of;
3 Muscle-ups 6 pull-ups/ 6 dips
6 Thrusters 60/42.5kg

4 +6 pull-ups + 6 dips (30kg thrusters)

3) 10 x 100m Sprints
*rest will be determind by your group/partners 

No time for these (thankfully!!!)

It always feels like I’ve just left when I return for Saturday sports class.  It also feels like the sun shining is really the only difference – it barely feels like I’ve had a nights sleep to rest and this was especially true after the rope climbs and KB swings of last night.  My shoulders were heavy when I woke up and my legs just tired.  You can imagine how much I was looking forward to more squatting but alas, the burpee rule still applies – no negative talk about backsquats or you guessed it… burpee penalty (self-imposed).

Anyway, we started with a full hour to get through the back squats.  This was sufficient time and I managed to get them all done without failing any even though the weight was actually 91% of my 1RM backsquat (really curious to see what it will be after all this).  Worked through with Sacha which was good, we got a chance to chat and work on our hip mobility in between sets.  I tried to rest a minimum of 3 minutes between rounds which at times was closer to 4 or 5 which was needed.  I also had Sacha spot me for most of them as well again, ‘just in case’ because of how I was feeling.  You just never know and since we’re not supposed to drop the bar but rather get through the movement it worked to be aware.

Following this we set up for the WOD.  I usually love going first but when the girls (Ali and Sacha) made me go first without thought I almost dreaded it.  I had no motivation or desire as I was just so physically exhausted.  I kept the weight low on the thrusters and knew that with the current state (still) of my hands I wasn’t going to get c2b (what we were supposed to scale to) so I just did pull-ups and dips (on the bars, not the rings),  It was still crazy hard.  I didn’t even think about counting (had Ali for that thankfully) and when Sacha asked me at the end how many rounds I’d gotten I truly had no idea and I really didn’t care.  I had to ask Ali.  This WOD however for me what just to focus on each movement and get through them rather than racing the clock or whatnot.  I had to break up the pull-ups because of my hands and then dips were the part that failed first.  They are similar to HSPU’s in that when they go they go so you need to back off before failure.  It was still tough but I made it through (mostly) the full range of motion.  I struggled but it was one of those days.  The thrusters felt solid – Coach Hayden told me to keep my elbows up and really drive through which made a huge difference and definitely made me feel stronger (as could be on the day).

Followed it up with a well earned breakfast of pancakes and bacon and eggs which I struggled to eat with a knife and fork as I could barely lift my arms at this point (I think the feeling was similar for many who had done the Friday night WOD).  I had to use two hands to hold my coffee.  Hard times.  Timmy and Jack came by Foam though - awesome to catch up with them too and compare rope climb marks.  Miss you boys!

Rest day Sunday – so happy!!

2/27 – Back Squats

Back squat day on sore and tired legs.  I didn’t think the lunges hurt my legs to bad (versus my arms) but boy was I wrong.  I’m sore but in an oh-so-very-good way.

Strength

7-7-7-7-7-7-7

60-60-65-65-65-65-65

Not anywhere near my PR but as mentioned in an earlier post I’m not in the same place I was (which for the PR was nearly a year ago I think) – will get back there though.

Initially I thought that 60 would be my weight for all 7 rounds but after two I decided to push it a bit.  I was hoping to go up more from there but just didn’t have it in me.  I think partly because I was really afraid to fail.  I don’t know why even. 

I still remember the day that I hit that 75kg for 3RM – Tim was there, he was spotting me too, encouraging me, his voice almost literally in my head pushing me on.  I need to find that fire again, within myself to get there.  I’ve realized the problem now it’s time to do something about it.  I’m ready to make some changes, bigger leaps and bounds.  New PR’s.

1/21 - Yoke Carry and Barbells

Back at the box tonight.

One thing that Southern does – that I think I like – is post their WOD late the night before so you know what to expect when you get there.  This is similar to the Crossfit Open format as well and I think I like it.  Some people might pick and choose which days they then show up but anyone truly wanting to get better will be there regularly and perhaps even try to make the days with their weaknesses programmed even more so (hello, that’s running for me).

Actually, come to think of it… another thing I’ve noticed and only after the fact and not during the moment is that Southern doesn’t blast music during the WODs.  I really don’t miss it which is funny because at Cooee I always heard the music and when it was too bubbly or poppy it annoyed me and probably took more of my focus during the workout than I realized.  It’s not until I’m driving home or now as I sit and write this that I even realize that it was ‘quiet’.  And by ‘quiet’ I mean there were only grunts and groans and drops of sweat hitting the floor.  You could clearly hear the coaches and when they were giving cues to someone else you could still hear them and do a self-check as well.  I think I like it.  That’s not to say there aren’t times where loud and angry music pumps me up but still, the change is refreshing.

Yoke Carry

3 rounds - 15m yoke carry (150/100kg) 

This was fun – we were all out in the alley beside the box with two yokes and basically just rotating through the carries – this was something I’ve never done before – a bunch of new toys to play with so that was good.  I did two carries with just the empty frame (70kg) and then one at 100kg which was tough.  Considering my deadlift PR is 102.5kg this was pretty taxing.  Once I got it going I kept a slow and steady pace as the rails on the bottom weren’t that far from the ground (downside of being short?) and I was afraid I’d catch a corner and face plant.  It was intimidating to many of us at first but by the end we were all very motivated to keep at it.  It was fun to just play – no time being kept or anything but just something new and outside our comfort areas that we became comfortable with (as much as you can) in the 20 minutes spent playing and cheering each other on.

WOD
15, 12, 9
Push Press 50/35kg
Back Squat 50/35kg

6:29 Rx

This was a good one.  Jase told us when explaining the WOD that if the Rx weight was within 10kg of our max to go for it.  If we didn’t finish then it’d be a strength WOD for us but otherwise it’d be a bit more metcon.  This was tough – 35kg was the weight that I did a set of 3 with on Saturday at ASG.  Looking back through my archives the last time I logged a max push press was in late August and it was 40kg for 5 reps.  I still really struggle to not push jerk the lift – Jase called me out on this a few times and it was good – I got a bunch of ‘no reps’ at the Affiliate cup for the double bend on in my legs so it’s good to focus on the proper form for the lift.  Definitely felt the difference in my shoulders though – heavy. I broke up the 15’s into 9-6 then went unbroken in the backsquats. 

I struggled through the round of 12 though Tarrsha was awesome in that she was right behind me and told me to get on it which made me pick up the bar again after a rest.   Probably ‘wasted’ most time resting on the round of 12 – broke up the pushpress into 5 (wanted 6 but when I only got 5 my mental game plan fell apart – oops)- 3-2-2 then put the bar down once on the backsquats. 

We had a 7 minute cut-off so I knew that I had to push the round of nine to get it done – think I only had a minute and a half or maybe a bit more when I started the round of 9.  Pushpress was I think 6-3 and then unbroken backsquats.  I still struggle though to keep my knees out and have a lot of work to do on my squat form namely engaging my posterior chain rather than relying solely on my quads.

Mobility

Spent a ton of time rolling out/ squirming on the floor/ trying not to cry/ laughing to keep from crying/ moaning/ breathing/ relaxing

Rolled through my quads (ouch) and IT band (double ouch)

Sat on the ball for quite a while and found some really painful points in my glutes

Continued to be lazy by working the ball through my pecs/ shoulders/ biceps while lying on the ground

Pigeon pose/ close to falling asleep

Luke was funny when I had just gotten up from pigeon pose to put my stuff away – he said something about how I looked really worked over and I told him I was basically just waking up – completely relaxed from pigeon.  Love it.

Hung out at Cam’s for a bit before we went and met up with a bunch of the Cooee kids – Sarah, Angie, Shonelle, Vini, Tim and Jack (and a random bump into Kosta at Foam) for burgers (and frozen yogurt) in Leederville.  Was a ton of fun.  It was almost 10pm by the time we left Leederville and almost 11 before I got back to Freo – the drive was a bit crazy as I was trying not to pass out.  I pretty much dropped into bed when I got home and slept hard – still really tired though, could have done with a few more hours.  Hopefully I’ll get to play a  bit of catch up tonight if I can get to the 4:30 class and then home for a chilled out night.

1/7 - Sauna Workouts or Almost!

Spent all day in the confines of my air conditioned office building only to walk outside after work into a sauna.  In fact I’m sure I’ve been in sauna’s that weren’t as hot as it was outside last night.  The air was thick.  Humid.  I don’t think words can actually do justice to how it felt either.  And off I went to crossfit.

I had run into Dawn getting coffee (just learned we work in the same building – Hi Dawn!) and was excited for the WOD as she filled me in on what it was.  Power snatches get me every time (stop blushing Angie!).  Looking at the mainsite WODs from the past few days and it was obvious what we’d be doing though subbing out wall balls for pistols (we don’t  have suitable wall balls for a class to do these).  The weight was also 5kg more than what the mainsite had but still completely manageable. 

WOD
5 rounds
10 toes to bar
10 power snatch (30/45kg)
10 pistols or 20 jump squats

14:25 Rx

This hurt surprisingly more than I thought it would.  I honestly think I would have preferred 10 wall balls over the pistols. 

The toes to bar were okay though I can’t get the rhythm to link them which makes them harder than they need to be.  Definitely something I need to focus on because they will undoubtedly be in the Open workouts.  I managed to keep from doing any further damage to my hands as they were taped and covered.  I felt like a boxer, or a gymnast with the amount of strapping going on.  Was good though.

Strapped up Hands

The power snatches felt okay.  Something was a bit off on my technique today with the bar travelling a bit farther from my body.  I tried to focus on the bar hitting my belly and going fast through the middle and I got them done but they weren’t all that pretty.  Perhaps it’s just how tired I’m still feeling or trying to ‘cheat’ the movement somehow which mentally seems to make it easier but physically never actually does.

Pistols are the worst.  They were horrible, making me want to cry/ quit.  I used a 5kg plate for counter balance and tried to push through them as much as possible but I realized (and tried unsuccessfully to correct) that I don’t engage my posterior chain when doing these – all the strength is coming from my quads which is why they make me want to cry.  Tim told me to focus on sending my butt back so I’ll try this next time.  Another movement I need to work on for sure.  Cam tried to convince me that I am good at them and perhaps I do have my moments but last night was definitely not one of them.

Managed to roll out my quads quite a bit afterward which is probably the only reason I can (barely) walk today.  My quads hurt.

Back at it tonight though it’s still ridiculous sweaty out there and then again tomorrow before a much needed massage on Thursday.  I’ll probably take Thursday and Friday as rest days and then Kosta is calling me up to the big leagues for some possible WODing at Chamber on Saturday.  We will see how I feel by then.  Right now though I’m an exhausted ball of soreness. 

1/3 - "Helen"

This seems to be the week of girls.  Going into the box today I knew we’d be doing another benchmark because of an early morning post on facebook though I didn’t know specifically which one.  I started thinking worse case – like ‘Fran’ but nope, turned out to be ‘Helen’.

My body still feels like it’s been run over by a truck so going back to Crossfit seemed like a terrible idea but had to happen at some point.  I completely forgot how much worse ‘Angie’ hurts on day two, day one was horrible enough but alas.  It was time to gear up for Helen.

It took me about 10 minutes just to get my hands ready for the workout.  They were tender and raw and torn from ‘Angie’ (still) and I knew hanging on to the bar was going to hurt.  There was a lot of tape.  There were my tape grips and there were also my cloth grips.  After a few trial attempts (still unsure if I could hold the bar for the WOD) I added a bit more tape and was ready to give it a go.

Warm-up

300m row

21 beat swings

21 light KB swings (Russian)

30 second plank

30 second hollow body

During the explanation Coach Tim had me demonstrate the beat swings (his shoulder is wonky at the moment) and that was a test in itself.  My hands were tender and I really just started to hook my fingers over the bar to do them.  Same for the reps in the warm up.  I actually set up a set of rings prior to the WOD in the event that my hands gave out and had I had to switch to ring rows.

The warm up was fun and light.  I use the 16kg KB for the swings which now seems ‘light’ for me.  I remember when I could barely Rx a WOD when this was the weight.  Improvement.

WOD

‘Helen’

3 rounds

400m run

21 KB swings (16/24kg)

12 pull-ups

12:01 Rx

As usual I checked out the other girls times on the board when I got there – the usuals, Tash (10ish minutes), Kayla and Chriselle (both about 11 minutes).  I’m always chasing these girls so it’s nice to have a bit of a target to aim for.  I was pretty sure that I wouldn’t be close today given how my body was feeling – sluggish, sore, tired.

The run for all the rounds was steady – I still don’t really have a sprint speed and wasn’t sure how hard to push myself on this as I didn’t want to be completely dead once I got back I the box.  I managed all three rounds of the KB swings unbroken which I was definitely happy with.  Didn’t even need chalk or rip my hands (though they were so covered up this would have been hard to do anyway).  In the last round I was struggling about halfway through but tried to keep my mental focus.  I actually thought about Coach Tim and Regionals and how it was moments like this that made the differences required to make it so I kept going.  Mental.

The pull-ups were a struggle as expected but I still managed to do them all and not do any (further) damage to my hands.  For the first two rounds and half of the last I did sets of 3 before coming off the bar.  The final six were all done as singles as I just couldn’t get a good grip on the bar – a combo of sore hands and lack of grip strength.  I managed to get them done though with some encouragement from Shannon which was most definitely needed.  I finished in just over 12 minutes and was happy with that.

I remember talking to Tim and saying how I’d never done ‘Helen’ before so this would definitely be a PR.  Looking back in the archives however it seems I did do ‘Helen’ almost a year ago when I was just starting to get my Rx pull-ups sorted out – I did 6 Rx and 6 with orange then and still managed to finish 2 minutes faster this go round.  It’s awesome to see the progress.  I think I like the benchmark WODs for this reason alone.

AfterWOD
3 min AMRAP
1-2-3-4…
Burpees
Squats

7/7

I almost bailed on this one.  I know, I know… that’s not what Crossfitters do, they keep pushing… I know, I know but my body feels totally wrecked still.  I did it anyway thinking that the burpees were going to be the killer after all the push-ups in ‘Angie’… hmmm, I kind of forgot about all the squats in ‘Angie’ as well.  I pushed, I survived. Though it was tough when Coach Tim mentioned we were only 30 seconds in and I was finishing round 3/ starting round 4.  The first few went so fast though time didn’t.  Tough.

Mobility

I did some rolling of my lats and delts which are the most sore part of me.

I also did some mashing with the 20kg bar on my shoulders/ biceps.  A really good hurt.

Mental

As  noted above, as usual, I was talking to myself during the workout.  I always do this as I’m sure many others do as well.  Often times I sense that it’s my mind stopping me from pushing forward rather than my body not being physically able to do something.  Obviously this restricts gains so I’m trying to recognize the difference between my mind wanting to stop and my body needing to stop, a definite difference. 

It’s the new year now and there’s a big push to refocus on nutrition, etc. but I’ve decided that I need to focus on my mind and body, more specifically how they relate to each other.  My mind is definitely still catching up with what my body can do – for example I can easily snatch more than 40kg but my mind is terrified of me actually doing it and hence holding me back.  In order to break these barriers and get stronger I need to spend time slowly down, becoming aware of my body and reestablishing this connection.  Instead of the January focus being on nutrition for me instead I’ve committed to doing yoga on the days I am not crossfitting.  Some days it may just be a longer form of svasana (corpse pose) where I solely focus on my breath through my body, bringing the awareness back, other days it will be self led Moksha practice or perhaps again yoga with Cam.  Who knows what it will look like, I will listen to my body on these days and go with it.  It’s what I need now to get better.  More clarity and confidence and belief in my physical being.  I’m excited to see the changes. 

Photos - ASG WODfest "The Workouts" (aka Part 3)

Thanks to Sarah for some awesome photos from yesterday's WODfest...

'Flight Simulator'

Click for more photos

1/1 - ASG WODfest - 'Angie', 'Annie' and 'Grace'

ASG WODfest, aka the day of the girls...   

The 'Girls' - Board was empty at the start of the day

Wicked start to 2013.  If today was the measure of how the next 365 days are going to go it’s going to be AMAZING. 

More photos and words below the cut.

12/29 & 12/30 - Weekend WOD's, Weekend PR's

Saturday

Spent the day hanging out with Cam on Saturday, quite filled with fun adventures too - beach time and enjoying the pontoon at South Beach, recording Free Falling with him being amazing on the guitar as I played 4 chords repeatedly on the ukulele and then him taking me through a session of yoga which I haven't done in over a year.  It was jam packed and when he left early in the evening all I wanted was ice cream and so I tried to call in my boys... last minute texts to Vini (heading for dinner with Shonelle) and Tim (wodding with Kosta) got me an invite to Albert Street Garage first.

Tim had mentioned Kosta was on the way over to their place and I should drop by and so I did.  Of course I also brought my shoes because how would I be able to resist WODing?  On my way over I decided I'd just do some power snatching to see where I was at - haven't tried my max in a while.

I just worked my way up to 40kg (PR) which I managed a few reps at and though it wasn't hard it was really messing with my head and I was struggling with it. 

The boys had a crazy WOD planned so I decided I'd do one snatch EMOM for 20 minutes or so - planning to start at 40kg and then drop the weight as time went on.  I managed one rep (I think) at 40kg before dropping down mostly because of the mental barrier.  I stayed at 35kg for the entire 30 minutes.


















WOD
EMOM 30
1 power snatch @ 35kg

Still need to work on this.  I still want to Rx Isabel (30 snatches at 45kg) and while I think I can actually do the weight I need to figure out how to not fear it first.  Time.  It's my goal to accomplish by February.

Afterwards I was rewarded with frozen yogurt (Tutti Fruitti for the win!) and then coffee.  It was a good night and oh, the things I learned chatting with Tim and Kosta.  Ha!

Sunday

Vini gave me the call up on Saturday to come and play with the big boys again on Sunday (this was before the ice cream text went out).  He had mentioned that Ric was also coming to play (he didn't) but there were 6 of us and it was fun.

We spent about 30* minutes working up to our 1RM C&J (power clean!).  This was fun.  I knew I had previously gotten 60kg though I wasn't sure how much I could power clean nor how the heat was going to effect me - though we didn't start until 6pm it was still over 30 degrees out.  Not much need for  a warmup though Jack took us on a run and we did go through our own stuff before lifting.

*probably closer to an hour since the clock never actually went on but still good

Strength
Work up to 1RM C&J
62.5kg PR 

I got a new PR of 62.5kg which I am so happy about.  The power clean wasn't too bad I just have to be quicker on the 'pop' portion of the jerk.  When the weight is heavier I tend to have a pause which doesn't help me at all (opposite actually).  It's easily seen in the video.

 

 

After, we split into two groups and did the (horrible, awful, sweaty, long WOD)...

WOD
7 rounds
5 thrusters front squats (40/70kg)
40 double unders
8:42 35kg























Jack and I were the first to tackle this.  I managed to stay slightly in front of him because I was doing front squats to his thrusters but on the last round the double unders started failing me - mostly my shoulders were tired from all the lifting and I struggled to get through them.  He beat me by 30 seconds.

The WOD was tough.  If it had only been 5 rounds it wouldn't have been too horrible but going into the 5th round it got really hard.  The push was tough but getting through it was quite satisfying.

Tim, Shonelle and Vini went next - here's a video of part of their WOD.

It was a solid weekend with some good fun at the Albert Street Garage and I'm quite excited for the New Year's Day WODfest.  Vini doesn't know it yet but I'm going to tackle Angie again.  Haha!

Bonus video because I'm amazed and in awe every time I watch him play.

12/28 - So (expletive) hot...

I felt nauseous before this WOD ever began... the box was sauna like and the noon WOD was definitely not the brightest idea I've ever had.  I was in full on sweat mode before the warm-up even started.  Not cool.

After we'd done some shoulder mobilisation - actually while most were still doing this and I had given up on it I grabbed a bar and set up right in front of the fan.  Yup, I was that jerk.  I'm also Canadian and it was freaking hot - yup, I'll use that excuse too.  The WOD looked mean just written on the board... I knew it would be.  And so I present it to you (mostly) in photos...

My reaction to the WOD...






















WOD
AMRAP 15
Min 1-5 Power Snatch (30/45kg)
Min 5-10 Clean & Press
Min 10-15 Thrusters Front Squats
Every min 4 Burpee bar hops
99 reps Rx.5

After the cleans my shoulder wasn't exactly happy so I did front squats instead of thrusters. Probably shouldn't have done the presses either but... ego.

Nick and I before the WOD even started... and then somewhere in the middle Andy and Sarah (I think)... or at least at some point but there is photo evidence of that below...

 




















It was awesome having Nick beside me... after the first 5 minutes and 40 power snatches (love!) we were both struggling... a few times I heard him telling me to just pick up the bar - it was motivation for us both and when I moved to the bar from his comments he did the same... it was definitely team work.  There was even a high five in there at some point as we both tried to catch our breath from the burpees before getting back to the bar.  Mid WOD motivation at it's finest...

The burpees sucked, and I like burpees (mostly) these days.

Not a single person uttered these words today...


















Or these ones (too hot)...

But these... oh yes, definitely a defining statement of the day...

Mostly because of Bec and her awesome forward thinking... and an inflatable pool...

The Cooee Spa open for sweating post-WOD treatments...

Just missing Bec in this shot.  Big thanks to Bec for bringing the pool by and her (apparent) blowing up skills and Tim for um, supervising? Also to Andy for keeping us all entertained, there was definitely some ab work through all that laughter - back, crack and sac wax anyone?  Oh, and to the rest who decided to comment, yes the water was truly disgusting after we'd all sat in it for over an hour - our hands were all de-calloused and yes, there were bits of skin floating around.  Was it worth it though given the temperature, sauna like workout and burning concrete, definitely.