Tuesday June 29

Fun day! I had a good restful weekend in Nashville (no workouts!) so I was ready to go!

We started by practicing sumo dead lift high pull (whew, what a name!)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qruUYEGNlUM&feature=related

He makes it look easy...of course he has no weights on the darn thing!

I used a 50lb bar for mine...5 rounds of 5 reps each. They actually weren't horrible. Something different, which was nice.

Our workout today was:

3 rounds

100 skipping jump ropes (we did running jump ropes)

15 kettle bell swings (35 lb kettle bell)

10 pull ups (I tried using 2 purple bands today, a very small step down from the blue I've been using)

I finished in 9 minutes, 56 seconds. Wheee!

Then I rowed for 250m and got a time of 1 minute, 1 second. I sprinted that one!

Team WOD

We had 4 girls in our group yesterday so Justin had us do a team WOD (workout of the day). I'd never done one since I'm usually working out alone or with just one other person. It was actually kind of fun...we had to get a certain amount of reps in, split up between us. While one team member was "working" the other was resting. I liked that part :)

Our workout was:

250 squats

100 wall balls (10lb ball)

250 singles (jump rope)

100 burpees (suck)

250 lunges (really sucked after all the other leg work!)

My legs are KILLING me today, but that is OK :) Just means I worked them! I almost fell down the stairs yesterday though right afterwards because my legs felt like jelly. But I'm alive :)

Did it!

My first "three day in a row" workout! Woo hoo!

We started with "press jerks" which is a funny name now that I type it :) Basically it is a push press, kinda...you take a barbell and hold it in the rack position (so basically at your shoulders) and then jump the bar up while quickly getting "under" the bar and getting into a small squat or split stance, locking out the arms overhead (Ok, I got that from a definition thing...not entirely my description, haha!) We used 55lbs and did 5 rounds of 5 reps. It was a bit difficult for me, but I finished it.

The other girl I was working out with hadn't done the SUPER FUN workout I did yesterday (check that one out!) so she got to do that (lucky her...har har) while I tried to beat one of my old records. I re-did the Annie (rounds of 50,30,20,20,10 repetitions of double unders and sit ups...multiply those by 4 on the jump roping since I did singles). Last time I did it was April 15th with a time of 15 minutes, 5 seconds. Today I did it in 14 minutes and 14 seconds! Go me!! :)

I really didn't think I was going to beat it...I was dying! Sometimes I think my trainer only tells me I have so many minutes left, thinking I'll go faster, when in fact I have way more time...but that is just my opinion ;) That, or when I'm working hard and sweating and hyperventilating, time moves way slower than it should...

second day in a row

Today marks my second day in a row of working out...whew! I'm working out tomorrow too, so doing a "real" Crossfit schedule at least for a few days (3 days on, one day off)

Today was brutal...I had to hold a 30lb barbell over my head and then walk the length of the gymnastics floor (suppose to be 50 ft or so I think...) doing lunges...my trailing knee had to "kiss" the floor...hahahahhaha! Yeah, I can't even do that without a barbell over my head! Then, once I got to the end of that, I had to do 21 burpees. And repeat...4 more times...ouch!

My time was under 30 minutes...that is all I remember...I think in the 29 minute range somewhere.

Afterwards, he had us do a 500m row...harsh.

But you know what? I felt really good when it was all done (don't you always??) and I'm glad I did it and made it through.

Good workout! Sunday, June 20th

I'm not super fond of working out in the early afternoon on a weekend (I get lazy very quickly!) but I've gotta do what I've gotta do! :)

Today I worked out with a gal who I might have worked out with before, but I don't recall. She was really sweet though! Some of the girls there I feel way more comfortable with working out with than others (personality, skill level, etc) and she was fun.

We did our warmup and then did what Justin called "something slightly different than what you are used to".

It doesn't have a name, so I'm calling it the Thirty Seconds

5 rounds for total reps:

30 seconds wall balls (I used 10 lb)

30 seconds kettle bell swings (35lb)

30 seconds dumbbell thrusters (10lb each hand)

30 seconds box step ups (20 in. box)

30 seconds burpees

3-5 minutes of rest between each round.

The first two rounds, we took just a 3 minute rest in between...4 minutes for the 3rd rest and 5 minutes for the last.

I won't bore you with the total details, but I did a total of 305 reps of all of those together. (please be clear, that does not mean I did 305 wall balls only!)

It was actually a good workout. I really liked getting that small break in between each round to catch my breath and cool down just a bit. It also allowed me to really push a bit harder each round (although for the most part, I never did better on any of them, but at least I stayed pretty consistent)

Since I'm going to Nashville next weekend, I am scheduled to work out tomorrow, Tuesday AND Thursday! Whew! Wish me luck! While I'm in Nashville, I'll be doing some much needed resting (though I will be exploring a fun barre class with my friend, can't wait!)

Thursday, June 17

My first two-days in a row workout!

Did our warmup (push ups still bothering my right obliques some...not sure why...better when I do pushups off my knees instead of feet though).

Our "technique" for the day was back squats. You put a barbell on your back and squat! Easy, right? It wasn't bad actually. We (the girl I was working out with and myself) got up to 80 lbs and decided that would be our limit for the day. We had to do 5 rounds of 5 reps. I'm feeling some possible bruising a bit above my shoulder blades where I was holding the bar...to be expected of course.

Our workout was a modified Crossfit Baseline.

3 rounds for time

500m row

40 squats

30 sit ups

20 push ups

10 pull ups

I dislike rowing...it is the LONGEST 2.5 minutes of my life! I feel like I've rowed an entire lake and I look and I'm only at 200m or so...ugghhh! Then the squats...whoo...those were "easy" per se, but I am feeling those and the back squats big time in my glutes!

My time ended up being 26 minutes and 18 seconds. I definitely wasn't speeding through anything, but I felt like I paced myself well and did it mostly without stopping much...so I'm proud of that.

Wednesday, June 16th

Well - I was suppose to work out Monday but my trainer kinda sorta forgot to put me in the calendar. It is OK, it happens. So instead I work out today and tomorrow. My first "two days in a row" workout. We'll see how I feel :)

Today I worked out alone...I kinda like those days because we get to focus more on technique and learning new things. Today he had me do overhead squats. It was my first time doing them...they "seem" easy in theory (well, kinda) but not so much once you are doing it! You hold a barbell up over your head and then do squats. Squats are hard enough without having to hold a bar over your head the whole time! I used a "lady's olympic bar" which is 30 lbs (the mens is 45) and then we added 5 lbs to it..so I was lifting 35 lbs. Not much! But the core muscles you use to hold that sucker up, oh my! So I did 5 rounds of 5 reps of those.

My "workout" today was the Elizabeth

21-15-9 reps of:

hang cleans (41 lbs)

ring dips (think rings that the guys use in gymnastics, I'm "dipping" on those, but I do use a band across that I rest my knees on so it is a slight bit easier)

This is for time...I did that in 9 minutes 29 seconds. Not sure what the normal is (probably far faster than what I did!) but hey, it is a start! It was my first time doing this workout too.

Friday, June 11th

I thought about just saying I wasn't going in yesterday because my abs hurt something serious...but I did. Justin said he'd be easy on me, so I wanted to see what his version of "easy" would be ;)

I couldn't do half of my warm up...squats were OK, even getting into position for push ups hurt, sit ups no freakin' way!, ring dips were OK, pull ups, nope.

Our workout was doing push presses. I went with a lighter bar just because that requires a lot of ab muscle to stay steady and I didn't want to push it with a heavier bar. So I did 6 rounds of 5 reps with a 45 lb bar. Not bad. I probably could have gone up a tad (the next step up would be 51 lbs I think) but I didn't. Then he had us do some handstands again. I was actually able to throw my feet up against the mat and stay there! Woo hoo! Before Crossfit, my arms would have crumpled! I even did it without Justin's "spotting" the 2nd time too! Held it for 10 seconds, had a HUGE rush of blood to my head and then was done :) Then he had us do some "hollow rocks" which basically you are on your back with your body in a C, rocking on your tailbone...that was damn near impossible for me. Not sure if it was the ab pain or just the actual exercise...oh, we also did supermans and some Turkish Get Ups (you need to google that!).

That one is going to hurt...

I walked in today and my trainer just looked at me funny. He said "we are working out today?". Guess I'm glad he was there because he'd never turn me away, haha! He was planning on doing his own workout, but had to push that back...sorry Justin! In my defense, yes I was suppose to be there and yes we planned all of this weeks dates via text...he just forgot to write yesterday down.

He kept it short and, well, kinda easy for me today.

Did our warmup...

Work out was just hang cleans (http://www.exrx.net/WeightExercises/OlympicLifts/HangClean.html) and half GHD sit ups (http://www.crossfit.com/journal/library/38_05_GluteHam_SU.pdf). I only go parallel with my GHD sit ups (hence the "half" part of it). Fun stuff!

So my workout was:

20 hang cleans

50 GHD

15 hang cleans

40 GHD

12 hang cleans

30 GHD

9 hang cleans

20 GHD

I used 41 lbs for the hang cleans (we are still focusing on my form, not so much the weight because I am just having a hard time getting these down).

Finished in 19:20. Not horrible...I'm not sure what the normal time is. The GHD's are horribly difficult for me and I could only do 10 at a time.

So yeah...I'm definitely starting to hurt this morning!

Monday June 7, 2010

Another day, another workout :)

I think this one was called 45 caliber...violent ;)

We warmed up...

Workout as RX'd (prescribed)

45 double unders

45 dumbbell thrusters

45 pull ups

45 double unders

2 rounds

That is pretty much what we did. Obviously, I did 180 singles instead of the double unders...I can do a (emphasis on the "a") double under...but it would take me FOREVER to do 45 of them I think...maybe next time I'll try it, we'll see. For now, doing the 180 singles is really just as strenuous and easier at the same time. The dumbbell thrusters, I used 12lb dumbbells the first round but went down to 10lb each the next. Doing that many in a row is just not very easy. Pull ups I'm still using the blue band. I am trying to use the purple band in warmups (really, it does nothing as my feet are about 2 inches off the ground when I do...maybe 5 lb resistance??) but there is no way I can use it in the workouts yet.

It was for time, but I forgot what my time was. Maybe 28 minutes?? I don't know...I'll have to get that next time...he wrote it down though.

Then we practiced L-sits. You take a set of parallel bars, hold yourself up with arms straight and stick your legs out in front of you, like an L. Yeah, I haven't gotten there yet...I tuck my legs under me and that is as far as I can go. We were trying to hold it for 10 seconds...longest 10 seconds of my life!

Then we practiced "graduated" handstands...he is trying to kill us, I swear! First we would put our hands down and try to swing our legs up at least a little bit...then he put an angled mat against the wall and had us go at it. I can 'almost' get my feet all the way up without assistance...probably just fear that keeps me from doing it completely. So Justin would help swing my legs up and then just stand there with his arm across my shins for moral support more than anything. We had to hold that for 10 seconds, twice. Oh the blood that rushed to my head...oh my. It was kinda fun though to leave knowing that I kinda sorta did a handstand :)

Well that sucked...

OK - so I have a cold. It is just in my head and everything I read says I can still work out as long as everything is "above the neck". So off I went. I told myself I would take it easy...well, that is not so easy to do when you are working out with two others and the workout is what it is. So I broke down again...yup, again. I have broken down crying one other time and today I just remember that I had a major headache that day...so I guess working out when I don't feel good is not good for my emotional health, haha! Oh well...Justin is an awesome trainer and deals with it...the poor thing should have a degree in psychology to train me! He lets me get it all out and then gets me through the rest of the workout. The two people I was working out with were very supportive too...they were right there counting down the reps with Justin and urging me on.

So today's workout was this:

100 thrusters

3 burpees every minute on the minute

So my goal was to get 100 thrusters in. I used a 30lb bar. With a thruster, you hold the bar at the top of your chest (can't think of a better way to describe it) and then squat and as you stand up, thrust the bar up over head.

I did great at first. I got 20 thrusters in that first minute. Then I did 3 burpees. Then I was tired. Then I couldn't barely lift the darn bar off the ground, hehe. I broke down at about 65 thrusters. It was to the point where I was doing 2 or 3 thrusters and then having to do burpees again. I was starting to hyperventilate (all part of me crying really)...freak out, whatever. So I took a walk to the bathroom and back...probably took a good 2-3 minute break and then Justin talked me back into it...told me I was going to do it and I could finish it. I did 15 thrusters that first minute (helped to have a break)...got the rest done in intervals of 5. Phew! I felt much better afterwards.

Then we had to do some ab stuff on the floor. The first one was a straight arm plank and then bringing one leg at a time into our chest (trying to touch our knee to our elbow, that wasn't happening!). We did those for 3 rounds, 30 seconds each. Then he had us sit on the floor, lift our feet and balance on our butt basically for the same (3 rounds, 30 seconds each). Then we stretched a bit.

Good times! Embrace the suck, as Justin would say!

300

300 reps...that is all...for time...

25 pull ups (using the blue band still)

50 deadlifts (80 lb)

50 push ups (off knees, chest to floor)

50 box steps ups (20" box)

50 floor wipers (now this one was a new one...I'll describe it below)

50 kettle bell swings (35lbs)

25 pull ups (using the blue band)

Time: 26:43

OK - so floor wipers. You lay flat on the floor on your back. You hold a bar up over your head (well, over your chest actually). I just held a 30lb bar but most "crazy" Cross Fitters can hold 135lb+. Then, you slowly lift your legs and touch both of your feet to one hand. Slowly lower your legs all the way to the ground (flat) and then lift them up to the other hand. That is one rep. I got about 10 in and Justin knew there was just no way. It was the first time I had done these and quite honestly, before I did Cross Fit there is no way I could have even lifted my legs once! So then he let me count each touch as one...so I did half as many as I should have done I guess...but I'm sure I'll still feel them tomorrow!

Then I practiced my double unders a bit. I can get one at a time...just gotta figure out how to do them in a row. It took me what seemed like forever to get one and then once I got that one, my head "figured" it out and I was able to do them all the time. So I'm hoping it is just a matter of my head figuring out how to do them, working with my wrists to flip them quicker, etc...then I can stop doing singles so much and just do double unders! Of course that just makes it harder...but when a workout calls for double unders and I can only do singles, the "conversion" is multiplying the amount of reps by 4!! That adds up to a lot of singles quite often.

Good work out though...can't wait to try it again someday and see if I can beat my time!