Day 2: Down 3lbs

So I've lost 3 pounds since yesterday. This didn’t surprise me because I feel like I’m starving myself. Day two is almost over and I’ve only been able to choke down 8oz of vanilla skinny hippo when I'm suppose to be consuming 24oz. I have been EXTREMELY nauseous and exhausted. Zach and I took Murphy for a pretty long walk today and at one point Zach had to link arms with me to help keep me moving. I laid around on the couch for a few hours and then it hit me…I spent a half hour in the bathroom with an upset stomach L. I had to head to the fort though because I was scheduled to coach.  Zach nicely offered to take the 6pm class for me since I wasn’t feeling well. So, I headed to the gym to just coach the 5pm so he could WOD. While coaching some of the nausea passed, I think it’s because the digestive enzyme started working. I decided to go ahead and WOD at the 6pm since the rest of my week is pretty busy and I wouldn’t get back to the fort to WOD again until Thursday. As soon as I made up my mind about working out, I set a goal to do the listed strength and the workout Rx’d to test out how my back was feeling. I completed the strength (clean & jerk – focusing on speed and technique) with absolutely NO pain. I didn’t push it and just stayed around 85% of my SRM (55kg)  and they felt good. 

The WOD was one round of:

3:00 hang power cleans (40kg)

3:00 rest

3:00 Russian KB Swings (16#)

3:00 rest, 3:00 row (cals)

I completed 30 cleans, 100 swings, and 42 calories on the rower for a total of 172 reps/cals. For this being my first Rx’d WOD in a LONG time I was happy with the outcome and am actually feeling pretty good. My back typically has a delay in pain so we'll see how I feel tomorrow...

I have no desire to drink another shake (however, when I was giving Murphy a peanut butter dog treat I was quite tempted…) so I’m just going to hit they hay after writing this post. Good night, and hopefully tomorrow will be a better day for my stomach J. 

Skinny Hippo: Day 1

Well, I had some time tonight to surf the web and realized I hadn't updated my blog in a LONG time. Eeek. I decided to get back to blogging because today marks the starting point of my effort to LOOK BETTER NAKED. I started the skinny hippo diet today and plan on sticking with it for the full four weeks. I’ve felt tired and a little nauseous already but I assumed there would be side effects. I have consumed two of my three shakes for today but don’t think I can stomach the third one for the day. I will keep an update on my experience and weight loss throughout this process.

Zach and I are sitting on the couch currently watching "Diners Drive-ins and Dives." I'm pretty sure we are just TORTURING ourselves. We've been on one heck of a bender and just cutting it off cold turkey makes ALL of that greasy carb-ridden food look THAT much tastier. I'll just keep repeating "I love thick overly sweet shakes, I love thick overly sweet shakes. No I don't want any solid food, No I don't want any solid food." Oh boy...here goes nothing! 

So there is 5 weeks until the CrossFit Open begins. I wish I was more excited about this countdown but to be honest I don’t think I’ll be ready this year. My back has been injured since the Open last year (I had a bulging disc – L4) and it just hasn’t calmed down. I’ve been working in Physical Therapy and seeing a chiropractor but only seeing slight progress. I haven’t completed a WOD Rx’d since before Thanksgiving because I have been restricted from movements that cause impact. Slowly I have been able to add a few movements back to my workouts. If I can continue at this rate I hope I will be “released” by the end of January. This would be just in time for me to give the Open WOD’s a shot. 

Back on Track

I’m back on track; eating paleo, working out, and feeling great. Well, with the exception of my back. I’ve got a follow up appointment with my orthopedic this week to see if there is anything I can do to relieve the pain.

Yesterday after I coached the GYG I worked on my press for speed with three reps on the minute for 7:00 at 60% of my single rep max. I used 26kg and was focusing on keeping my core tight and back vertical. I felt good about every rep I put up. The METCON was “Helen” which is three rounds for time of a 400m run, 21 kettle bell swings (14) and 12 pullups. My goal was to beat my previous time of 12:49. My “Helen” time is slow because running and pullups both are a struggle for me. When starting this WOD I decided that my kettle bell swings needed to be unbroken to make up for my weaknesses. I completed “Helen” this time around in 12:29, which is :20 faster than when I completed it back in May. I was happy that all of my KB swings were unbroken and my first 400m run was 1:43, which is pretty fast for me. I’m still working on a shorter kip, which is taking time to get used to. Overall I was pleased with my effort in this WOD and felt like I pushed myself, which is hard sometimes when you’re alone.

Today the strength portion of class was focused on the thruster. We were instructed to find a new 5 rep max. With my thruster single rep max being 55kg I completed 5 sets of 5 at 36kg-41kg-48kg. These felt super heavy today, but I did accomplish the task of finding a new 5RM. The WOD was 5 rounds of 5 burpees and 10 thrusters at 65% of your new 5RM, 31kg. I was able to keep the thrusters in the first round unbroken but then for the remaining rounds I split them into two sets of five. The burpees really took a toll on my endurance during this METCON. I completed all five rounds in 8:24. I was hoping for sub 8:00 but I know I got a great workout and was happy with my thrusters.

Since getting back on the paleo wagon I’ve dropped 9 pounds. I’m feeling great and glad to have made the choice to cut out the garbage and get back on track. I’m hoping to drop this weight and keep it off this time. I definitely was performing better in the gym last summer and I can’t help but wish I had that body back. However, I know wishing won’t get me anywhere…doing will get me the results I desire. 

Retrogress

I ended up taking Friday as a rest day…my body was beat up from this week. Team Saturday was “Kirsten’s EPIC Birthday WOD” I didn't want to miss this one! Needless to say her WOD was amazing; in teams of 3 complete 2 rounds of 4:00 AMRAP of 10 shoulder to shoulder sandbag push presses and a 40m sandbag sprint, 4:00 AMRAP of 10 ball slams and 10 pullups, then a 4:00 AMRAP of 5 tire flips and 10 pushups… ALL IN THE RAIN! I loved every minute of it. My team consisted of Rosie and Ryan Powers, we completed 43 rounds total. Not good enough to win the belt, but we sure got in a great workout. The tire flips were quite amazing...and the sandbag presses were a fun and new twist. 

I left Team Saturday in a hurry because we had a surprise 50^th Birthday party awaiting my dad. Unfortunately the rain ruined the surprise planned at the golf course, but we still were able to surprise him at home and spend time with family!  The party was great and I enjoyed being surrounded by loved ones.

Yesterday I was surfing and saw Jennie posted on the CFF blog about Team Saturday; which meant she had also posted pictures of us WODing. I was eager to show Zach the pictures of us using the sandbags (a gift from us CrossForters to Billifer at Christmas) and the tire flips. To my dismay all I could see was disgusting pictures of me. I went back and I found a picture of me last summer just 11 months ago wearing the exact same outfit and couldn’t believe the difference…I knew I had gained some weight but honestly had no clue how bad it was until I did this side by side:

Normally in CrossFit blogs you see side by sides that are the reverse…heavy to fit. Well, I guess I’m the exception : / On a slightly happier note, this was JUST the motivation I needed. I’ve been hopping on and off the paleo wagon now for months and I have realized its HIGH time to jump on for a lifelong ride. Here goes nothing…

Desires

So yesterday was a pretty busy day for me. I tutored a student of mine in the morning and then coached the 4 & 5pm classes. I stuck around for the 6pm to WOD. We worked on our overhead squats for the strength portion of class. I did three sets of five at 65%-75%-85% of my SRM (56k). After my first set of five I remembered that I’ve been trying to use a narrower grip to reduce the strain on my wrists. So the last two sets I used the narrow grip and felt a lot more confident in those lifts. The WOD was a 12:00 AMRAP of 3 power snatches (40k), 6 toes to bar, and 9 ring dips. The goal was to get between 6-8 rounds. Many of the girls who scaled back the weight in the morning classes didn’t even hit the goal, so I was a little apprehensive of going rx’d and finishing 6-8 rounds. My hand was still torn from the previous day so I decided to WOD with gloves since there was no tape at the fort. 

The snatches felt incredibly heavy. Mid-WOD Bill reminded me I needed to deadlift the bar off the ground before I pull…typical flaw of mine, but I’m glad he pointed it out so I could fix it for the remainder of the time. The gloves were loose and slipping on my T2B, so they were PAINFULLY slow. I used a purple assistance band for the ring dips and to my surprise they felt a lot stronger than they had in the past. I only ended up with 5 rounds plus 4 reps (3 snatches & 1 T2B). I think I could have gotten one more round in if I would ever learn the kip for T2B… : /

Today I woke up and headed to the fort to coach the 8 & 9am classes. Some of the 9am-ers hung around and worked on their bench press. I ended up jumping in on their rack and put up a PR of 50k. That was good enough for 3^rd place on the record board, so I was happy. I miss seeing floor press in our strength; I think I might continue to work on this lift outside of class since we don’t see it much in the programming. I ended up WODing alone today after the group of 9am-ers left. The strength today was focused on presses for speed. I did 3 reps at 50% of my SRM (21k) on the minute for 8:00. The weight seemed super light, I was able to knock these out in just a couple of seconds each round. The WOD consisted of a 400m run, 300

double-unders, and another 400m run. I knew this one was going to be tough. It was real hot outside (and in the fort), the air was thick, and I was already soaked with sweat before I even started. My first run was slow, right at 2:00.

My double-unders really took a lot out of me today. It took a good 2 minutes to finish the first set of 100. From there I focused on getting sets of 15. Once I hit 200 I was praying to keep with sets of 10. This part of the WOD was sluggish and agonizing. My last 400m run was pathetic, I was exhausted and completely out of breath. I managed to finish this WOD in 13:08. There was no goal time but I went in hoping for sub 12. Not quite the finish I was hoping for. L After I finally caught my breath I jumped on the rings and did 6 sets of three ring dips on ½ a purple band. Then I worked in three sets of three dead hang pull-ups on the blue band. Gotta keep chipping away at those weaknesses!

Once I got home, ate, and showered I sat down and started focusing on my goals. I finally finalized them. Well…here they are:

CrossFit Goals July 2011

•  Unassisted ring dips
• Unassisted handstand push-ups
• Dead hang pull-up without a band
• Work on a weakness every day after class
• Get down & stay at 150lbs
• Be more mentally tough
• Believe in myself
• CrossFit for ME! J

It is excruciatingly clear I need to improve on body weight movements; therefore ring dips, HSPU, and pullups easily made my list of goals. Additionally, my weight has been a constant issue since I was 18. It seems like it’s going to be a never ending battle but I’m hoping I can start to manage it a little better. Plus, at a lighter weight those body weight movements will be a little easier (duh!). The last three goals I set for myself are VERY important to me. I know they are hard to measure but I feel like I need to hold myself accountable for staying positive, pushing myself, and coming to the gym for me. I am a pleaser and I tend to do things for other people. It is time for me to find out what I want from CrossFit. Do I really want to be a competitor? If that is the case there are MANY changes I need to start making to my lifestyle. Hopefully I will make this decision soon and get on track…

Holy Sweat, Batman!

I signed up for the 8am class today and made my way to the fort. I left my house at 7:30am but got stuck in terrible construction traffic. Unfortunately it took me an HOUR to get to the gym and I missed the 8am but, at least I made it for the 9am class. Our strength today was focused on speed; we had to complete two cleans (with a full squat) on the minute for 12:00. We used 50% of our SRM so I loaded my bar up to 35kg. I felt like I was getting good pulls and had a big shrug. I really liked this strength today and feel like my form is improving. The WOD today was 500m row, 50 pullups, and 500m row for time. I knew my pullups would be slow especially with the heat and amount of sweat pouring off my body today but, I decided to go rx’d anyway. I did several sets of 5 pullups but once I hit the half way mark I slowed down and could only rep out sets of 3. My hands tore and I was outrageously sweaty, but finally finished with 7:50 on the clock. I headed up stairs to get in my last row and finally called time at 10:31. I actually liked this WOD a lot! I wasn't dying to catch my breath and I feel like my pull-ups

are getting stronger. During the WOD I was working on shortening my kip and coming right down off the bar. I would lose my rhythm a bit but I felt like they were quicker and used less energy. After class I worked on my ring dips; I did 3 sets of 3 with just ½ the purple band. I also did 3 hand stand holds, 1:00, 0:45, 0:30.

I am still working on my goals & will post them as soon as they are complete. Any suggestions are welcome! : ) I have decided I will work on a weakness (ring dips, dead hang pullups, handstand holds/push-ups, running, etc.) every day after class and develop greater mental toughness.

Have a great day and try to stay cool! I’ll be at the fort tonight for the 4pm and 5pm class…hopefully the shower I’m about to take isn’t totally pointless! 

GROWTH

So I haven’t updated this blog in a while...sorry! Since I’ve stopped blogging I have attended and received my CrossFit level one certification and have begun coaching at the fort! : ) I have been taking on a couple of classes a day and am truly enjoying every moment of it.

Today I had the opportunity to coach all of the morning classes which meant I was up at 4:30am for the GYG. It is quite early but I do have fun working with that group of athletes! After my 5 hour stint at the box I headed home for some breakfast; bacon, eggs, and an orange was a perfect post fort meal. I had a chance to WOD between the GYG & the 8am class. I started with three sets of five reps on the push press. I worked at 65%-75%-85% of my single rep max; 35kg-41kg-47kg. The last set was definitely tough to get up but I felt strong overhead today. The WOD was a 15:00 AMRAP of 10 pushups, 15 wall balls (14), and 20 kettle bell swings (16). Going into this WOD I wanted to get 6 rounds. After the first 3 rounds I figured I’d reach my goal easily since there were still 8 minutes left. However, I started to slow down during the 4^th round. After the fifteen minutes were up I ended up getting 6 rounds plus 3 pushups. I was happy with my score and was impressed with my pushups today. On the other hand, my wall balls were less than stellar.

About 9 months ago I set the following goals for myself:

·        45kg snatch

·        10 consecutive kipping pullups

·        110kg deadlift

·        60 double-unders in a minute

·        Sub 13:00 ‘Helen'

·        Sub 8:00 ‘Fran’

In May I achieved all of these goals. Not only did I accomplish them…I pretty much blew them out of the water.

·         snatch went up to 50kg

·        strung together 15 kipping pullups mid WOD

·        deadlift is at 122kg

·        73 double-unders in a minute

·        new ‘Helen’ time is 12:49

·         new ‘Fran’ time is 7:46

The reason I’m reflecting on my goals today is because I was surfing the web and came across my CFWC Olympic weight lifting competition scores from last summer (July 2010). My snatch topped out at 37kg and my clean & jerk was at 50kg for a total of 87kg. Unfortunately I was unable to attend the yearly meet this summer. However, if I was able to I think I would have improved my score by 29kg (50kg snatch & 66kg clean & jerk).

CrossFit can be a bit daunting and your weaknesses are often highlighted. Consequently on a daily basis it is tough to see how much progress you’re making as an athlete. It’s important to allow yourself to see how far you’ve come and be proud of your personal progress. Coming across these numbers today brought a smile to my face and encouraged me to set new goals. I am ready to become the CrossFit athlete I’ve always wanted to be. I am going to buckle down, clean up my diet, and focus on my training.

I have signed up for the Life as Rx US Tour Competition that will be coming to Chicago on September 30^th. Not making the Affiliate Team at CrossFit Fire was a huge disappointment and I was unhappy I didn’t get a chance to compete at Regionals. However, I am looking at this competition as my own opportunity to contend and show myself and others I am a competitor.

I will be setting new goals by the end of the week & I promise to consistently update my blog to keep myself honest, accountable, and open to friends and family. Wish me luck as I embark on this journey, I will need the support of my loved ones!

Open WOD #4

Saturday…time to tackle the Open WOD 11.4. The WOD was a 10:00 AMRAP of 60 bar facing burpees, 30 OHS (40k), and 10 muscle ups. When I first found out about the metcon I laughed…and thought – muscle ups? Really? C’mon HQ…help a girl out here & gimmie a movement I can at least do! But I also thought, hey…kinda cool that I can hopefully try for my VERY first muscle up. The morning was VERY rushed as I had to get my brother to the high school for baseball practice and then be back in just a couple of hours to pick him up again. That meant I needed to get to the Fort right away, warm up and prepare for the WOD. I was the first athlete to start the WOD. Jennie was counting for me and she helped me keep moving. My burpees were PAINFULLY SLOW after the 2^nd minute. I’m pretty sure it took me 6:20 just finish all 60. By the time I got to the bar for the OHS my shoulders were trashed. I could barely snatch the bar overhead. I really had a hard time keeping my shoulders activated and balanced. Four reps were the most I ever even strung together. As the clock counted down getting closer and closer to 10:00 my body just weakened. I struggled to get the bar up over head, but managed to squeeze out a few more reps. I ended with a total of 74 reps. I was really hoping to get all 30 OHS but I wasn’t anticipating the extreme fatigue that was going to set in. I was sorely disappointed in my score, but not my efforts. I really gave it all I had. Stability just was not on my side today. : (

I was still pretty sore on Monday but knew I still needed to get in a good workout; even if I needed to scale the WOD today. The metcon was 3 rounds for time of: 350m row, 25 kettlebell swings (16), 10 handstand push-ups (blue/blue). My rows were pretty quick and the kettle bell swings were unbroken except the last round, 15-10 (my hands were slippery). The handstand pushups were what slowed me down. I went down in bands (I usually use green/green) and it was a significant difference and was quite difficult for me. Overall, I was happy I challenged myself though. The only way I’ll get stronger at HSPU’s is if I keep challenging my upper body strength. I completed this WOD in 13:26. Before the metcon we worked behind the neck snatch grip push presses again. We worked up to a single rep max. I topped out at 55k, but only because we ran out of time. I think I have a little more in me…we’ll see in a few weeks! : )

Tuesday’s strength was the snatch. We were working our way up to a single rep max. I worked at 31-35-38-42-46 and ended at 50k. I failed 50k 3 times again this week. I’m getting the bar overhead, but when I’m at the bottom of my squat I lose my balance because the bar is too far out in front. Ugh, the same issues with all of my overhead movements right now…strange! The WOD was 5 rounds: 1:00 to complete 20 wall ball shots1:00 to complete 15 pull-ups.  I initially wanted to scale because I knew my pull-ups are slow and I might not complete all of them in the allotted time. But Bill informed me that if I ran out of time during the WOD I could just make them up after. So I went ahead and attempted the WOD as Rxd. The first

round I was able to complete the prescribed reps. The second round I didn't get all the pull-ups in. Then progressively the last 3 rounds became VERY difficult to complete. I ended up having to “make up” 10 wall ball shots, and 18 pull-ups.  While I was making up my pull-ups after class I tore my hand open pretty badly. I hope it heals before Saturday!

Thursday’s strength was the shoulder press. We worked up to a single rep max, which I was excited for because I was looking for a new PR. I warmed up with 31-35-37-40. I topped out at 42k. It was a struggle to get up, but I was happy it finally got overhead and locked out because it was a 2k PR! The WOD was a 5:00 AMRAP of 5 power cleans (45k), 10 T2B, and 15 wall balls (14), 5:00 rest, 5:00 AMRAP of 5 box jumps (24”), 10 kettle bell swings, and 15 ball slams (20#). The first half of the WOD greatly resembles 11.5. So this will be a nice little taste of what we’ll encounter on Saturday morning. Because my hand is still tore I decided to skip the T2B in the first AMRAP so I didn’t split it open more. The cleans felt heavy but doable and the wall balls definitely fatigued my quads pretty quickly. I ended up getting 3+5 rounds in the first AMRAP and then 3+13 rounds in the second. All of my swings were unbroken but my ball slams were SLOW. The Rxd height for the box jumps was 20” for the ladies but I wasn’t fast enough in grabbing my equipment so I was suck with a 24” box. I actually was excited to get back on the 24”…it had been too long! 

HOLY SORENESS

I love Saturday’s. It meant that it was that time again…OPEN WOD #3 was this week. 11.3 was a 5:00 AMRAP of squat clean & jerks at 50k for the ladies. I was really hoping to get an even twenty rounds. My goal going into the WOD was to keep a steady pace of 2 c&j’s every 30 seconds. Somewhere around minute 3 I lost count of my rests and just got back on the bar as fast as my body would allow. I gutted through the SUCK of this WOD and come out with 19 + 1 clean. I was able to help out the CFF team again this week by having the 3^rd best score at the Fort. : )

I went into the Fort on Monday and we worked on snatch grip behind the neck push press for strength. The rep scheme was 3 sets of 5 and 3 sets of 3. I worked at 30-34-38-43-47-50k. I felt pretty strong with this movement, but really need to work on my bar path, it ends too far out in front. The metcon today was a little rough as I was feeling QUITE sore still from 11.3. It was a 10:00 AMRAP of 10 deadlifts at body weight, so 75k & 10 dumbbell push press  at 50% bodyweight, but I went with the 30#. I only got 5+1 rounds. I was moving VERY slow and could really feel my body’s fatigue.

 

I woke up SUPER sore Tuesday, which I couldn’t believe. I was hoping heading to the Fort and getting my body to move around would help ease the tightness.  The strength was the snatch. We were working our way up to a single rep max. I started with sets of 3 at 31-35-38. I then worked at single reps at 42-46 and the attempted 50 twice but failed. Fifty is my PR…I’m hoping that these failures were just due to fatigue and not due to a decrease in strength. The WOD was three 3:00 rounds for max reps pull-ups of: 20 burpees, 400m run, max pull-ups, 1:30 rest. I scaled to option A (which cut back the number of burpees to 16 a round) since I wasn’t feeling 100% (plus my burpees AND runs are quite slow…). The first round I was able to get in 2 pull-ups. The second round I came in from the run and I was already in to 5 seconds of my rest time. : (The third round I scaled to B (12 burpees and a 200m run) and was able to come in and get 10 pull-ups. This made my total score for the WOD 12. Kinda sad…not a fan of this WOD. 

I took Wednesday and Thursday off as I wasn’t feeling so hot. I went to the Dr. and he informed me I have fluid in my right ear. I have felt a touch off balance, hard of hearing, and had a headache for a while so that explained the symptoms. I knew I needed to get in a light WOD before giving 11.4 a go on Saturday though; so I headed to the Fort on Friday. I worked on some muscle up progressions and then did a short little metcon: 3:00 row (44 cals), 1:30 rest, 2:00 of bar facing burpees (20).  This gave me a taste of how the burpees were going to feel in the morning…and BOY were they SLOW! After class I toyed around on the rings attempting to get my first muscle up. With this being my first time ever on the high rings I doubted it would happen but wanted to give it a try. Bill was VERY helpful and walked me through a few KEY movements I needed to master in order to have a successful muscle up. Unfortunately I didn't have a cohesive flow to get my body up over the rings. But, for my first time on the rings I was pretty proud of my efforts. I see a muscle up in my near future if I keep working! : )

Happiest Place on Earth

Since I last posted I’ve completed open WOD #1 a second time, went on vacation to Florida for a week where I completed open WOD #2 & I've been back for almost a week so there’s a lot to catch up on!

Saturday - Open WOD #1 redo: well let’s just say I did better the first time…that’s all I have to say about that.

Zach and I after a soaking wet
day at Animal Kingdom

Sunday – flew out to Orlando Florida to visit the Happiest Place on Earth, DISNEY WORLD! : ) Zach and I had a blast and really enjoyed the time together. 

Monday – we made up our own little workout and attempted to CrossFit in the hotel fitness center. We started with front squats on the smith machine. We worked on single reps. I worked up to 75#. This machine really made me feel awkward, like I

wasn't in control of the bar. Never the less I still got in some good strength work. Our metcon was a little sandwich, 400m run, 21-15-9 push press (25# dumbbells) & situps, 400m run. We didn’t have a running clock but I know I kept a good pace on my runs since we were on treadmills, and I whipped through the situps quick. The push presses were a little weak for me today. My shoulder has been sore ever since we’ve been working on the snatch grip (behind the head) push presses at CFF. 

Tuesday – Friday – I took off and enjoyed my vacation with Zach! : ) We walked A LOT each day at the parks.

Saturday – Open WOD #2 @ CrossFit Evolution (Longwood, FL): 15:00 AMRAP: 9 DLs (100#), 12 hand release pushups, and 15 box jumps (20”). I had heard that some of our girls had already done this WOD and were up into 9+ rounds so I was really hoping for at least 8. In my 4^th round of pushups Leo (CFE coach) started discounting my reps left and right. I couldn’t understand what he wanted me to fix and I didn’t understand why he would accept some and not others. Needless to say this was a VERY frustrating feeling. I did at least 24 pushups per round after the 4^th round which obviously slowed me down and quickly fatigued me. After the 15 minutes were over I only ended up getting 6+25 rounds. I was actually proud of my efforts because I know I gave it my all and never let up. Obviously my score is nothing to brag about this week but, I’m glad I didn’t skate by with just subpar movements.

Sunday – we flew home…yup, back to freezing cold weather and more rain, boo! Is it summer yet?

Monday – the strength was OHS I was super proud to PR at 56k. I can handle a heavier squat, I just have a hard time getting the bar up overhead in a comfortable locked out position. It’ll come…I’m sure of it! : ) The WOD was 1,000m row, 21-15-9 handstand pushups, and pullups. I finished my row in just over 4 minutes and then headed to my 25k plate and abmat for HSPUs. These things are SUPER DUPER hard, and trash my shoulders. I went through the reps Rxd, but just barely was able to get the range of motion to touch my head down to the abmat. Another weakness I need to work on. My pullups were also pretty slow since my shoulders weren’t feeling too hot. Overall, not a very good metcon for me, I finished in 14:28.

Tuesday – we worked on the power clean for the strength portion of class. I worked my way up just a kilo over my single rep max (66k). However, I failed at this weight 3 times. Bill and I were trying to figure out a better approach for me to take on the bar. We widened my feet which allows me to drive my knees out, and I tried a winder grip. This was VERY uncomfortable, but I will continue to work on it and hope to see success. The WOD was “death by burpees” you complete one burpee in one minute, two burpees in the next, and so on. I was able to finish 14 rounds plus 10 burpees. This WOD was really tough for me as I am still extremely sore throughout my upper body. My arms really gave out.

Tuesday night CFHQ announced Open WOD #3. It will be a 5:00 AMRAP of clean & jerks at 50k. This weight seems heavy but I am up for the challenge! I am hoping to redeem myself this week! : ) Bring it on!

Wednesday - I decided to go to Warrior Women Wednesday at the fort at 7pm. I’m glad I did. This week has been SUPER stressful and it was nice to let loose a little and enjoy some girl dancing, I mean bonding time. : ) Hannah and Alyson crack me up with their silly moves! We worked on snatch balance for the strength portion of the class. I worked my way up to a new one rep max at 50k! That’s an 8k PR for me. I was stoked. The WOD was 50 hang snatches (full squat at 20k), 500m row, and 50 hang snatches. I decided to scale to B (only 30 hang snatches) since Wednesday's are typically my rest day and I didn't want to overdo it. I completed the wod in 10:06. My quads and hamstrings were burning after that wod! After class I practiced a few clusters on a 50k bar to get a feel for what the Open WOD will be like this weekend. It was definitely hard but I think I've got a good strategy and plan on giving it hell! 

Thursday – the strength today was press. We worked 6 sets of 5 reps. Kirsten and I shared a bar and we completed our reps at 22-25-28-31-34-37. These felt strong throughout the sets; hopefully I can see a new PR next time we work toward a single rep max. The metcon was 21-15-9, ball slams (20), pullups, and situps. I was glad to see a shorter less intense wod on the board as it was my fourth day in a row at the fort. I finished in 6:34. My pullups were definitely my weakness tonight. Due to vacation I hadn’t had much of a chance to continue working on dead hangs. I made sure after class that I did 10 reps of dead hang pullups (blue band – they were rough!), and 15 pushups. I’m hoping if I continue to work these movements my upper body strength will begin to improve.

Heidi and I a couple of years ago...
we've both lost quite a bit of weight since then,
 so I'm excited to see her & get a new
picture together! : ) 

I’m taking tomorrow off to rest this beat up body. Plus, my good friend Heidi is coming into town to visit this weekend so I’ll be hanging out with her! I am super excited to see her and to show her my “grownup life” here in Illinois. This will be her first visit since we’ve graduated college so I’ve got a lot to show her. I can’t wait to take her to the fort, she is going to brave the intro class on Saturday morning and stay to watch me compete in the Open WOD #3.