Back in ATL for 2 Days

So got to cop 2 workouts at CF ATL. Yesterday was 140 double unders, so with my calf in bad shape I did rowing Helen: 3 rounds for time of 500 m row, 21 kb swings (1 pookie), 12 pull ups (blue band). 15:33. Can tell I have lost a little ground since it had been almost 2 weeks since I had been to the gym but instead was doing Eva T workouts in the dinky ass little Sofitel workout room. Today I really wasn't stoked up to make it to the gym but your mother really was, so we went and did 1/2 the WOD: We did 3 rounds for time of 12, then 24, then 36 squats, push ups, pullups and sit ups. I did 19:32. Hat's off to your mother for making it happen. Now to jump a plane to Munchen.

Jennifer take care of your knee, breathe a lot of love and patience into it; the body will heal if you show it the love.

Knees

After the rowing extravaganza, my left knee started hurting.  I told the director of my dance group, who told me that I shouldn't be working out without a trainer; that I need to work on strengthening whichever leg was "obviously" weaker and the cause of my knee pain (even though I can deadlift 1.25 x BW); and that I needed to dance for the practice.  So I did.  Now my knee hurts even worse, and there is no way I'm not giving it a few rest days.  I am going to dance today, but I will NOT dance.  This really annoys me.

Variations

Tonight I had some risotto, and I think I reached the pinnacle of my non-Paleo eating.  I had been more or less doing 2 paleo meals per day plus snacks and then one at the dining hall (laziness, forgetting to unfreeze my frozen meats), and tonight I decided that I just needed some comfort food.  I'd had a headache all day and obviously there I also some relationship drama lurking in the background...anyway, this risotto is sitting in my stomach like a ton of bricks.

I almost decided not to go to the gym, actually.  Wasn't in the mood for a 20 min AMRAP, and I can't do HSPUs or muscle ups.

I've been eyeing CrossFit Endurance for a while now.  Sunday's Michael (21:22) showed me that I can improve a LOT in my running/rowing, and I need this more than I probably need to get my strength up.  Strength comes up anyway, Coach Glassman says, because of the nature of the programming.  Tonight I did the CFE WOD in lieu of the HQ WOD.

I accidentally left out the first minute of rest, but wow...what a workout!  It actually wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it'd be.  In 14:50 I managed 2741 meters.  I'm pretty sure I wouldn't have been able to do that a few months ago...cool.

I am going to try for the HQ WOD in the morning and CFE in the evening...we'll see how well I can manage that.  When it comes down to it, though, I am trying to be a CrossFit athlete, not just someone who works out at the gym from time to time.  My goal is performance on the WODS, and 2-a-days and strict Paleo are a great way to achieve that.

Also, I can do 8 pull ups with a blue band without coming off the bar, which is a huge thing for me.  Wheeeee.  My dips are getting there slowly too.

Getting the strength up

I think I'm going to do some supplementary lifting.  Now that I haven't already, but I would like to get my deadlift up to 1.5xBW, and my press is kind of shameful right now.

So I want to do the CF 603 PTP program along with the WOD, or on days like today, instead of the WOD (since I can't do pull ups yet).  I am also going to work on pull ups and push ups extra hard.  Just...maybe when the athletes aren't all there, as I do have a wee bit of shame about knee push ups and resistance band pull ups.  But I'll get there...

Elizabeth take 3

Yesterday I did Elizabeth for the third time.  Let's review:

Elizabeth take 1, September 2 2009

cleans with 25kg, dips with green and purple bands

9:03

Elizabeth take 2, October 1 2009

cleans with 30kg, dips with green band

8:53

Elizabeth take 3, October 16 2009

cleans with 30kg, dips with green band

6:00 even

I cut my time down by 2 minutes and 53 seconds!  !!!  I should go up in weight next time and down in band size because this...well, it didn't feel easy, but I waited a little over 2 weeks and cut down almost 3 minutes, so...yeah

Anyway that made me super happy yesterday!

091017 Tyler

Today was Tyler, a hero workout. Rx is 7 ring dips and 21 SDHP at some unGodly weight. But Marie suggested I sub 21 pullups and 21 bar dips for the ring dips. So I did that - still on blue band for pullups and not feeling real strong on them today; and big band on bar dips. 30KG on SDHP. This was an endurance workout; took me 36:03. Chili Peppers were on the stereo which helped me along. Also had on new Under Armor gray tracksuit which helped keep me warm; gym was cool inside - both garage doors down since wx outside was in the 40's.

Yesterday's

Yesterday since I still can't do 30 push ups, I decided to do the GHD extravaganza from a few weeks ago.  This was way worse than I'd thought it would be.  The back extensions were brutal from round 3 on.

5 rounds for time

30 GHD situps

25 back extensions

time: 9:22

Of course, today's WOD is back extension extravaganza.  Figures.

Silly me

Well yesterday I attempted CrossFit Total, as the HQ ordered...well, it would have been great had I read more closely and realized that "press" meant shoulder press and not bench press.  Oh well.  Got a new PR for benching, anyway, and for back squats.

Back squat: 55 kg

Bench: 65#

DL: 85 kg

That's not my 1RM for deadlift, but due to being back at Williams and in the gym at 9:45 pm, I didn't have my heart completely in it, and my legs weren't fresh since I did the squats.  Yeah, yeah, excuses, excuses....

Tue Oct 13, 2009 / Fran

On Sunday, I did 45 minutes of Astanga with David "Stand at the front of your mat" Swenson and then went for a run in my five fingers. My right soleus / achilles started hurting over by the golf club so I had to stop and walk it in.

Rest day yesterday.

Today did Fran. 21 - 15 - 9 thrusters and pull ups. I did 25 kg bar and blue band, for 10:21. This exceeded the last Fran I did on 9.9.09, where I used a clean mens bar and a blue band for 11:44. Today I was doing thrusters by doing 10 first, then bunches of 5's.

The soleus / achilles feels better day by day; am "activating" it by walking some stairs on my toes.

Whoah

Today's WOD was:

AMRAP 20 min

row 250m

21 SDHP (I used 25 kg = 55#)

15 pull ups (green band)

I got 3 rounds plus 250 m.  The workout wouldn't have been so bad if we didn't have to go up and down a flight of stairs and across a basketball court to get to the C2s.  I say we because I did it with two guys named Mike who also CF.  One of the Mikes is an absolute powerhouse.  I think he got 4 rounds, but then again, he stopped his timer when walking to and from the rowing machine, and I treated it as a rest while the clock was still going, so who knows...  I definitely felt the pressure not to rest as much during the SDHPs because of that long walk.  

This is the first real met-con I've done in a while, and it kicked my ass.

I think next time I'll attempt women's Rx of 65# on the SDHPs, as these didn't take as long for me as they did for the Mikes, who were doing theirs at men's Rx.  I also want to go down a band to blue on the pull ups, but I knew I wouldn't make it through if I tried to do that today.

My gluuuuutes

I have come to the conclusion that once Wednesdays I can't do both CF and the 2.5 hours of dance.  Until we have our fall show, I can't skip any dance rehearsals, so I will just have to cut out CF on Wednesdays until then.  Either my legs are too destroyed from CF to dance (happened last week), or my legs are too destroyed from dance to go and do my WOD afterwards.  And leg-intensive WODs always seem to fall on Wednesdays.

Today we did some Scottish step dance, which really took it out of my glutes for whatever reason.  I don't even have really bad shin splints right now, just glute pain like crazy.  Yowza.  There was no way I would get even close to finishing today's WOD with my jelly legs haha.

Tuesday 091006

Karen 150 wall ball shots - 14:07; a few seconds better than I did last time using the same ball, a 16#. This time, unlike last: (1) I did all sets of 10 rather than having to revert back to sets of 5; and (2) James Brown was not on the stereo. Still good though. My ass had been hurting ever since doing the one leg squats on Saturday, and this loosened it up somewhat, somehow.

How come it taste so good?

Bacon, I mean. I just finished off my first pack of Benton's, used the grease to saute some brussels sprouts and kale...yum. Good Paleo eats.

I eat Paleo because, as everyone in CF says, you shouldn't piss in your fuel tank. The workouts make you want to eat Paleo. So I had to indulge myself in some meat and veggies tonight--never mind the fact that the dining hall would be way faster and give me more time for my reading. Nope, today was Paleo and I feel gooooood.

Today's workout was ass-kicking.
120 pull ups (green band)
120 ring dips (I used parallel bars w/ green band)
time: 27:27

My whole upper body, but especially the arm region, is shot. Heck, it was shot after pull up 60 or so, when I could just feel the lactic acid coursing into my back and triceps. The dips were pure agony, and accounted for more than half of my time; I got my pull ups done in about 10 minutes.

Then again, take this time with a grain of salt, since I inadvertently stopped the clock for a minute or so while adjusting my setup (bench under a cable machine = shins smashing into bench while kipping), so it's more of a ballpark figure I suppose.

Leg Burner 091003

Today was an interesting one, and fun.

800m run

15 one legged squats, left

15 one legged squats, right

25 sit ups

12 olsl

12 olsr

25 sit ups

9 olsl

9 olsr

25 sit ups

800m run

I did the squats to 20" box. Dan showed us the one legged squats using rings to help pull up with, then using a rope, then using a pole. Any of those are good subs. We were strong enough to squat one leg to the box. Probably climbing stairs at the building and doing yoga for balance helped. Anyway, it was a great workout.

Rest Day at Half Moon Outfitters

To celebrate rest day, I went over there after work to buy "Born to Run" which Dan had lent me and I had already read, about barefoot running. Talked with him for a while and got him to autograph a copy for your mother. I told him I had already read it and how much it has turned around the way I think about and do running, me, after being back in 1974 one of the first people I knew to buy the Nike ST1000 which started the whole cushioned sole bullshit. Didn't understand in the 70's whilst running in Maine why I was having knee problems and had to go down to Deaconess Hospital in Boston to see Dr. MacGregor to help me along. Anyway, it is a great read and helps understand why constraining the feet from doing what they were formed to do is nonsensical. Anyway, fun time.

Yeehaw

Got my super sweet interval timer in the mail yesterday, used it on my workout, Elizabeth.

21-15-9
cleans (power clean, 30kg)
ring dips (I did parallette dips with green band)

Previously I was only able to do the dips with green + purple bands, but this time around the green band only was no problem. I have a HUGE bruise on my collarbone from the cleans.

Just got the Rippetoe DVD in...so excited to watch it!

EDIT: whoops, forgot to mention that I finished it in 8:53

Tuesday was rest day, so I spent it resting and pondering the greater things in life.

Today's workout was a "grinder" according to Dan. When I walked in the gym and saw it on the whiteboard my jaw dropped. Nothing for it but to warm up a little bit and grind through it.

25 walking lunges

20 pullups (thin strap!)

50 box jumps (20")

200 jump ropes

25 parallel bar dips (big band)

20 knees to elbows on rings

20 kb swings (1 pood)

30 sit ups

20 hang squat cleans

25 back extensions on GHD

30 wall ball shots (16#)

3 rope climbs

Got a nice rope rash on my right leg. Literally the last time I climbed a rope was 11th grade at Druid Hills High where we had it as part of our PE test every semester.

I was sore in many places throughout the day from this. Though it was less intense than fight gone bad, it made me just as sore. Must be doing some good.