Wednesday, March 6, 2013

3/5 - Rowing and KBs


Another (long) weekend over, another start to the week and another day at the box.

The WOD today looked intriguing and turned out better than anticipated as all day long I was thinking it was a 10 minute AMRAP rather than just 7 minutes a (little) bonus.

Warm-up
Row 200m
Rolling sit up stretch
KB circuit x 10 (deadlift, Russian swing, American swing, one-arm swing, juggling swing, KB ‘catch’, push press)
Mobility – trap (with barbell) – OUCH!/ calve stretch
KB circuit x 5
Rolling sit-ups
Row 50m

Skills
Wall Facing Handstand Hold
4 x 30seconds

Once again we were doing handstand holds (like sports class on Friday) though this time they were wall facing – basically you walk your feet up the wall from a push-up like position.  Getting up the wall wasn’t so bad but for some reason these felt harder than the others that you just kick into – I think because the consequences are higher if you fall out – you tumble rather than just dropping your feet and letting them catch you.  There is also something about staring at a brick wall that messes with your head.  Regardless, this was great practice – lots of focus on locking out the shoulders – pushing away from the floor and keeping everything engaged.  Lots of form that carries over to the lifts (presses especially).  I most definitely had a head rush once these were over.


WOD
AMRAP in 7 Minutes
Row 300m
10 Kettlebell Swings 24/16kg
3/215m Rx

I was definitely happy with this one – it was a lot of rowing with a few KB swings thrown in just to change it up.  By the end my butt was cramping from the combination of both movements.

In the warm-up 200m I managed to hold a pace just under 1:45/500m so I was happy to be able to do the same for the first 300m row.  The other two and a bit rounds I stayed just under 1:55/500m which I was still happy about.   The row felt really fluid – I was working hard but not overly hard – I was maximizing the stroke length and ‘glide’ of the rower maintaining a stroke rate about 30 per minute or so which is decent.  Not too high for my little legs and I’m still holding a pretty solid (for me) pace.

The KB swings were all done unbroken and didn’t feel too bad – any more than 10 and it may have required a bit more rest either during or before picking up the KB but with only 10 there was no reason to not just jump into it.

After we finished both my butt and biceps were feeling it.  Ouch.

Mobility
Glute rolling
Pec rolling
Bicep stretching

Mananged to talk to Luke after class about getting some massage treatments done (he’s at Southern for appointments two days a week which is amazing!)  He said that while we were doing the WOD he could tell that I had issues with my left shoulder as I pull more with my right on the swings and the left never truly locks out – not a good thing if he’s seeing it that easy.  Thinking I’ll get in to see him soon just for some maintenance especially now that the open is upon us.


Tuesday, March 5, 2013

3/4 - Hill Sprints


Monday was sprint day.  I’d put it off on Saturday and Sunday in favor of sleeping in and so as the final day of the weekend was upon us it was go time.  Cam and I made a quick trip to the market for weekly supplies before coming home and gearing up.  The plan was 10 sprints up Monument Hill nearby the house.

We jogged over as a warm-up which made me realize that we were in fact completely crazy as we were doing this mid-day.  Not the best planning after all but it was on.

WOD
EMO2M – 10 rounds
60m sprint uphill
Recover down to the start

At the start of every 2 minutes we sprinted to the top of the hill – when we finished we measured out the distance and it turned out to be 60m.  Once we reached the top we made our way back to the start and rested for the remaining time.

For the first 7 rounds I managed to be consistent at 18-19 seconds with I believe one rep coming in at 20 seconds in there.  The first two times I did a slow jog back down the hill but after that it was a walk.  I didn’t really stop at the top as it hurt more to stop then to keep moving even if it was really slow.  Near the last few rounds I felt like vomiting (what is with me lately?).  I almost did with 3 runs to go but managed to keep it in until the end where I did in fact vomit a little and as Cam so rightly pointed out – I kinda scared the little girl who was walking passed with her father when I did.  Oops, sorry.

The last three reps were about 22-25 second and absolutely hurt.  I pushed as hard as I could and actually managed to finish which was an accomplishment in itself.  I’m happy with this.  Definitely need more hill sprints in my future it seems.  Funny too – after the first two or three I felt confident that we could reduce the amount of rest time but that changed quite quickly.  Two minutes for one sprint worked well – about a minute rest before going again and I don’t think I would have survived if it was any less.

The plan was to do some lifting after this but I wasn’t feeling it.  Cam played around a bit though and I watched (that’s helping right?).  Ha.

3/1 - Killer WOD and Technique

Took Thursday as a rest day – had every intention of going for a run or doing some sprints but by the time I made it home I just felt tired, fatigue from the week had set in and I wanted to rest.  So I did.  I promised myself (and Cam) that I’d get the sprints in over the weekend (whatever they were going to be – that part was still undecided).

Friday I was back at it.  Because of the rest on Thursday I planned to do the Friday WOD and sports class – that in theory was the plan anyway.  It didn’t quite turn out like that but it’s okay.

Warmup
Stuff (don’t remember)
Friday Funday Game

Friday is ‘funday’ at Southern – there is always a game of sorts as part of the warmup.  This is awesome, keeps things interesting and often has us working in teams.  Today we did the plate move – basically everyone has a plate (10kg for girls, 15kg for boys) that you have to move from one end of the box to the other, stack them and then have everyone jump over.  We did this for a 3 minute AMRAP but inevitably everyone lost count.  It was fun nonetheless. 

WOD
5 Rounds
20 Doubles Unders
20 Push Ups
20 Back Extentions 
20 Single Arm D/B Power Snatch
19:23 (Rx/ Rx/ 15kg dumbbell)

This one was way harder than expected.  I could tell as soon as I got to the box and the class before us was mid-WOD.  It looked painful.

It started out fairly well as I was well in front of the 20 minute cut-off – 4 minutes per round.  I flew through the double unders I think only tripping up once in all though the push-ups were tough.  I did do them Rx which was good considering that they usually kill my shoulder and I haven’t done them in ages so it was a good change up.  Other than the first round where I went 10-10 I did the rest as sets of 5.  Coach Hayden had some feedback too in that I need to really tighten up everything basically on the push-up – core down through calves.  This helped though my arms still struggled.

The back extensions hurt more than anticipated I think partly from using so much core in the push-ups and also because I was feeling quite vomitous after the first few rounds.  Lunch was not sitting well.  In the last round as I was doing them I could hear Jay meeting Pukie in the gutter right behind me (four of us did the workout outside which was awesome and breezy) and wanted to join him rather than finish the WOD.

The power snatches (though still one of my favorite movements) were tough.  I started with sets of 5 on each arm for round one then went to 4’s (4-4-4-4-2-2) then 3’s in round 3 but went back to 4’s for round 4 and 5 as there was just too much switching with the sets of 3.  I have to say, I really felt these on Saturday and Sunday in my lower back.  Ouch!  I used the 15kg dumbbell again though and was quite happy with it.  If I really focus on technique (gets harder as you get tired though) then the weight feels (mostly) effortless but it was a bit more of a struggle as the WOD went on.

Afterward I really hurt.  I was quite vomity and there wasn’t much oxygen getting to my brain making me feel really light headed.  I laid on the floor for a while and then as Coach Hayden was about to give us a bit of info on sports class and I was telling Luke how horrible I was feeling he suggested I down a coconut water which helped.  I wasn’t sure I was going to participate in sports class but I hung around anyway.

Sports Class

Initially when we were forming into groups I told Coach Tara that I wasn’t going to do the workout – it was technique work but featured handstand holds which I didn’t think were a good idea in my current state.  After a minute though I decided I’d give it a go and just scale the work as necessary.  I was glad I did.

Technique Practice
EMOM 20
Rotate Through:
Handstand Hold – 30 seconds
Pull-up (chin over bar) hold – 10-20 seconds
Pull-ups – 10-15 reps
Hollow Rocks (or hold) – 10-20 seconds
Ring Dips (scale to bar dips if necessary) – 10-15 reps
As I mentioned we broke into 5 groups with each group starting on a different movement.

I am really glad I did this even though the group I was in started in the handstand holds.  I knew once I made it through that I’d be okay for the remainder.  I had surprisingly more gas in the tank than I’d originally thought as well though still scaled quite substantially.

The handstand holds were easy though in the last 2 rounds my arms started to shake uncontrollably.  It was quite funny actually.  I found it good to practice engaging the core because if you didn’t then your lower back would hurt quite a bit after 30 seconds of being upside down.  It was funny too to watch the rest of the room while being upside down – kinda weird actually.

The pull-up hold was easier than I’d expected.  I held for 10 seconds only but managed to fully keep my chin over the bar for that time.  It was only on the last round that I switched to a mixed grip as I was starting to tire.

The pull-ups were to be done as one set (if you came off the bar that was your number).  I did sets of 5 kipping and managed to do them all even though I kicked a KB during one round and lost my rythym in the last a bit, I still held on to the bar to finish.  I was happy with this.

The hollow rocks hurt especially as my abs were fatigued after the WOD as I mentioned.  I just did hollow body holds for 15 seconds with both my toes pointed and my arms overhead.  My form held which was great.

The ring dips were where I struggled.  I can’t really do them (or bar dips) without my shoulder screaming out.  Instead of even trying (knowing I’d hurt myself) I did ring holds – then bar holds for rounds 3 and 4.  I’m not sure what I’m going to do to be able to do ring dips, etc. but I’m going to have to figure something out – just something about the range of motion that hurts my shoulder. 

I made it through this technique session though I knew that when Coach Hayden gave us the choice to do the WOD I wasn’t going to do it – we are a week out from the open and there is no use killing myself at this time.  The WOD looked ‘fun’ but my body wasn’t having it as the regular WOD took so much more out of me than I’d anticipated.

Was good to watch the others push themselves through it though.  Beast Mode!

Also, before class tonight I managed to find bumper plates in Perth and picked myself up some 2.5's, 5's and 10's.  Ready for extra training at home now and couldn't be more excited about it.  Cam also got a 20kg bar over the weekend.  Play time!


Friday, March 1, 2013

Friday Motivation

Because more than funnies I need motivation.  This speaks to me today.  Hopefully you find something in it that speaks to you as well.

 

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.

2/26 – Shoulders (Ouch!)



Strength 

3-3-3-3-3-3-3 
Strict Press 
30-32.5-32.5-32.5-30-31-32.5 

Kind of all over the place but there were a lot of sets and my arms were tired from the overhead lunges the night before.
 

I loved the set up for this WOD though – everyone was grouped up (in similar weight ranges) on all the racks and we had two minutes to go through everyone before the next set.  At the start of the next two minutes Coach Tara would tell us to go again and we’d all alternate through resting for the remainder of the time once we were done.  




I was in a group with Tarrsha and Ali and it was a lot of fun.  We had to change the weights between us most of the time but it was still pretty fluid and we had a ton of time remaining in each two minute set.  It was nice to have someone controlling the rest time and not feeling rushed to get through all 7 rounds.  A definite good format (and one we’d repeat the following day on back squats).




It was funny on this one – you could do the first two reps and things would feel solid and easy and then the third rep would just be a struggle and almost not happen.  It was amazing how quick it would go from on to off – similar I guess to HSPU’s and bench press.  Interesting for sure.


WOD
 5 rounds



3 box jumps (24/30”)



6 dumbbell hang power clean (15/20kg)



9 dumbbell push press (15/20kg)



5:23 (12.5kg)

I have to say – on paper – this didn’t look to bad.  Low number of reps and only 5 rounds but let me tell you just how much it killed, especially after the strict pressing.  The 3 box jumps were no rest at all and the dumbbells were heavy.  It was nice being partnered for this and having Tarrsha both cheer me on and more importantly count for me – specifically number of rounds.  I’d just finished the third round though was thinking I only had one left when in fact there was two.  It was good to have someone keeping track as I suck at that part. 




The box jumps were all unbroken and mostly solid though on tired legs I had to be sure I didn’t eat it.  The hang power cleans were all done as a full set though I wasn’t thinking well and didn’t have a plan going in which meant I did extra reps when I did all six cleans then put the dumbbells down before going into the push presses as I had to clean it for the presses – 7 reps.  Oops, extra work.  Tarrsha got the benefit of learning from this by going second.  I needed this lesson though going into the open.







The push presses just hurt.  The weight was heavy and I put it down more that I should have but managed to get it done which was something at least.  It was a fun WOD, challenging and different and most importantly it made me stronger today.