8/12 – Backsquats, Partner WOD and Extra Work

Back at it tonight after a stellar day of rest on Sunday.  Completely chill and necessary though my shoulders were still screaming (even after a massage on Saturday afternoon – wow).

WOD

Backsquats

6 x 6reps @ 70% (+10kg for those doing the comp training – 5kg more from last week)

Warm-up – 10x20kg, 6x40kg, 6x60kg

6x6 @ 66kg (that’s a lot of 6’s)

Then

In Partners

6min AMRAP

10 Kettlebell Swings 32/20kg

7 Burpees

9 + 13 (9 full rounds plus 10KB swings and 3 burpees)

Tonights class included our backsquats which meant a bit of an easier night overall in terms of timing of things.  The downside however (not a huge deal really) was that I was working alone – Ali got stuck at work and because of the number of squat racks in the gym there was ample space to not have to partner with anyone.  It also meant that I didn’t have anyone to spot me when I was getting tired (and my form paid the price a bit for it).

I was working at 82.5% of my 1RM – and 6kg more than the big boys that were beside me – I felt both badass and tired all in one.  But still managed to get through it all.  I could have used with a partner mostly for the motivation to just push through the reps and to spot me/ be close enough if I needed them.  We were working on doing a set every 3 minutes which at this point is on the lower end of rest time for what I’m doing (not an issue but…).  What it meant was that I would feel solid and strong and go slow for the first 4 reps but then it would suddenly feel really hard and I’d try and rush the last two – bouncing out of the bottom and then dropping my chest and leading up with my butt – not good form.  After the last set I asked Coach Scotty why I was doing this/ what I had to focus on to stop as today was the first time I’ve done this in all the sets we’ve done up to this point.  He said that I was probably pushing my butt back too much from the start and trying to rush the rep.  I likely wasn’t staying tight throughout and activating my glutes (relying more on my hamstrings).  He watched my last set which really helped – as did knowing that it was the last one.  I really focused on going slow and keeping upright right from the start and it worked.  I also really felt the last few in my glutes – a lot.  Guess it was working.    Probably a combo of the items above plus just being fatigued overall.  Glad the number of reps per set decreases through the rest of the week.

The partner WOD was a ton of fun.  I think I was initially partnered with Dan (coaches paired us up) but when it came time for the WOD I was with George.  We worked really well together and both pushed harder because of each other – not wanting to let the other down.  We only had  few seconds to try and figure out our game plan and though we didn’t get it fully defined we both were thinking along the same lines and it worked really well.  He started with 5Kb swings and then I finished them up and then he did all 7 burpees – round 1.  And we continued to alternate from there meaning I started the next round of KB swings then he finished them and I did the burpees and we just kept at it.  Our communication was solid (always a necessity in partner WODs) – brief stating of the rep we were on and switching off seamlessly. 

The numbers worked well.  It was easy and made sense to split the 10KB swings up (even though 20kg isn’t feeling too heavy for me anymore) – George noted that he was pretty much done by the end and I mostly agreed.  The 7 burpees are just enough to hurt but not enough to break them up.  That nasty number of 7 reps.  Heh.

We lost count – thinking initially that we had finished 7 rounds plus a bit but then realized it was actually 9 when Dan and Cam put up their score of 8+ rounds (we were just ahead of them).  I loved it.  Couldn’t have picked a better partner myself and pushed really hard because of it.

Adding the SEX WOD work here because there really wasn’t much more today…

Monday's Extra

1) SXF WOD

Back Squat

6x6rep @70% (+5kg's to last week) – 10kg overall

6x6 @66kg (see above)

Partner WOD

6min AMRAP

10 Kettlebell Swings 32/20kg

7 Burpees

9 + 13 (see above)

2) EMOM for 10mins perform 'x' Handstand Push-ups
* 'x' = a number you can hold across all 10sets 

5-5-5-5-4-4-3-3-3-4 all Rx

3) SXF Yoga Class or 60mins mobility & stretching

60 minutes mobility

Followed up with WOD with HSPU’s EMOM for 10 minutes.  Did this with George and Chris (who did 10 strict for the full 10 minutes – awesome!).  I started optimistically with 5 reps.  My first ever sports class we did this exact WOD at the start.  My numbers from that day back in January (5-5-5-5-4-3-3-3-3-3) are fairly similar with the biggest difference being that tonight I was Rx-ing them – back in January I was using an abmat still.  My kip also felt strong tonight better than before though because I’m  fully tucking now I need to ensure that my  hands aren’t too close to the wall (which they were a few times causing me to just fall off the wall in the tucked position).  I also realized that I’ll always have a mat under my head even while doing them strict as there were a few (too many actually) times that I dropped down hard onto my head because of fatigue in my shoulders.  Still hung on though and was happy to squeeze out that extra rep in the last set.  Totally tired and sore little muscles in my shoulders (also from Saturday’s dips) from this one.

Wasn’t going to stay for yoga though it felt so good last week – it was too late being at 7:30 (getting home by 9).  Instead I did about 45 minutes of solid mobility.  Some on my shoulders, a little on my hamstrings then the majority on my hip flexors.  Started with a solid 5 minutes or so on each side rolling on the lacrosse ball (mostly stayed there until it was about to make me cry).  Followed this up with another 5 minute on each side of pigeon pose.  Walked around a little after that and it was a weird sensation – basically I spent 10 minutes barely moving lying on the ground and then felt like I’d been run over.  Good times.  Lastly I did some solid child’s pose.  Not sure how long I was in this but it was good mostly because Sacha came over at one point and pushed down on my sacrum for a bit and helped me deepen the pose (which is something I was really craving last week in the yoga class).  She then did another set of her HSPU’s then came back and did it again.  Seriously amazing.  Loved it (and her obviously).   So my hips are a lot more mobile and also feeling a bit odd as they haven’t been this open in several weeks now. 

Good night and happy it was over relatively early so that I could spend 2 hours skyping with my best friend – it is the little things!

8/5 - Tabata...

WOD

Tabata

20 seconds work / 10 seconds rest

Sit Ups

Thrusters 42.5/30kg

Pull Ups

Rowing (meters)

* Score equals Total Reps

993 Rx

Managed to keep consistent numbers for all movements (not sure about the row splits).  I (barely) held on to 12 sit-ups for each round which was solid as it took the entire 20 seconds to get through them.  I held back on the thrusters and only did 4 each round (consistently) with about 10 extra seconds of rest – my legs were feeling a little fried from having done the backsquats before class.  I did feel solid however squat cleaning the bar and going straight into the first thruster.

For the pull-ups I held 5 reps per round which though not many (again, an extra 8-10 seconds of rest a round) were enough given the current state of my hands (healing still from ‘Nate’).  I felt solid and my kip is quite small in order for me to get my chin above the bar.  It’s changing a bit now to be more compact and in many ways almost feels a bit like butterfly movement – need to work on those again.

The row was really hard at the end of it all.  It truly hurt especially as it felt like as soon as you stopped Coach Scotty was already going 3-2-1… to go again.  Rough.  My butt and hamstrings were pretty tight again (still?) and that didn’t help.  Was happy though to maintain a low 1:50’s/ 500m split throughout even though I had to close my eyes and try not to cry near the end. 

So close to a score of 1000 – if only I had done 1 extra thruster or pull-up each round  - would have made the difference.  Oh well.  What can you do?

We had yoga prescribed for our extra work tonight which was blissful, truly.  I need more childs pose in my life – my hip flexors definitely woke up from the class.  Necessary beyond the work I’ve already been doing to keep them going (and there has been a ton of hip mobility going on).

7/31 – ‘Nate’

There are more parts of my body this morning angry at me than there are not and I’m somewhat happily enjoying this.  Last night was solid.  Definitely not easy but it felt good.  We are 2.5 weeks into the new Sports Extra programming and everyone is still going strong and more importantly getting strong(er).  A few people made this comment last night and I can’t help but agree.

Every movement containing squats feels solid these days – cleans, snatches (minus my mental headcase-ness), CJ’s… the list goes on.  And then there is the fact that in the past two weeks I’ve solidly acquired chest to bar pull-ups and have the bruises to show for it.  They are there now whenever I want them, not just sometimes and not ‘almost-but-just-not-quite’.  Included on the list too – Rx HSPU’s.  Yup, did these in a WOD last night and some sets unbroken too. 

I’m feeling stronger and more important than that my body is adapting – there are days still that I’m a little sore or tired or my legs feel heavy but I’m not hurting, the programming is varied so that we’re not smashing the same muscles day after day – the variety is amazing and I’m excited for each new WOD, I’m learning to love squats (or at least trying to say it until I do) and the feeling of us all working through the extra bits together makes it that much more amazing – we truly are in this together and when it comes down to competition time we will be that much stronger as a group for it.  Bring it on… I’m looking forward to continuing this journey.

WOD

‘Nate’

AMRAP 20

2 muscle-ups 4 c2b pull-ups

4 HSPU’s

8 KB Swings (24/32kg)

10/1* (Rx HSPU/ Rx KB Swings)

*2 c2b completed

First off let’s talk about ‘Nate’ – he’s a bit of a jerk (in a really good way) though I did make a comment last night in a joking manner that I didn’t know who he was but… Here’s what I know, he’s a hero.  That’s all that matters but I think today I should also learn more.  From crossfit.com… this is Nate:

In honor of Chief Petty Officer Nate Hardy, who was killed Sunday February 4th during combat operations in Iraq.  Nate is survived by his wife, Mindi, and his infant son Parker.

Nate did a number on me last night – I finished the WOD sweaty and worn out, shirt off (for the first time ever at SXF) and hand bloody and I kind of loved every minute of it.

It wasn’t a WOD that was a lung burner, it was heavy, it was steady and long though the time ticked by quite quickly.  Most of the movements I tried to do unbroken unless I feel off the wall on the HSPU’s (a few times) or my hands started to tear near the end – then I broke up the C2B.   I am pretty sure that it’s only the second time that I’ve swung the 24kg KB for more than a few reps and I was determined not to break up any of the sets even though brining the KB down was what in the end caused my hands to tear open (and bleed).  Oops.

This was the first workout that I managed to HSPU’s Rx for the entire WOD.  I’m feeling strong.  I did a few sets unbroken though for some was struggling to stay on the wall (with my feet). Coach Scotty came around at one point and told me to stop looking at the ground and to cast my eyes forward which made a huge difference – an amazing cue. 

I loved this WOD.  I loved it even as my hands tore and started to bleed (they didn’t really hurt until it was over).  It was funny too, about a minute after I realized that I had torn my hand Coach Scotty shouts to the class – ‘Stop before you tear your hands’.  Too late but I didn’t mind, I wasn’t stopping as I felt too good with it all.  Did most of my c2b mixed grip but at one point because of the tear I did one regular grip and it still was no problem – love it.  I saw Cam on a few of the sets early on where we were much on pace and when I could string together my c2b I was actually ahead of him (and secretly loved it!)

I was happy with my score.  I had no idea where I was at as I couldn’t see the number on the clicker I just pushed the button after each round.  I had a nice little compact corner in the back of the room so I didn’t have to move around much and the people around me were all good at cheering for each other which helped as the WOD progressed.  So Nate, as much of a jerk as you may have been I kind of loved you all the same.  Til we meet again and I know we will.

7/24 - Pull-ups and planks

WOD

3-3-3-3-3-3-3

Weighted Pull-ups

Use the heaviest weight you can for each set

Rest as needed between sets

Body weight for all

Then

4 x 1 minute plank holds

All unbroken

Partnered up with Lewis for this one – really only helped him to get the weight between his feet when needed.  I did all my sets at body weight and felt strong in the first two pull-ups but somehow struggled (mostly) on the third.   A few times I switched to a mixed grip before the last rep but even that didn’t make much difference.  I’d get almost to the top and then have to fight for the last little bit.  Finished all the sets though which made me quite happy given that my current max set of strict pull-ups is 4. 

The planks were hard (as usual) but fun in that we were chatting and talking about who would be the winners at the Crossfit Games this weekend.  Helped to pass the time (a little) more quickly.  Going into it Coach Scotty said that anyone doing the ‘extra’ work had to do the 4 sets but everyone else could stop after 3.  I was more than impressed that the entire class stayed for all 4 rounds – was afraid initially that I’d be doing the last one on my own while everyone packed up – thankfully not the case.

Finished up with the extra work.

7/15 – Snatches!

Tonight was the second week of testing – we did this WOD back on April 15^th.

Ali and I were texting throughout the day with big plans on *finally* getting a 50kg snatch – big dreaming sure (my PR is only 45.5kg) but still worth having lofty goals.  Spoiler Alert (it unfortunately didn’t go as planned).

WOD

1RM Snatch

3@25kg

3@30kg

2@35kg

1@40kg

42.5kg(f)

I was a head case last night – that’s about all I can say about this one.  I just couldn’t get my head in the game at all.  I struggled (a little) with 40kg, just not trusting myself and then couldn’t get 42.5kg at all.  I tried about 6 times or so but only twice could I even bring myself to attempt to drop under it – the rest were just really high snatch pulls – really high.  A couple were almost at eye height, more than enough to be able to get the lift but my head was in the way.  Coach Scotty knew it too, it was completely mental.  Ugh.  I swore – once, walked away into the other room – twice, and snuck in one last cheeky try after time was up and still couldn’t get it.  Disappointing but also more motivation to work on the technique at the lower weights and do a few more tries at going heavy when I can (I haven’t been doing much Oly lifting lately).  I know I can get there I just need to get my head out of the way.

Sports Extra WOD (or as Haydo likes to call it – the SEX WOD) programming also started last night.  It was good – lots of keen people getting the work done after the regular WOD, the motivation and drive is high and inspiring – will be interesting to see how this goes over time.  5 extra sessions a week might start to wear, who knows – I’ll have to be pretty diligent with my mobility and recovery overall but I’m excited.  Looking forward to seeing the progress it brings.  And to Coach Claire – I LOVE SQUATS (I said it… just like I also love burpees).  Bring it!

6/18 - 'Karen'

Some days I just wish I didn’t look at the WOD before heading to the box.  Yesterday was one of those days.  ‘Karen’.  ‘Karen’ is a bitch – not as bad when she’s not followed by DU’s and muscle-ups as in the open the past two years but still enough to make you not look forward to her at all.

Strength/ Skill

5 Rds

10 Chest to bar Pull Ups

Max L-Sit

Used the red band for the first 4 sets of c2b pull-ups then Coach Scotty yelled at me (nicely) to not kip with the band so finished up with both red and orange bands.  It was almost comical at the beginning (easy) then a struggle towards the end (so hard).  The L-sits were done hanging from the bar.  I think on average I was around 20 seconds for each.  It was fun partnering up with George for this one though I think us giving each other time increments on the L-sits didn’t actually help much – we both aimed for 20 seconds rather than going to failure – that being said my arms/ hands weren’t having much more anyway.  It was a good 20 minute warm-up heading into…

WOD ‘Karen’

150 Wall Balls 20/14lb

9:23 PR (14lb to 9’ line)

I have only done ‘Karen’ in the open WODs.  The first year (2011) I didn’t finish the wall balls in the 12 minute time cap.  This year I finished the wall balls (aka ‘Karen’) in 10:55 (the tie-breaker as noted on the games website score).  My summary from 13.3 noted that I did a set of 10 reps then sets of 5 for the rest with Coach Tara judging/ cheering me on.  It was nice to have a reminder of that going in.

Last night I just went with what felt good – even as the air squats in the warm-up reminded me of how sore my hamstrings were from ‘Diane’.  I started off just getting into the rhythm and found it feeling solid – I easily hit 15 reps and while I thought of going for 20 (especially as the boys on either side of me hadn’t yet stopped I knew it was still a long way to the finish and took a little break).  I didn’t want to get into sets of 5 until I had to so I picked up the ball again and did 10, it felt okay and I tried to stick with this number.  I remember at 45 reps in noting how hard it was starting to feel and how I wasn’t even yet halfway (the hard part is when you hit 75 and make that halfway realization).  Thankfully I never even noted 75, I was struggling to maintain sets of 10 and did through to 95 reps.  I wanted to hold on to the number but just couldn’t – that being said I also didn’t want to drop down to sets of 5 either as 10 (11) sets of 5 is still a lot to wrap your mind around. I decided on 8-7 pattern.  Which I followed through til the end.  The last few rounds were a struggle in forcing myself to both pick up the ball and go and also keep going even when I wanted to stop/ my form was getting a little wonky.

It was fun working beside Brendan – he helped me to minimize my rest times either because he was getting back to the ball/ still working or because Coach Scotty came around and was counting him down to get back at it and I used this cue as well.  My splits were fairly consistent.  I rememeber hitting 25 reps in the first minute then 50 at the 3 minute mark (approximately) and then 100 at 6 minutes in (approximately).  Finishing just over 9 minutes was fairly decent in my mind, a solid 1:30 faster than my previous PR.  I will definitely take it.

And for anyone questioning why I showed up for ‘Karen’ when I hate her so… it’s for a few reasons – trying not to cherry pick WODs and also because I’m fairly certain we’ll see wallballs in the Primal Throwdown and I knew I could use the practice.  The extra dose of confidence it gave me definitely helped.