3/29 - "Helen"

Strength:
5-5-5 back squat
40-50-60

Liked doing this one again, 60kg is my current back squat PR and while I didn't increase this at all today I got through all 5 reps pretty solidly which shows that I'm improving.  My lower body though still feels like my weakness overall though.

Benchmark WOD: “Helen”
3 rounds -
400m run
21 KB swings (16/24kg)
12 pull-ups
14:12 (Rx KB, pullups - 6 reps/round Rx/ 6 orange band)

When I walked into the box and saw this on the board I was complaining.  Having done "Claudia" just two days before I didn't like how similar they were.  Of course I did the WOD anyway and it wasn't too bad.

I need to work on my running.  I was the slowest coming back into the box on the first run and I just can't seem to push myself as hard on these as I need to be.  It just hurts.  But if I'm going to start taking time off of these benchmark WODs (Claudia, Helen, etc.) then I'm going to have to speed up my legs. 

Once again I managed to do unbroken sets for the KB swings in all rounds though I'm definitely feeling it in my lower back today.  I was trying to let the KB just sit in my knuckles without grasping too hard as I didn't want to burn out my forearms for the pull-ups.  It seemed to work.

The pull-ups were fairly solid.  I managed to do 3 sets of 2 each round unassisted but really had to kip hard to get them.  I'd then do the second six of the set with the orange band (second smallest) - the first round was 6 straight then I think I did 3-3 the other two rounds.  I'm quite happy too that there was no torn skin.

I'm wearing flats today.  I noticed yesterday at work (in heels) that my the pad on my right foot was quite sore - it's felt bruised since doing the box jumps in 12.3 in my new inov-8 Bare-XF 210's and I think that all the running on Tuesday hurt it a bit more (for some reason only one foot though).  Anyway, yesterday didn't help the matter and now I have to start caring for my foot a little bit better. 

Also - I didn't do my 3x5 C2B pullups tonight as I'd done the pull-ups during the WOD.  I did however play a bit with my HSPU's and managed 3x5 down to a ab mat on a 5kg plate and did these all without kipping.  I tried a couple down to just the ab mat and I got up on one but had to kip to get back up. 

Where's 'Jac' (hint- look for the shoes!) - Source

goals, accountability and unconditional support... the spirit of crossfit

I found the following WOD on the crossfit games site yesterday - a top games competitor listed it as his favorite WOD and I couldn't think of anyone better to share it with than Coach Tim.  He lives for this kind of stuff.  

 

Godzilla WOD:

Three rounds for time

1 OHS (135kg men)

2 rope climbs

3 snatches (90kg men)

4 ring muscle-up handstand push-ups

 

Video on youtube - search "Kenny Leverich Godzilla."

 

Today I convinced(?) Tim to do this.  He gave himself a few years to get there but we negotiated and I told him that in 6 months he needs to complete this WOD (scaled) - 100kg OHS and 80kg snatches.  His current PR's  are OHS - 90kg and Snatch - 72.5kg.   I think he'll do it easy.

In return I'm focused on that muscle up.  End of June. Target.

Sometimes it's just about little things like this.  Making deals with yourself, with another.  Someone to hold you accountable like Tim did to me the other night - walking into the box and asking if I'd done my static ring holds yet.  That's what makes us all better.  Goals, accountability.  Accountability mostly from ourselves (how bad do you really want it?) but it's also that encouraging nudge from another, the unconditional support of purely wanting someone to achieve something great. 

It's inspiring to see someone achieve their goals, to be excited for them as they push their limits beyond where they are currently or where they think they can get - that support helps both mentally and physically.   So here's to Tim's Godzilla WOD and my muscle-up and to anyone else who wants to boldly declare their goals and find the encouragement and support that's right here waiting for them.

2012 Open Reflections

2012 was my first year doing the games open, other than a beginner level team competition (Affiliate Cup - November 2011) I haven't done any other competitions.

The beautiful thing about the games is that it pushed me beyond my limits both physically and mentally.


Physically:
-PR on my snatch - 35kg (27 reps)
-PR on my push presses - 34kg
-completed a WOD with strict toes to bar
-unassisted chest to bar pullup (18 reps)

Mentally:
Where do we even start mentally.  I pushed limits I didn't even know I had.  Giving everything I had for just one more rep, one more.  Knowing at times that my TEAM was relying on the score I was putting up.  Struggling through movements for a very long time (longer than in a normal WOD where I'd just scale after a few missed reps) - not giving in even when I'd already previously posted a better score for that WOD.  Fully living the mantra that there's no giving up in Crossfit, ever.  I learned how much more I can (and will) push myself going forward and I've also realized my limitations (hello wall balls).  I never gave up on any of the WODs and I embraced the challenge of the heavier weights (with a bit of trepidation and fear).

The physical improvements were a great reinforcement but I'll take all the mental lessons learned this year overall.  Huge leaps.

I'm happy that I was able to post a score for each of the workouts.  At the end of it all I placed 615/948 in Australia and 9905/12790 overall in the individual women's category.  I'll take it!

2/27 - 'Claudia'

So much soreness today, more so than yesterday.  So thankful today is a rest day.

I was really excited yesterday morning when I heard Sharon had Rx-ed on the WOD (you're a rockstar girl) though I didn't know what it was.   I tried to get her to reveal it but she wouldn't both stating that it would convince me *not* to go but that it was an old 'friend'.  I guessed at that point that it would be 'Claudia' but she wouldn't confirm or deny it.  I looked up my old time anyway.  Turns out I was right and 'Claudia' and I had another date. 

Agility skills
This was a good warm up though very tough on my very sore legs. 

WOD:  Benchmark “Claudia”
5 rounds -
20 KB swings (16/24kg)
400m run
15:58 Rx (PR)

This is probably my favorite benchmark WOD but I still hate it oh so much.  Claudia was my first Rx-ed crossfit workout hence the strange attraction to her.

The last time (first time) I did 'Claudia':http://todayigotstronger.blogspot.com/2011/09/last-night-i-got-it-on-with-claudia.html

Today Claudia wasn't so bad - it was challenging and it hurt but I didn't have the mental battle that I've had with her the other times I've done this WOD.  I think partly because I've been doing more swings with the 20kg KB that the 16kg KB now doesn't feel so tough.

I started out steady - almost everyone was out the door before me but I was right on their tails.  I slowly reeled in Bonnie and just kept my pace.  I could see Neil slightly ahead and didn't want to let him gain anymore on me during the run.  Back into the box for another steady 20 reps.  

I managed all KB swings unbroken in all rounds which in itself is an improvement over last go round (November) where I was doing sets of 10 on the second through fourth rounds then 10-5-5 on the last round.  This time I mentally pushed through it - when I had 5-10 reps left I would recall the first time doing Claudia and having Coach Tim in my ear counting down my reps, cheering me on and that really helped to push me.  The runs are where I struggle.

On I think the third round Neil and I picked up our KB's at the same time and started swinging in unison.  I just wanted to match him and figured if I could I could stay close.  After about 10-15 reps he put his down (he had a heavier weight) and I just kept going.  I knew if I got to 15 reps that I could muscle out the last 5 even as my hamstrings and glutes were tightening up (one legged deadlifts are killer).

From this point on I was on my own, no one to chase anymore.  On my fourth run in I heard footsteps behind me and I thought someone was reeling me in but it was Moz kicking in it on his final run.  I got lapped.  Heh.

I managed to shave a minute off my previous PR however I think we had slightly longer runs then (we've moved location and now have accurately measured run distances) so I'm not sure how to relate this to that.  I felt stronger in the swings but running is still my biggest weakness and so to get better at this WOD I'll have to focus on that.

Muscle-Up Skills
1 minute accumulated static ring holds

3 reps to failure of bent arm ring hold

These were hard after the WOD.  I'm sore everywhere (I think moreso from Monday's WODs).  I managed to do 15 then 10 seconds of static ring holds without assistance then grabbed the yellow band (smallest) for the other 35 seconds and I believe did 10-15-10.

Coach Pete also suggested I do some bent arm holds on the rings - no idea what to call these - see picture below (middle guy).  I did three reps of these for max time and they were really hard.  My feet were still on the ground but out in front of me.  This is definitely an area where I'll have to focus.

Funny - I was driving to work this morning and realized that I hold the steering wheel in a false grip, quite amusing to me anyway.

Source

3/27 - Monday Madness...

Hamstrings quads, glutes, lower back, lats, shoulders, traps, triceps.... no that's not an anatomy lesson, it's a quick review of the muscles in my body that currently hate me.  So sore.  And it's only been 12 hours.  I can't wait to see how the next 24 go as currently I can barely walk up the stairs here at work.

On the bright side, it's only making me better.  Stronger.  Closer to muscle ups and Rx-ing every WOD.

Strength
3-3-3-3 one legged deadlifts
18-28-35-40

This was challenging - required strong focus on good technique otherwise you'd fall over.  Really felt it in my legs on each lift but it was good.  Stronger than I'd expected.  Can't wait to try the (two leg) deadlift ladder again soon and see if I can beat my previous PR of 90kg.


WOD
3-5-7-9 x 3
Squat cleans (30/45kg)
Competition push-ups
15:00 - Rx (missed 6 squat cleans and 9 pushups)

 So - first lifting WOD that I've Rx-ed (at least in quite some time).  After the open WODs I knew I had to up my game overall, push myself as no one else is going to.  I need to stop taking the middle ground and go heavier when I can.  12.5 showed me I could do 30kg thrusters so 30kg squat cleans were a go.  I also decided that I was done with knee push-ups.  For some reason even with all my other improvements in the past 8 months of crossfit I've only ever done knee pushups.  Over.

I started out strong on this WOD.  Felt ok but the squat cleans catch up pretty quick.  My legs were hurting.  I also learned I can't count so well so I did the sets of 3 and 5 then on the third set I broke it up into 5 reps and 4 reps for both the squat cleans and the push-ups.  Thankfully at that point I marked off what I'd done on my board and realized I'd missed 7's so I went back and filled in the round of 7.  I probably should have used that round of 9 for the 7's and then done 9's again but I knew as it was I was already close to not finishing.

The first two rounds I got through in about 10 minutes - on pace to finish but I was slowing down quite a lot on the squat cleans.  This is where my games focused mentality started to come through - every rep counts, pick up the bar, do as many as you can, drop the bar, 3-2-1, breathe, pick up the bar, go again until they were done.  I pushed through the round of 7 situps with under 20 seconds left and jumped back onto the bar to get three quick reps in.  It was all I had.  It hurt but I know I gave it my all.  And I'm proud of the jump that I made.  It's going to be slow and hard but I'm getting better and my body knows it (so sore) but I also in a very sadistic way enjoy working so hard.

Muscle-Up Skills
3 x 5 assisted dips for form

Did these on the parallel bars.  The first set I used the orange band as that's what I'd used the other week when we first did this skill.  The following two sets I did with just the yellow (smallest band).  They were extremely hard especially in the 4th and 5th rep but I focused on good form and full range of motion and got them done.  Happy with that.  Slow and steady progress...

EVERYTHING HURTS!

So very sore from tonights WOD.

The highlights:
-Rx
-didn’t finish
-3x5 dips completed one with orange (second smallest) and two with yellow (smallest)
-arms don’t work (pushups)
-legs are broken (squat cleans)

Details tomorrow when I can hold my arms up long enough to type more…

Goodnight!

Muscle Up Tutorial

New Focus - Muscle Ups by July 1

So now that the Open is over I've decided it's a good time to establish some goals with small definable targets to help me achieve them.

I learned a ton during the open; new skills, untapped strength.  The open wods really pushed me outside my comfort zone and made me realize that I was capable of more than I was doing in my regular workout.  I had never done toes to bar in a workout but did well in 12.3 and have since done them Rx in another box programmed wod.  I didn't even know I could do an unassisted chest to bar pull-up (had never thought to even try) and I did 18 on 12.5 with 3 consecutive even on 12.5 redo.  I PRed on all the weighted movements through the games and with all this new found knowledge I want to keep progressing in leaps and bounds and muscle ups.

So, the target for July* 1st is:
-one full muscle up

Muscle-up Breakdown (how I'll achieve this goal)

deep ring dip by end of next month (April 30 latest)

then aim for 5 the next month (May 31 latest)
1 strict unassisted pull up (April 30)
5 unassisted pullups (May 31)

comfort with false grip

- regular practice on assisted dips through the full range of motion (on parallel bars in the box) - progressing from orange band to unassisted - Mondays will be the day to do 3 sets of 5 dips)
-static ring holds - Tuesday or Wednesdays - accumulate 1 minute of ring holds using false grip (may increase over time)
-strict pullups - 3 sets of 5 strict pullups on Thursdays (may alternate with HSPU's - full range of motion depending on state of my hands - currently not great) - need to progress down from orange (I think) band

This seems like a narrow focus and a simplistic approach but I think if I stick to it I'll be able to see results each week and it will work for me.  I have no excuses to not do the movements before or after wods so if you see me out there hold me accountable or work in with me.

*July will be a year since I've moved to Australia and a year from when I've seen old friends - I'm going back to visit then and want to be in the best shape I can be (we all know the feeling)

3/25 - 2012 Open WOD 12.5 Redo(?)

So... after two days of rest I was back at the box yesterday to give 12.5 another try.  I had a different plan to approach the workout than the previous one which was every rep was a bonus (considering I didn't think I could do c2b going in).  This time I wanted to rest less on the thrusters - do the 3's and 6's unbroken, go for 5 and 4 and then hopefully 6 and 6 if I got that far (got through those first 6 last go).

Anyway, my plan fell apart quite quickly though I still persevered and learned a ton.

I started strong, 3 thrusters and (woo-hoo) 3 consecutive c2b, 6 solid thrusters and then I fell apart.  I managed the first 3 c2b as either 2 and 1 or all singles, can't quite remember and that was it.  After that I couldn't get any more c2b.  I kept trying for probably 5.5 minutes too.  Coach Kirst was encouraging and helpful and although I was at times getting high enough my chest wouldn't touch.  It was needless to say a little frustrating.  I couldn't figure it out. 

I remember looking at the clock with about 2 minutes remaining and for an instant I thought about giving up right there - I mean I already posted a solid score and knew I wasn't going to come close to it but then just as quickly as the thought entered my mind it disappeared.  Crossfitters don't quit.  And I didn't.  I made a million more attempts (it would be interesting to have counted how many I missed) right until the clock ran out.  I remember seeing 7 seconds left and made one more attempt just trying to get one more to count but alas, not to be.

After a while my arms were getting tired and I had nothing left to pull with for that last bit/ second kick to touch the bar.  I'm glad I did it though.  Glad I gave it a try.  I find it's not often we continue to fail on such a large scale in our WODs - if this had been a general workout (and not the open WOD) after 4 or 5 failed attempts I would have scaled the movement and moved on from there and wouldn't have gotten that 'never' quit lesson.  That perseverance.  The struggle made me stronger.  And that in itself is a reason why I can call this workout a success.  I got better.

3/22 - 2012 Open WOD 12.5

CrossFit Games WOD 12.5
Complete as many reps as possible in 7 minutes following the rep scheme below:
3 Barbell Thrusters (30/45kg)
3 Chest to bar Pull-ups
6 Barbell Thrusters
6 Chest to bar Pull-ups
9 Barbell Thrusters
9 Chest to bar Pull-ups…
This is a timed workout. If you complete the round of 9, go on to 12. If you complete 12, go on to 15, etc.
42 (finished round of 9 plus 6 thrusters)

This was awesome.  I am so happy with how I did given I hadn't done a single unassisted chest to bar pull up before this workout.  Coach Kirst told me to try the mixed grip before the class and I gave it a shot and got one rep which gave me some confidence - don't get me wrong, wasn't pretty at all, lots of extra kicks but I did it which was better than I thought going in.  I was ready.

For the first time I was ready to just tackle the games WOD, I wasn't nervous *until* the clock started beeping... 3-2-1... and then I was off.  For some reason the thrusters felt easy even though my previous max was only 25.5.  Big reflection of the strength I've gained over the past few months with doing 30kg no problem.  Full set of three.

Moved on to the C2B and got the first two consecutively.  I was excited.  One more and it was back to the thrusters.  Coach Match had reminded me to keep my heart rate low, don't rush too much just keep moving steadily so that was a focus.  I busted out all 6 thrusters and then I think I was back to single C2B's but they weren't that hard.  I was using a box to reach the bar rather than jumping and a mixed grip.  I'd complete the rep, drop off the bar and then move to set up for the next one, nice and steady.

I did the 9 thrusters in sets of 3.  And then moved on to the C2B with just under 2 minutes left.  I knew I could complete the round of 9 and that became my focus.  I missed one rep - I think the 7th which put a bit more pressure on me but I was steady, drop down and right back up, no wasted time.  I managed to finish with about 20 or so seconds left and got right on the bar - busted out 6 straight thrusters before time elapsed.

Note - when trying to get reps done quickly - get your head out of the way - on the first thruster of the last set I pushed the bar right into my chin... ouch!  Thankfully no bruise today - *that* would be hard to explain.  Heh.

I was stoked with this wod.  I can't really convey how happy this made me.  The excitement was amazing.  I still have a smile on my face.

I realized afterwards that my approach to this WOD was different than so many others where I have a target score or time, etc.  For this one I didn't have that pressure since I didn't think I could do C2B so every one I got were a bonus.  I wasn't focused on the clock until the last 2 minutes when I knew I could likely get the 9 C2B completed but that was about it.  I was just focused on staying steady and keeping moving.  My heart wasn't trying to bust out of my chest but I was focused.  Different mentality and I loved it.

Like I said, super happy with this.  Was doing my little awkward dance after the class.  Coach Match also told me that I'm done with bands for pull-ups...uh-oh.  Not sure I'm ready for *that* just yet.  But progress... definitely progress.  Practice, practice, practice.

After WOD
3 rounds
15 KB SDHP
10 single-arm KB swings
KB shuttle run
2:57 (16kg KB)

This was a fun little after-wod.  My hands were pretty beat up and I had to be a little careful on the one armed swings but happily I didn't tear any skin (really need to moisturize - reminder!).  Kept at this steadily without stopping which really helped.

Great day at the box.  Super happy with being able to see my progress (I couldn't for a while) and also thankful for the open wods which helped me in so many ways (more on that to come in another post).