Monday, June 16, 2008

CrossFit Catch Up: Saturday's run, Dad's Strength, and My Horizontal Love Line...


Alright, so let's start with Saturday shall we? The party on Friday wound down around midnight which should have been plenty of time for me to get to sleep and then wake up in time to run. But when I woke up, well, I just wasn't feeling the run. The party wiped me out and I didn't have any matching socks, and we all know that I can't run if my socks don't match. Everyone else would think I was a total nerd, and well, I can't have THAT! So, I opted for doing my laundry so I could have matching socks for work, and then taking a nap. I know, I know. But, let me ask you guys who are Zoning a question. I think largely the big reason I felt so awful had to do with my eating. Everything, sans Stewart's freakin' cheesecake, was Zone friendly. I don't feel like I overate at all, in fact, I was so busy grilling I think I didn't eat enough! But, since Zoning, I've all but stopped drinking. I just don't do it anymore that often. So, Saturday, I woke up just feeling disgustly. I just wanted to get everything out of my body and just get some strawberries and yogurt with some string cheese on the side. Does this ever happen to you? I just felt like I needed to just go through detox or something. It was gross. I went to work thinking maybe I was hungover, and tried the eat something greasy to settle my stomach trick, and that had the opposite affect and then I felt even worse. So I guess my question amongst this story is, do you feel as if you are now uber sensitive to changes in your daily diet? I feel as if Zoning makes my stomach super super sensitive. It, like me, does not appreciate change apparently. Does anyone else ever find this to be the case? Any ideas on how to cure that issue? I'd like to be able to enjoy my ocassional lapses in Zone and not suffer for 24 hours following.

Well, I got home from work late Saturday night since I closed, and immediately collapsed into bed, since obviously there was CrossFit in the morning. Now, I always stretch and spend about 15 minutes getting loose before CF because I learned the hard way with the hip flexer what a lack of stretching can do. So as I watched Jerry get out our toys, I got a little concerned. There were kettlebells tied to ropes, mats set out next to each other, wall ball stations, weights for the kettlebells on ropes, and then he added that this was a two part workout called "Dad's Strength". I have to say, it was actually fun to get away from the normal routine to pay a tribute to the dads yesterday. All the men in yesterday were dads, and it was fitting for them. Jerry talked about how dads always seem to be able to perform these weird feats of strength. Chopping wood, picking up kids, piggy back rides, throwing kids in the air... so all of our circuit movements mimicked a dad's "strength". Our fun looked like this yesterday.

Warm-Up
Two rounds quick cals

WOD "Dad's Strength"
Interval work
2:00 on each station
Clock never stops until after 5 exercises
2:00 rest
Complete second round

Rope kettlebell swings standing on weights (45)
Sledgehammer slamball standing elevated on mats (15)
Walking lunges (20)
Wall Ball (12)
TGU (20)

This was scored like FGB with one rep equaling one point, except for TGU's which were doubled since they have such a slow cycle rate. I had 289 for my final score and man was I sweaty. Those sledgehammer slamballs really knocked it out of me. Not to mention those kettlebell rope swings. Phew. For the new moves, check out the pics. For some fun at the end of class, we did some farmer's walks to see how far we could go holding the dumbbells by the tops. Wow did that ever make things more challenging. I could barely get my hand around the top of the bell! Then, we finished by throwing some toys. We push pressed and backwards tossed some med balls. What a fun way to end class! :) I love the picture up top that Jerry snapped of me as I let go of the ball. It looks really cool with the ball and the sky in the background. Definitely got full hip extension in that picture! :)





After CrossFit I had time to grab some lunch with a friend before heading off to work. I made a pretty significant obvservation last night at work, based on our steady flow of customers. Dad's like ribs. :P WHODA THUNK IT!?! But anyway, since we were so steady, and since it was floor night where we have to stack the tables to wax the floors, AND it was beer inventory night and I had to count all the beer in our cooler, I didn't get home from work until neigh onto midnight. I finally crawled into bed around 1, and when the alarm went off around 5, I nearly had another "Five more minutes" day. It was rough getting out of bed this am, but I was certainly glad I did when I got to CF. CLEANS!!!! :) Ahhhhh yeeeeeahhhhhhhh... :) I heart cleans. Really, I do. So today Jerry told us we were going to do some form and weight work with the cleans. He set us up to start like this today.

Warm-Up
Workin' the clean
35-55-65-75-85-95
x5

I was hittin' the cleans today and feeling a little rusty at the start, but felt more confident as the weight got heavier. When I got to 95 I was still able to tie about 3 together before stopping for 3 breaths. Lifting heavy really zaps you no doubt. But after 95 I asked how much time we had. I had cleaned 115 before in a squat clean, and just wanted to see if I could get it up. Well, I made a VERY agressive jump and decided to go for it. I dropped to 3's for the 115 set and nailed them pretty solidly. Jerry said we had a little more time to play. I didn't hesitate and grabbed the 2 1/2's for each side and decided to go for the PR. We don't normally just work the cleans. Normally we clean and press, or squat, or jerk. So I really liked just doing cleans today. :) Well, as I put 120 on the bar, Jerry grabbed the camera, and McCall started regressing to her cheerleading days and told me to be aggressive. B-E A-G-G-R-E-S-S-I-V-E... no lie... she cheered. :) I love her. Anyway, I got good tension on the bottom and deadlifted fairly easily into the hang. From the hang I got up rep 1 with little problem. Rep 2 was a little low, but I managed to scoot under it. Rep 3 I lost the left side. It's always the left side, but I def had the height. I think because I did so many trials up I was a little smoked, but I was pleased with 120X2. That's a new PR by 5 lbs. :) Psyched! :) Only thing is that I kept crackin' my collar with the bar. As Adrienne says, I have given myself a "horizontal love line". :) She cracks me up! From there we hit a short little circuit with hang squat cleans today. Collapsed a bit on the bottom of some of my squats but was able to pull in 5 2/3 rounds of this.

WOD
AMRAP 20 minutes
7 Hang squat cleans (65)
9 Chins
11 Push-ups

Push-ups are still a nemesis, but I tied 6 together today. Hooah! :) Ahhhhhh the end is near... and soon there will be more time to play at CrossFit! Only two more days! :) WOOOOOOT! :)

PS- I should be packing up my classroom... but I like you all so much I decided to write a blog for you all instead... ;)

12 comments:

Darcy 'D2' said...

Good form on those Crossfit moves. Looks like you've got some impressive Quad's starting to form :)

That Fathers Day workout looks fun. Turkish Get Ups are probably the only exercise that I fear more than front squats. Really should start doing them.

Katie said...

Thanks Darcy (what is your real name BTW? Calling you Darcy makes me want to add Mr. and makes me think about Pride and Prejudice... :) ) My quads had better start to form... sheeesh. It's only been 8 months... :P

The fathers day workout was tough but a lot of fun. Especially the parts outside. TGU's took me a lot of getting used to. The key was starting light so I could work on form. While working on form, I really had to make sure that when I shot my leg through, I was landing on my knee, then straightening my torso BEFORE starting to stand up. Some people don't take that middle step and that's why they lose their balance. Just an observation... :)

Darcy 'D2' said...

yup that's my real name. No 'Mr' required.

JB said...

solid pr homes.

Katie said...

Thanks Homeskillet... ;)

Brad said...

Congrats on the PR!

Re: Zone - I have cheated three separate times, for one meal only. Each time has been a pretty decent reminder of how good being in the Zone feels. I offer this explanation about the stomach sensitivity issue: perhaps it's your brain. That is, you were so used to feeling bad before you started eating correctly that you weren't really conscious of it. Now that you are eating right, again, you aren't really conscious of it. You are very conscious of it (how bad you feel) when you eat incorrectly.

Alcohol - I haven't had any alcohol in 16 years! WOOHOO!! Glad I don't have to worry about it in the diet.

I've never read Pride and Prejudice, but I've seen the BBC production like 15 times. My wife says I'm a "girl" 'coz I cry every time.

Maybe we like ribs because we are missing one...

Katie said...

Brad, you are a better man than I. I don't usually cheat meals. Where I get myself is stuff that people leave lying around. This is a difficult profession to be in to eat healthy. Cookies, cakes, bagels, pastries, candy... ugh... it's always around. I tend to cheat between meals as I pass by. I really need to tighten up or all that weight I lost will quickly come back... yikes!

I don't think the stomach issue is JUST brain related because it's not just that I feel icky... there is an actual pysiological response in my body. You can connect those dots and figure out what I mean... :P So I'm not sure what's going on. All I know is that french fries and that bbq sandwich are not welcome ever again...

Brad, why no alcohol in 16 years? Was that something you decided to do or just you don't like it? I'm not a heavy drinker, but I like my beer/alcohol now and again... Chicago was a once in a blue moon kind of incident... :P

You cry everytime? Geez you are a girl... even I don't do that and I AM a girl... :P LOL. I love Sense and Sensibility too... good flick!

As for the ribs... I think it had more to do with the fact that on Sundays our ribs are on special... :P

Tanya said...

Still in school? YUK!

Brad said...

Let's just say I decided. I have no moral issue with it - I'm Catholic!

I cry watching "The Bachelor." I guess it's the smidge of Irish blood in me that takes over.

Katie said...

The Bachelor Brad? Oh heavans... I think your "manly" quotient just took a nosedive... ;)

Tanya, checkout is tomorrow morning at 930... then I'm footloose and fancy free until the last week of August... ;) Hmmmm... what's that you say? You want me to come back to Chicago? Oh... ok I'll go book my flight... ;)

Tanya said...

Come on back...summer is the best time of year! I'm back in town with not a whole lot to do as of July 14th!

Katie said...

July 14th you say? Hmmmm... let me check some dates out and get back to you....