Happy Thanksgiving back!

So as Thanksgiving is the gluttonous holiday that encourages to eat ridiculous amounts of food, Crossfit encourages us to do ridiculous workouts  before and after to conterbalance the effects.  Yesterday's wod involved a lot of bodyweight exercises and a 500 m row.  By the end, I could not use my arms, but it felt great.  I scaled a bunch, with push ups, ring dips, and scaled back the turkish get ups, but I finished in a respectable amount of time.

Today we did a painstorm wod. We were to lift our bodyweight ground to overhead for as many years as we are old, and double under for 100-age times 10...so for me that is 28 clean and jerks at (really heavy) and 720 double unders.  I scaled back to middle school weight, and as we could choose our own strategy, I did my clean and jerks first, and then used the rest of 30 minutes to complete double unders, but as my feet wanted to get in the way of the rope, I struggled with stringing them together.  I ended up with only 253 double unders, so my strategy may have been flawed, but still a great workout.

Last week I was able to deadlift 223, which is not quite near my max, but more than I have lifted in a year.  That day we did a wod involving box jumps deadlifts and pullups.  There were a bunch of us in attendance...like a lot like I had to hunt for a box to jump on.  In the middle of the wod, a smaller, newer member yelled to Dave who was coaching, "I am one of the shortest people here, why I am I the one of the few jumping on an Rx box (20 inches)."  It took all I had not to comment on the fact that I outweighed her by (at least) 50 pounds yet I was doing pull ups without a band, but Dave politely replied, "because you can".   I understand that her comment came out of pride, and doubt that it was meant to be hurtful, but it rubbed me the wrong way.  I was not using a 20 inch box because when I got to the boxes, they were all gone... pick your battles.  But suggestion to all crossfitters, compare you to you, and leave everyone else out of it...

I leave you with this photo of myself:

sometimes Dave gets some good shots, but this was the worst, first of all I paused so many times at the top for a good shot.  and if you were wondering, I see my poor form, my legs are a bit far apart, my back is rounded, and my hips are high, but i still had a commenter, a trainer, not a crossfitter, one I have done training sessions with (that is saying a lot at a globo gym as not everyone is qualified) but still UGH.  But check out my arms, and my legs I imagined to be quite fatty are actually kinda diesel... and look at my eyeballs! so large!

Go me!

I have had a medium amount of success at crossfit the past couple of days. I had another fun weekend where I skipped working out (Sunday was beautiful and I skipped because I thought it would be cold oops!) i planned a two a day for Monday, the regular wod began with deadlifts. I am still reworking form so I stayed light on those and for the wod as well 15-9-6 6-9-15 deadlifts and burpee pullups. I knew this would take me a while as I am slow at everything but I finished in 27:12 just about fifteen minutes behind EVERYONE else. I came back in the evening for the endurance wod which was 500m row repeats. Paul suggested my goal be about ten seconds slower than 2:15, and I did much better than that at 2:19, 2:15, 2:13, 2:12, 2:11, 2:12 and grand finale 2:05... Did you forget about my slow score? Yeah me too.

Today I planned for a morning session but when I slept through that, chances of making the evening session were slim but I made it. Strength work was the push press, I had to ask dave where the pr board was as I have no idea in which of my 4 wod books I would find it. My pr from the board was 105, I worked up to that then did a conservative five pound jump. I hit it. I told rich I would ring the bell later but went up by ten. I hit it. I went up another ten. I hit it. Are you counting? Twenty pounds!!! The wod was another valley style, 21-15-9 800 m run 9-15-21 wall balls and push ups, I finished just five minutes behind most, but I was satisfied!

Surprise pr!

I have been quite medium lately... this weekend was amazing meaning I are and drank whatever, day drinking turned night drinking on friday, bojangles each morning, and just plain old crap all weekend. So this week getting back on track was quite the challenge. I didn't feel much like working out the beginning of the week, but made myself workout yesterday. it was medium. Today I made myself go again for endurance. The workout was a 2k row. Allison asked what our times were and I couldn't reference but was thinking high nines. She told me to shoot for 915...i went 909 so go me!!!! I went back to my old notebook and my last 2k was 952 in march so hooray for 43 seconds.

swings and snatches

Today's strength work was the kettlebell snatch.  We were to snatch amrap without putting the bell down, I started with a 25# weight and only got to 9 because it was owie on my hands.  The next two sets I did 17, better, but not that many, I have a hard time going to that scary place.

The wod was 6 rounds, 20 swings, rest 30 seconds, 15 box jumps.  The box jumps reminded me that my legs hurt from the weekend.  The swings let me know that my form is terrible.  I had been avoiding them the past little bit due to back pain, but today discovered (what Ashley had been telling me all along) that the back pain was a result of poor form when swinging.  So I worked on form, with a light kettlebell.  It was still hard.

mia

I have been mia...as my computers have been at the repair shop (aka my brother in lawss) and i haven't really felt like blogging.  I am in a slump. Some things have improved (like my pull ups kinda) and somethings have deteriorated into an abyss (my deadlift) somethings have stayed pretty medium.  I have gotten faster at some running and slower at most wods and I just don't know.  My diet has been good and sucky, I am thinking I need to do a whole 30 or something, but at this point I can fit it in before thanksgiving, but i know I will cheat next weekend for homecoming, so blah.  This is where I am in recent memory:

We did an endurance wod that entailed 10 jumping air squats, and sprinting 200m.  We were supposed to do it 10 times.  I did 9 as I was slower than most and Paul felt pity on me.  I struggled with walking after that.

We did an endurance wod that involved kettlebell swings and sprinting.  I stopped in the middle to go to the bathroom.

We did fran. The strength work before was front squats (my favorite) but I was too nervous for fran, and everything felt heavy. Then we did fran, my time was 3:30 slower than my pr.  It was embarrassing.

Today I ran a 5K. I was passed by: an old man, people pushing strollers, 3 men wearing weight vests (who also did burpees and squats during the race, a one legged woman, and a skinny fat couple who ran walked the whole thing, also embarrassing.

I'm back!  I think.  This weekend I am in a wedding, and the dress is a bit snug.  I would like to have the freedom to drop it like it's hot, so I have been focusing on proper eating and making it to the gym, even when I don't wanna, if only for the week before. 

Yesterday I planned to make it a two a day, and head in for one of the morning sessions, but sleep monster said NO. So I headed in for 6 PM planning to just do the wod, as the endurance wod was a partner wod, and I dislike those.  But I was lured in, and was able to complete the wod on my own.  So, I  am not really sure what the world is coming to, but I paid a man to yell at me while I ran in the rain.  The wod was 200 m, 400m 800 m, 400 m, 200 m.  If as a partner wod, they alternated and ran one more 800.  My  split times were 55 s, 2:10, 5:00, 2:10?, 30 s!!!!!!!!!!!!.  And even now I doubt myself, as my math may have been off, but no really, I ran 200 m in 30 seconds. GO ME!  Not bad for having missed endurance for more than a month.  I then stayed for the wod, even though Amy Scott tried to get me to celebrate Dr. Shirey's 100 # Snatch(!) with watermelon cocktails.  The strength work was hang cleans, which I will admit I slacked off on. and then the wod, 15-10-5 man makers, with 50 double unders in the middle.  It was crazy! It took me the longest of everyone, but I did it.

This morning I made it in for the 7:15, they had an abnormally large class, and didn't seem as excited for all the new faces, one said, we were just spoiled by 3 person classes... I have been a member almost forever, and used to have 8:30 basically to myself, but the more the merrier (I think) as long as you are not psycho about everything.  The strength work was the jerk, I did two at 65, and decided my back wasn't working, so just foam rolled, for the rest of the strength.  The wod was 21-15-9 push press, ring dips, push ups with shuttle runs in the middle.  I opted to go very light weight as my shoulders were still hurty from yesterday, with the 33, and ring dips I would have done a blue band with a skinny purple just in case, but that wasn't available so I just did green.  Doug called me out on the shuttle runs, as I didn't see that the purpose was to turn around, so I just ran straight through.    So with the wod heavily scaled, I finished first.  Go me! (kinda)

John has decided he wants to compete in the Carolina Fitness Challenge, as Jonathan Denton will compete if he does!!! But this means diet will be under control. 

sooo...um...

I am still here. I still have a blog.  I still exercise...kinda.  I have battled sickness, busy-ness, and now injuryness but I will make it through.  Last week some time I hurt my back, I believe from hyperextension while doing a jerk.  It has left me having a hard time moving, as your back connects everything together (like mayo on a sandwich).  That combined with my eating junk for the past few weeks has left me feeling kinda junky.  I am travelling for the next three weekends, so I am having a bit of a hard time working on eating my best, though I know that is going to be the best way to help decrease inflammation and get back to normal. 

Workouts have been meh to medium.  I had some good moments, like my 30 unbroken double unders which Amy Scott describes here.  I've had some terrible ones, where we were doing Elizabeth (21-15-9 squat cleans (with 95#) and ring dips) and it hurt so bad, but I decided it better to quit rather than drop weight as I have never done it without the Rx weight, even though I can't do ring dips rx, so who cares. 

I took a dance class with my bestie James  who choreographs for Beyonce and a bunch of people 10 years younger than me,we then went out on the town and then I made him teach me video choreography until 4 am.   I thought I was back in school (cause that's what I did in college every day) and now I am paying for it. 

But I will get back at least to normal.  Focusing on eating better.   I worked out this morning when I didn't wanna cause I knew I would feel better and I was right.  I just need to remember that daily.