Tuesday, March 31, 2009

But I CAN'T put my arms down...

Ok, so maybe this isn't REALLY a Christmas Story, and I'm not REALLY dressed in so many layers that I can't put my arms down, and so my problem isn't REALLY even that I can't put my arms down at all. But it was a fun excuse to quote A Christmas Story! :)

In fact, I have to admit that my problem is quite frankly the opposite of the kids problem in A Christmas Story. I can't raise my arms up! Yesterday Fran was an absolute metcon smoker. Who knew that 5 minutes could hurt so much? Well today was some strength work of the semi-metcon kind. It was designed to be a metstrength workout, IF you could do all the movements. I'm still working on getting my strength back to do ring dips, and I still have not mastered the handstand push ups. We were also doing chest to bar pull-ups, which takes me some time, as now that I've figured out HOW to do them, I can only do 1 at a time. Today's WOD looked like this.

5 RFT
7 HSPU (sub strict presses if you can't do them)
7 Ring dips (had to use a floss band)
7 Burpees
7 Chest to bar pull-ups

So, I'm not dreadfully happy with myself right now because obviously I had to modify half the workout today, but I mean, I guess it's good to work the movements as Jerry always says. I think I've just reached a very high frustration level right now. I'm so ready for spring break, and I'm exhausted because of work, and I have gained back a lot of weight, so I'm frustrated in general these days. I started back a strict zone today and what did I do? Walked out of the doggone house without any of my cheese. Well... so much for perfectly balanced.

What's more important than the cheese though, IMHO, is the fact that today I did not drink coffee. I also did not drink soda. I didn't realize, until very recently, how much of that bad habit I had gotten back into. I'm craving sugar in the worst way and I'm getting a raging headache, because obviously, I'm going through withdrawl. The fact that I'm withdrawling is NOT, I repeat, NOT a good sign. It's a sign that I've allowed myself waaaay too many freedoms in the last months and I've allowed myself to get right back into all those old habits that I was trying to kick. The next two/three weeks are really going to suck as I allow my body to essentially detox itself. I'm going to be a crabby mother I'm sure, so I'm going to apologize in advance. I'm subbing all the soda etc with flavored water... and although that's not perfect either, it's a MUCH better alternative until I can kick the flavor jones completely. God this is going to suck... really. Just today alone, you know what I had to walk past? On my way through the office there were some sort of iced breakfast muffins and brownies. As I passed through the teachers' lounge, there were cookies, and God help me, there were more when I passed through later.... I am paying for my bad eating multtiple times over.....

Monday, March 30, 2009

I HEART FRAN!

Ah... Monday morning after a long night at work, there's nothing better than rolling out of bed at 4:30 and rolling into CFOT and looking to the white board and seeing... FRAN!?!? Ah, *****&&&&%$#@@!!@#$$%%^&&**&^$#@@@#$%^&& That was more or less my reaction this morning when I read the white board.

Last night was another butt kicker at work. We had an early hit, and then once it was down to just me (since I was closing) about 7 tables came in. I wasn't slammed or running my butt off, but it meant that I didn't get out of there until after 11:30 and by the time I stopped at the bank and then got home, it was close to midnight.

I've gotten so sick and tired of myself eating like crap and working out like crap that I was hell bent and determined to get into CFOT today. But of course, getting up at 0430 after getting home at midnight..... yeah, I am not so much a fan on Facebook. Anyhoo, I did it, and when I got there, boy was I in for a rude awakening. Shit. Really? Fran? C'mon... on a Monday? Oh burn...

But, I sucked it up like a good lemming is supposed to, and you know what? I got 'er done. I haven't done Fran since September. Even though CFOT hit it a few weeks ago, I missed it. So, I was glad to get at Fran again because it's been awhile. A hot minute if you will. If you don't know what Fran looks like, or if you've blocked it from your mind, or if you just need to be induced with sedatives when you think about Fran, so you therefore try not to remember the workout... let me tell you what Fran looks like.

For Time
21-15-9
Thrusters-Pull-ups
Rx women 65lbs

So, last time I did Fran in September, I did it with 90lbs... shut up! I'm still bitter about my poor counting! The last time I did Fran with a women's weight was August. I was hardcore zoning then, and hitting the gym pretty solidly. So needless to say, with the way things have been going here lately, I was a bit concerned about how well I'd stack up. However, I was completely blown away by what happened.

I broke six minutes. Not just by 2 seconds or what have you. I went 5:45 on the button. 5:45. That's over a minute off my last PR. Holy crizzap. I'm still not in that upper tier of women with that time, but it felt good for me, since I'm not a metcon ninja and since I've plummeted off the Zone wagon. Today is almost like rock bottom for me. That time was awesome, but I'm gaining weight and I can feel it. I really want to get back in the Zone like I was last year, but I don't know where to find that motivation again. Last year I was so heavy that I hated myself for it. I don't hate myself now, so I don't have that same motivation. I don't want to end up there again, but I'm not 100% convinced that's going to happen, so I don't have that fear either. I need something, ANYTHING, to get me to get my butt back in there. I know that once I do, I'll be ok, and I'll do it, but how do I get BACK THERE? 3 days... 3 more days to hold onto... then... peace... for at least a little while...

Sunday, March 29, 2009

Another "Death by Metcon"

Saturday's at the box are always a little different. We're not all running off to work, sometimes the kids are around, we sometimes get started a bit late... it's just a different vibe on the weekends. However, although that may be different, our intensity is never any different. Yesterday we hit the "Petranek Baseline" which looks like this:

1RFT
500 M row
40 squats
30 abmats
20 push ups
10 pull ups

However, at the bottom of the white board, it then says "reapeat as needed". Hmmmm... as needed? Really I only needed one round to make me tired. Maybe it was the maragaritas still floating in my system from Friday night... but regardless I hopped in for a second round, then a third, and somewhere in there decided that going a 4th round was a good idea, then a 5th. And at the end just decided, what the hell? I may as well do the full 6. So all in all, I did 6 rounds of this metcon insanity. I was able to maintain all my times pretty close together, so I was happy with that, although I would have preferred to do them faster. I'm really not a metcon ninja but this was still a lot of good work for me. The totals looked like this:

3000 M row
240 squats
180 abmats
120 push ups
60 pull ups

That's a lot of work for one day... I maintained all the rounds around 6 minutes but still that's a lot of work for the morning... No jokes here. I was SMOKED after this one... yar... only four more working days until spring break! Holding on for dear life...

Friday, March 27, 2009

"The Rebuttal: Part II"

Dear Deadlifts and Push-ups,

Shit. I guess I'm stuck with you. See you at the box.

Love,

Katie

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

"The Rebuttal"

Dear Katie,

A Post It? Two Post Its actually? Is this the thanks we get for everything that we've done for you? Seriously, push-ups and I got together today for a few brewskis after work and we had a little chat. We think that your logic and reasoning is complete and total CRAP! Now, before you go get that all indignant huffy face you're so good at, shut up and listen.

Ok, so maybe we don't always "get along" and maybe push-ups and I aren't always so "nice" to you, but you act like we've never done anything for you. All this crap about causing you pain and this that and the other thing, complete CRAP. You've lost weight and gotten stronger in part due to US. You keep blabbering on and on (and God knows you can go on forever) about how we aren't giving you enough, blah blah blah. Well how about you cut us some slack and take some responsibility too. Did you stop to think that maybe it's not us, it's YOU? Oh yeah, we said it. Truth be told, your craptastic performance today probably has something to do with all that coffee you've been drinking and that ice cream you've been "Hoovering". Not to mention that soda you've been chugging. That's why you can't carry my butt.

And another thing, maybe if you'd stop missing so many days at the box because you can't get your butt out of bed at 0430, your form wouldn't suck so bad. Whose fault is it that you've missed almost every metcon/bodyweight workout in the last three weeks hmmmm? And whose fault is it that you've missed two out of the last three deadlift workouts... hmmmm? I'll give you two guesses, and the answer isn't "Deadlift's" or "Push-up's".

So, having said all that, guess what. Push-ups and I, we're not taking this break up crap. Nope. Not going to happen. We're going to stalk you, and basically force you to continue to see all of us. See, the problem is that even though you drive us absolutely crazy, and we think that you seeing all of us is morally a little reprehensible, we realized that we kind of like you. We realized that we're kind of partial to your I-Pod mixes that have Abba, Marky Mark, Metallica, and Christina, and we kind of like your sense of humor. Or rather, we sort of like making fun of you and laughing at you. So it really boils down to this. We're willing to overlook your "indiscretions", and regardless of what you want, you're stuck with us. ALL of us. We're going to be at the box ALL the time, so you might as well just give up this tough girl attitude you're trying to rock, and just keep on with what you've been doing. Now, push-ups and I have agreed that we'll be polite to OHS and Jerk, and even pull-ups too, (Yeah, don't think we haven't noticed you eyeing him up at the box recently) but that will only remain so long as you keep getting into the box the way you should, and you and your butt lay off the ice cream. Otherwise, we're going to make your life absolutely miserable.

We love you long time,
Deadlifts and push-ups

PS- We're sorry that we didn't have any Super Sticky Post Its and resorted to writing this on cocktail napkins.

"The Break Up: Part II"

Dear Deadlifts,

You and I have been spending a pretty considerable amount of time together over the last few months. We've had our rough patches where I really thought our relationship would end, but through it all we persevered. We grew stronger together. Unfortunately, I have to confess that I've also been seeing push-ups, Clean, Jerk, OHS, and a few others on a pretty regular basis. Now, I know what you're thinking and you're right. I have landed us right smack in the middle of quite the little love tryst. And you know, for awhile, I actually liked you quite a bit. But, yesterday, I decided it was necessary to end my relationship with push-ups. Things just weren't working out. Now, after today and you're 15 rep bodyweight nastiness, I realized that I'm through with your sorry butt too.

See, a relationship really needs to be balanced and the couple really needs to work together. I really can't be picking you up and carrying you all the time. It's just not fair. No matter how hard I've tried to get things right, you continually cause me pain, particularly in my lower back from all the times I've had to pick you up. Now, I'm sorry but that's just not right. I don't understand how you expect me to carry you all the time, especially when you weigh more than I do. Truthfully, it's very inconsiderate on your part, and really you ought to be more considerate of others. I just need more than you are willing to give me right now.

Now, I'm sure I seem heartless, but let's be honest with one another. We really don't have much in common, and see you're into legs and I, well I'm pretty big on having nice shoulders. We just don't mix, sort of like oil and water. We go together for a little bit, but in the end, we always end up separated.

I don't want you to feel bad about this. Really. I'll still be cool with you at the box and all, and maybe we can grab coffee every now and again. But I really think at this point it's better that we just go our separate ways before someone REALLY gets hurt. Now, I'll understand if you're upset for awhile, but hey. Don't worry. Things'll all work out. I will always cherish the moments we spent together.

Love always,
Katie

PS- I'm sorry that I wrote this on a Super Sticky Post It.

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

"The Break-Up"

Dear Push-ups,

Over the last several months, you and I have had quite a turbulent relationship. At times, it seemed like we were growing closer. At other times, it seemed like we were really drifting farther apart. Despite all the time we've spent together, I really feel that we're just not meant to be. I'm sure you've seen this coming for sometime now, but I really just need to tell you that, it's over.

You see, you just don't do it for me. I mean, now your friends, OHS and Jerk, well, I just find myself more attracted to them. Please don't take this as a personal afront, I mean, you're a great movement and all designed to work my core, and work on my upper body strength, but realistically, I just don't see us working out. I'm happier when I have something in my hands that I can grip and throw around, and you just don't offer me that. I mean, for months we've struggled through rep after rep, and workout after workout, and I just don't see our relationship going anywhere. We've tried intense counseling sessions, but nothing has really worked, and truthfully, you've caused me nothing but severe pain and anguish. I really feel that this is not a healthy relationship for me any longer, and I'm sorry but I just can't do it.

Now, I don't want you to worry. When I see you at the box, I'll still be cool and say "hi", but we won't be spending large amounts of time together anymore I'm afraid. And I'd really appreciate it if you could please try to be nice to OHS and Jerk, I mean after all, they really are just innocent bystanders in this sticky mess. Oh, and whatever you do, don't do that RIDICULOUS macho thing you do and try to be tough on me. It just doesn't work on me anymore, and truthfully it makes you look like a raging idiot. And please, try not to be jealous that I've moved on to other movements. I'm sure someday soon you will too after your heart mends itself and you get over the pain of losing me. I will forever respect you and be thankful for our time together and I wish you all the best in your future without me.

Love always,

Katie

PS- I'm sorry that I wrote this on a Post-It. ;)

"Choose your own death by metcon" and #37 courtesy of Martha! :)

I have another blog coming after this, because after our bodyweight circuit this morning, it just has to happen. I have to tell you, I'm not so much a fan of this whole "bodyweight" thing. It seems I have a lot of it, and when I have to push it up, I'm not so much a fan. You know, you could probably be a fan of bodyweight workouts on Facebook, however, I would not be a fan. Katie is NOT a fan on Facebook.

Today was another choose your own workout kind of day. I'm preferring however to call it, "Choose your own death by metcon", it's just more fitting, and more fun. Do you know where I got that? I totally stole it from those old choose your own adventure books. Do you remember those? Oh they were awesome! One page you were rockin' out the story, and in the next you were falling into some deep, dark, mysterious cage... they were GREAT! Now, I have to go find one... hold on... looking for photographic evidence that they exist and I'm not totally crazy... ;)


Ha! You can find anything if you look hard enough! God bless GOOGLE! I am totally a fan on Facebook! Anyway, so today was a "Choose your own death by metcon" kind of day. Jerry put up about 4 different options, but since I can't do massive amounts of ring dips, D was out for me. Since I can't do one muscle up, let alone massive amounts of them, C was also out. That left A and B. A I knew would take me forever because it was...

A
10 RFT of
10 Pull-ups
20 Push-ups
30 Squats

Now, the pull-ups and squats would have been fine for me, but it's that freakin' middle number. It frustrates me that push-ups are sooo difficult. I know the answer is to do more of them, but I just, GRRRR! Hate them.

So, as a result, I settled for B, which looked deceptively easy.

B
10 RFT of
6 Pull-ups
12 Push-ups
18 Squats
Time- 20:37

Freakin' push-ups. That's all I can say. I would have easily had this in 15 minutes if I didn't suck so badly at push-ups. CRAP! CRAP! CRAP!

But despite that, today I got to catch up with Martha as I was primping for work. I haven't seen her in an age and it was great to "girl talk" while we were gettin' all hot and stuff. But I had to laugh when she gave me #37 on the list. She was telling Christine all about how she should use Nu-Skin to heal her torn hands, and it was then that she revealed that she truly is legit CrossFit. How is it that I know?

#37. You openly admit to carrying Nu-Skin, Neosporin, and Band-aids in your purse so that when you have a rough pull-up day, you can be on that STAT!

ROCK SOLID! :)

Saturday, March 21, 2009

Reasons #35 and #36 you know you're Legit CrossFit

Ok, so originally awhile back I posted this list of ways that allowed you to tell if you were REALLY legit CrossFit, or if you were just sort of faking it. I had 34 reasons to start. Now I have 35 and after reviewing the old blog, I found a comment I didn't see before... so now I have a nice even 36! So, without further adieu, here we go! ;)

36. You keep your old Globo Gym membership, just so you can use their showers after your CF workout drenches you in sweat.

35. While cleaning the interior of your car, you realize that "dust" that you're cleaning off your dashboard isn't really dust. It's chalk.

34. You hit 7 straight CrossFit days in a row because you don't want to miss any of the fun during the workouts. During these said seven days, you manage to hit the Trevor Win'E workout, and Miami Vice.

33. One of your friends asks you a question. What 3 things would you take with you on a deserted island. You immediately reply chocolate then stop to think about number 2. You decide on a solar powered wireless laptop so that you can continue to keep up your CrossFit blog because you decide you will continue to do CrossFit on the island. You spend the better part of your afternoon then trying to devise a method of using set numbers of coconuts on a straight branch as a adjustable weight bar, while using coconuts weighted with sand as dumbbells so that you can hit some CrossFit workouts. You do of course realize that this is completely hypothetical and will probably never happen, and that you are completely wasting your time, but nonetheless you do it anyway. You also devise a new implement called a coconut bell, which has palm fronds linked through holes in the sides of the coconut that you made with a rock, so that you can swing it. Ah yes... creativity (and CrossFit addiction) at its finest! :)

32. While your students are playing on the playground, you notice that one of your boys on the monkey bars swings really well. You think to yourself that he would be a great candidate for learning a kipping pull up. You debate about teaching him before you realize that he'll probably hit his head on the monkey bars, thus prompting a law suit, and you therefore opt against it. (Hey, school's for learning right? ;) )

31. After traveling 500 miles and dropping $$ on a hotel room for an awesome beer festival, you decide to be the DD and not partake, all so you can hit your CrossFit workout in the morning.

30. In an effort to eat healthy so you can nail a few extra reps/pounds at your next workout, you decide to have yogurt for breakfast. In your morning haste, you drop the yogurt in the *ehem* area on your nice black pants. You then walk around the rest of the day with some suspicious looking white stains on the front of your pants in your *ehem* region and are forced to deal with all the suspicious stares of your coworkers. Oh for the love of CrossFit!

29. While your wife is busy using your car, you are determined to find a way to get your new weights into your CrossFit room for your morning workout. You resort to using a wheelbarrow, only to get pulled over by the cops because you "look suspicious" pushing a wheelbarrow full of weights. (Apparently at 5am weights in a wheelbarrow closely resemble a dead body)

28. When you hear T-pain sing about zoning, you assume he is on the same diet plan that you are.

27. When told two days in advance what your workout will be, it causes you to have nightmares about people breaking limbs and doing ring dips over a moat full of alligators.

26. In order not to miss a regularly scheduled workout, you make sure that when you drop your car off at the garage that they schedule a loaner for you. You then spend the next few days driving around in a busted up, brokedown, baby blue, 1988 Buick hooptie all so you can CrossFit.

25. Due to all your CrossFit bruises, you find yourself making comments like, "It's a good thing I don't have a boyfriend 'cause he'd swear I was cheating on him."

24. You know how many CrossFitters it takes to screw in a light bulb. (3...1 to screw it in, 1 to count their reps, and 1 to photograph it.)

23. You come up with random questions like, "If CrossFit were a superhero, what super power would it have?" or, "If CrossFit and Xena Warrior Princess were to fight, who would win?"

22. You find yourself speaking about CrossFit as if it were a real person.

21. You understand what WOD, AMRAP, and all the other CrossFit acronyms mean.

20. You're boyfriend/girlfriend/spouse refuses to hold your hand because of your calluses. Your boyfriend/girlfriend/spouse may also at some other point have asked you to stop rubbing their arm, back, shoulder, etc. because your calluses were scratching them.

19. While looking online to buy CrossFit toys for home, you burst into laughter when you find that the site you are looking at recommends that a women start with a "challenging" 15lb kettlebell, while men work with a 35.

18. You are on a first name basis and regularly hang out with Angie, Fran, Helen, Grace, Nancy, Elizabeth, Cindy, Karen, and all the other ladies.

17. After listening to you describe your workouts, your family and friends have suggested that you seek psychiatric treatment.

16. The laundry pile in your room is so rank it could probably stand up and walk out on its own.

15. After being injured doing your workout, you recruit people to CrossFit while they exmine you in the ER.

14. You talk about CrossFit so much that your friends and family are not 100% sure you have not joined a mysterious new occult.

13. You don't count reps if you don't get your chest to the deck, or your chin over the bar.

12. You're so beefed up that your instructor has to buy heavier kettlebells just for you.

11. The Zone requires you to hit the grocery store so often that all the cashiers know you by first name.

10. You've kipped yourself off a bar.

9. You've called in sick to work because you busted through an epic the day before and now can't walk/lift your arms/move.

8. You can no longer attend church because it interferes with your Sunday workouts. (not to mention CrossFit and Pukie are your gods now)

7. You get upset if the WOD DOESN'T make you sweat so much that you are forced to change your shirt halfway through your workout. (Visit Rick at Crossfit Alamo for more on this one... ;) )

6. To you, the "Filthy Fifty" does not carry any sexual innuendo or reference someone's age.

5. You use CrossFit for dating advice.

4. You have been caught telling eight year olds (spouses, your own children, or fellow coworkers) to "Rest Later" and get their work done NOW. There's plenty of time for rest when it's finished!

3. While at the bar with your friends you debate whether or not you should take your next shot because you don't have a string cheese in your pocket for the block of protein you need to balance with the block of carbs in your shot of tequila/JD/Hennesey/Hypnotiq. (But let's be honest, some of these choices should probably be more carefully considered anyway....)

2. When your boss pulls a surprise added shift to your schedule that requires you to work a double and would require you to miss a planned CrossFit hero workout, you immediately plan to show up late so you can hit the workout anyway. You hit the workout and pay a $15 shower fee at the gym before going to work, all so you can hit Daniel. In the hurry to shower and get to work, you realize in your rush out of the house, you forgot a towel, so you are forced to drip dry/dry yourself with your sweat drenched clothes so you can manage to only be a half hour late to work. All for the love of Daniel.

And the number one way you know you are CrossFit LEGIT....

1. You chose your vacation desitinations based on their proximity to a CrossFit affiliate. You also actively plan your vacation activities around their workout schedule so you can still hit four workouts per week.

30 minutes of metcon dee-liciousness... plus my very first (and second) rope climb!

I would like to preface this blog by saying one simple (or is it compound?... nope pretty sure it's a simple) sentence...

I AM NOT A METCON NINJA!

Hokay, so now that we've established that... allow me to 'splain our day... no, there is too much... let me sum up... Buttercup marry Humperdink in little less than half an hour... ;)

Sorry about that. Sometimes I get off on tangents... ;) Oh come on, you knew that already and if you didn't, now you do, and besides that, who DOESN'T love the Princess Bride? If you don't, you should. If you've never seen it, go watch it before I am forced to beat you... ;)

Anyway, for serial, today's WOD was literally 30 minutes of a metcon thrashing. It went a bit like this.

6 minutes per station
1. Double unders (the sub was 4:1 single unders) and Abmat
2. L-sit (sub strict) and ring dips
3. Row (calories) and burpees
4. KB swings and box jumps
5. Sledgehammer hits and push-ups

Now, there's a trick to this wod. You get to pick the reps, BUT, your reps on your exercises must match. So, for example, if you do 2 l-sits, then you must do 2 ring dips. If you do 5 l-sits, then it's 5 ring dips. You with me? Now, if you do that, you get 2 points, or 5 points, but ONLY if you match your number on each exercise. If you get 3 and 5, no dice on the points. You still with me? So now, you have 6 minutes to do that matching set, as many times as you can. So if you go, 5-5, 5-5, 5-5, you just earned 15 points. At the 6 minute mark you get 1 minute for transition, going in order. This is literally a 35 minute ass kicker. It's metcon, it's strength, it's stamina. Oh lordy did it suck, but in that good metcon thrashing kind of way. You know what I mean.

This was just one of those workouts that only Jerry could design and love... :P

My score today was close to the average range, so I was pretty pleased with that seeing as how metcon.... eh, not so much my thing. I had a 219 on this... I would have had 224 BUT the buzzer rang and I was 1 stinking push-up away from matching 5-5 at the last station... booness.. but the ninja masters had like 320. It was awesome and disgusting at the same time.

But it's ok, you know why? Oh COURSE you DON'T. That's why I'm going to tell you... :) Today I got my VERY FIRST rope climb! I have NEVER climbed a rope before, and today I finally got the cinch down and was able to move up the rope. I was totally stoked! I touched the top beam and everything! :) Now, just to make sure though that it wasn't a fluke (like that one day I got double unders? I haven't gotten them since) so I decided to climb it again after the WOD. :) Yup, no fluke, got it twice. The real test will be if I can get it on Monday. Then I'll know for sure. :P

Ah metcon dee-liciousness and rope climbs... what a great day! :)

Friday, March 20, 2009

Today I got in "over" my "head"...

Ah, yes... another work week down. One week closer to Spring Break (and hopefully the return of my sanity). Actually, strike that. I'm not sure that's EVER coming back. But anyhoo, today was my kind of day at CFOT. You know... Friday is a heavy lifting day! (Said with rugby chant enthusiasm!) Ahhhh... yes. Today, today was overhead squats! :) *eeeh!*

Overhead squats are really a terrific exercise. I know lots of people don't like them, but they really are good for focing you to work active shoulder, core stabilization, and not to mention your strength. So, today we did some PVC work before jumping into the WOD.

OHS
3-3-3-15

Now, I know what you're thinking. You're thinking, WTF mate? (f'ing kangaroos) The idea is that you're to find your three rep max, and then attempt to do a 15 rep set with 75% of your bodyweight. I'm not going to lie, I did the 3 rep max, and by that point, I was caput. So I didn't actually do the 15 rep set. My numbers looked like 'dis.

33 X 15
55 X 5
85 X 3
95 X 3
105 X 3
115 X 3
125 X 3
130 X 2 (SOF)

I am pretty pleased with these lifts to be honest. After everything that's been going on lately in my life; the stress, the crazy schedule, working so much, it's good to feel strong. I know my metcon has gone to pot, but I'll work on getting that back. Tabata scores yesterday were pretty low, but largely because of the push-ups. Aside from that it really didn't feel too bad. But today felt really good. I really wanted to hit that 130 X 3, but by the end, that's just a lot of weight to hold over your head.

I have to say though, you know, that's kinda cool because last time when I did 1 rep maxes, I was only able to get up 135. My 3 rep max today was only 5 lbs less! I'd be totally stoked to start doing more on the OHS. I've got decent midline stabilization, but the problem of course is always jerking the weight up. Jerking 130+ lbs. from behind the head isn't easy by any means. But like I keep saying, always something to work on in CF. So, today I totally got in "over" my "head" but it's ok. I'm cool with that! :)

BTW... if you were wondering where the *eeeh!* thing came from at the beginning of my post... watch this... and pay attention to the pig's face/noises at the end... :)

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Tabata your *ss off...

Soooo, I can finally feel my arms again, well or rather, I could always FEEL my arms, they were just in an immense ammount of pain. :P But suffice to say that after Trevor, my arms have finally recovered. So, today I got into CFOT and hit a WOD. Today we did.... dun dun dun... TABATA. Ugh. If there is one thing I hate, it's Tabata. I've mentioned, I know I have, several times that I SUCK at push-ups. I don't know what it is. I just can't do them fast. So, seeing Tabata come up today, I was not a happy camper. Not to mention, I was also in a bit of a craptastic mood because before I went to CF I had a bit of a spill. Not only am I still covered in bruises from my incident 3 weeks ago with the plyo box, I am now covered in welts and bruises because I fell UP the stairs. No no, you read that right, I fell UP the stairs. I thought I had forgotten something in my room and so I went to run up the stairs, and my foot slipped off the stairs and I fell into the wrought iron railing beside my stairs. Ow ow ow ow freakin' ow. That was not a good way to start my day. However, today, was different than normal Tabata.

If you're not familiar with the idea of tabata-ing, allow me to break it down.

Tabata :20 of work :10 of rest
Complete 8 rounds per exercise (whatever they may be)
Record your lowest score
Soooo if your 8 rounds go like 'dis 8 8 8 8 9 8 4 8 - Your tabata score is only 4. Boo.

But today was a Tabata sellout. This means, you don't record your lowest score, you just count them all up, but it's still the same work wise.

Tabata Sellout
:20 of work :10 of rest
Record all reps
Our exercises went like this
Pull-ups
Pushups
Abmats
Squats
Rest 1:00
4:00 row for calories (WTF? EEEEEEWWWWW!)

My efforts weren't really all that bad, well except for the pushups. My numbers today looked like this.

Pull-ups-56
Push-ups-36
Abmats-97
Squats-104
Row-54
Total-347

I really should have done more push-ups and rowed more, but crap, I Tabata-ed my arse off! I had no legs! Just like Lt. Dan. I had no legs! :P It's hard to row when you don't have any legs.... :P

Wednesday, March 18, 2009

Some metstrength...

After the "interaction" that I had with Trevor this weekend, I was feeling a little sore. Trevor and I had a little chat and it went a little sumpin' like this...

Before the WOD

Trevor: "Katie, you realize that resistance is futile. I'm going to kick your *ss."
Katie: "Trevor, I am a story writin', blog keepin', kid teachin', swim coachin', food servin', laugh makin', CrossFittin' bad*ss mother. There's no way you're taking me down."
Trevor: "Katie, your foolishness makes me laugh. A-hahahahahaha." <-----evil maniacal laughter
Katie: "Bring it dude."

****WOD in progress****

After the WOD...
Trevor: "I told you so."
Katie: "Shut up."

So, yeah. Needless to say, I couldn't raise my arms. After being out last week, I should have been more careful and I know better, but it was a team workout and I wasn't really thinking about how many reps of things I was doing. But I made it on Tuesday and that's what counts. Tuesday was a metstrength day. It went a little like this... no okay fine. It went a lot like this.

5RFT
5 Squat Cleans (100lbs)
5 Ring Dips

Seeing as how I could barely lift my arms, ring dips were pretty futile. I did the rx'd weight, and really worked some of the things that I picked up at the cert last week. I was far from speedy on this, and I had to work the band on the dips, but I managed to get the WOD done and in and that's what counts.

I need to start working ring dips again, because my really suck, sort of like my push-ups, but like I've said before... there's always something to work on in CF. Just when you think you've mastered one thing, that constantly varied fitness jumps up and bites you on the butt. Screw constantly varied... I'm going to start doing bicep curls! :P

Sunday, March 15, 2009

It's all about teamwork!


After being out all week due to various excuses, I decided that despite how comfortable my bed felt on Saturday morning that I needed to get up and get to CFOT. When I got there, I saw that it was a team work day. Now, normally I'm all about teamwork, all about the friendly competition. That was until I saw what the teamwork was. Trevor. Oi ve! I remember Trevor all too well from last spring. I tore my hand open mid-palm and mid-workout and it didn't heal for nearly 2 weeks! Trevor looks like this for those of you who've never done Trevor...

"Trevor"
For time
Teams of 4
Two people may work at one time
Entire exercise must be completed before moving on
300 pull-ups
400 push-ups
500 abmats
600 squats

Our team had a stategy and it worked pretty well for the most part. To avoid muscle fatigue, stay with 5 pull-ups a piece and the team completes 15 rounds. (15X20=300 I do good math! yaaaaaayyy!) So, on the push ups we tried that again, but I'm so slow and weak on push-ups (still!!! Yar!) that I couldn't hold 5, so Dan and Sean did more. On the abmats we rocked out 5 sets of 25 a piece, and then held 10 a piece for 20 team rounds on the squats. I tell you, this is an assload of work. This workout just plain hurts. Because even though you do it as a team, seriously, do the math.

pull-ups 5X15=75 pull-ups
push-ups 4X5= 20 16X3= 48 48+20=68
abmats 25X5 = 125 + 12= 137
squats 10 X 15= 150

That's no joke right there... that's a ton of work. I'm disappointed in how badly my push-ups sucked, but they've always been a nemesis for me. I'm not sure how to make them any better. I always do them to standard but they are sooooooo slow. :( But at least I got a lot of good work in yesterday. I had shakey body syndrome after this workout as opposed to my usual shakey leg syndrome. :P And now I can't straighten my arms.... yay!

Friday, March 13, 2009

After a hiatus, max thrusters...and if you ever do this, I swear I'll beat you...

So this week really was not a good CF week for me. My schedule was all over the place, my energy was low, and I just was not feeling a bunch of ass kicking workouts. After a horrible night at work on Thursday, I decided to get in at the 0600 class on Friday. I think that may be the solution for me after nights at work. Go to 0600 instead of 0515. But before I jump into the workout, I just want to say a few things.

*Katie gets on soap box* I am a server as one of my part time jobs. Servers do not make minimum wage. We make an hourly wage of a PALTRY $2.18 an hour, and we survive on the money we make in tips. Now, having said that, it has become standard in the serving world to tip 18-20% if the service is good. The standard is NO LONGER 15%. If your server is horrible and screws up repeatedly, by all means, jack their tip. But if your server was polite, brought you your food with no major mistakes (please note that some small mishaps are the result of the kitchen and NOT your server) and in general is pleasant and friendly, take care of them.

Please do not treat them as if they are below you (truth is some of them are just as important as you in their full-time jobs) or that they are not worthy of being treated in a polite manner. They are not your servants, but are there to make your dining experience more pleasant. And if they do that successfully, you should certainly tip them accordingly. IT IS NOT ACCEPTABLE TO TIP A SERVER 10% UNLESS THEY SCREWED UP HORRIBLY. Especially when you can tell that your server is busting their butt to get up and down three flights of stairs to get to your table!

Two more side notes before I end my rant and get to the max thrusters... You should always tip your server on the check before any discounts or coupons. The server's tipout at the end of the night is based on calculated sales, and discounts do not get taken into account. And lastly, be sure that if you are using cash and credit, that you tip your server accordingly. Let me give you an example.

Jill, John, Jack, and Jessica all eat dinner. Their check is $60. Jill and Jessica throw in $40 which includes tax and tip for their part and they ask to take that off the bill and swipe the rest on the credit card. Easy enough. Total on card is $20 and John tips $5. Seems fair right? Wrong. John just tipped their server less than 10%. John took Jill and Jessica's tip out of the total amount he owed, which means therefore that he should then remember to add their tip with his.

Now I'm sure my regular readers already know this because they are brilliant and wonderful, but if there is anyone else out there that's done any of these things, you better shape up, or I will beat you cause it's not nice. *Katie gets off soap box*

Now... max thrusters. Friday morning I made it in at 0600. There were 2 workouts on the board. One was a killer metcon WOD and one was a strength WOD. I wasn't feeling really frisky on either account, but I decided to go with the max thrusters. I'm weak on thrusters because of my hips and it's a good movement for me to work in order to try to get better with speed. I don't honestly remember all my weights, but I started very conservatively. I have learned that for me, working up heavy is about the ramp up. With front squats I have gotten comfortable enough with the weight that I can make larger jumps. With deadlifts, because of my form faults, I need to make small jumps and ensure that my form is good and I feel good before I move. The same is true with my overhead work. If I want to hit the big weights, I need to ramp up well. I need to feel good. If it doesn't feel good, the heavy weights won't go up. I'll doubt myself and try to change something, and I'll mess it up horribly. Ok well maybe not horribly, but I'll still mess it up.

So, last time my max thruster was only 105. I was ramping up slowly to try to get a good feel with the bar. I felt great until I got to 95. It went up, but it didn't feel good. I made the decision to move to 105 and got that up. But again, that didn't feel good either. But I said what the hey and threw on 115. I tried 115 twice but, was doing some funky things and lost it both times. So, for me, I have to remember that the ramp up is important. If it doesn't feel good, REPEAT IT. There's no harm in it, except that you may tire yourself out before your true max. But having viruosity of the movement, is far better than being about to do the movement incorrectly with 140 lbs. Am I right? So, I'm sticking with the idea that I had about a month ago, that I still need to dial back on weight, drive hard on form, and get that down before I can move back up to using lots of weight. It stinks, cause I like heavy weights over my head, but in the long run, it is much more important and will help me to prevent injury and get stronger.

Thursday, March 12, 2009

Too tired to CF...

So this week has been a big waste of CF time. Last weekend literally wiped me out. Between the butt kicking I took in the 14 hours at the restaurant Saturday, the barbell cert Sunday morning/afternoon, followed immediately by 2 hours of coaching, followed immediately by 6 hours at the restaurant, I was smoked. And then, guess what! It was Monday, and it was back to teaching and grading and AAAAAAHHHHH! I just have not had time to sit and regroup and get the rest I need to get back on track. I have had something every night this week except last night.

This really is no way to live a life. This really is not a life I want to have. I'm working on it. I swear I am. But for now I just need to grit through this. I don't WANT to be someone who neglects herself and her family and friends always for other people (ie work). I'm glad and more than happy to give to others, but there comes a point where my kids can't take any more of my time, and neither can the restaurant. I have friends who I haven't seen in months because I just haven't been able to financially or time wise, get away. It sucks, and I'm trying to change it... really I am, but that's very hard to do right now. I'm bummed that I've missed so much CF... I hate it.... I'll be back tomorrow (barring that I get no late tables at the restaurant tonight).

Sunday, March 8, 2009

The 2nd coolest thing to happen to me in CrossFit happens...

So, the first coolest thing to ever happen to me CrossFit wise was of course getting to meet, and have dinner, with Coach Glassman. That was just wicked awesome. The third coolest ever was what happened with Lynn and the ladies from CrossFit Ocean City. Now, the second coolest thing happened at the barbell cert on Saturday morning. I was totally bummed about working at the restaurant all day and missing the cert, but since I was on my way to work anyway, I decided to pop in a say a quick hi to everybody that was there and doing the cert.

Right as I was getting ready to leave Jerry asked if I had met Coach B (they had dropped by the social the night before) and I said that I hadn't. So Jerry took me over and introduced me. I got to talk to him for a little bit and he told me that I "looked like a weight lifter". I was so surprised, I mean, this dude is like a lifting God! And he was like, you should take that as a compliment, and I was like, "Don't worry! I am!". It was way cool to get a compliment like that from someone like him. Wicked awesome, and the second coolest thing to happen!

Saturday, March 7, 2009

I hit Josh... and the 3rd coolest thing to happen to me in CF happens...

One of the nice things about having our own place is that it allows Jerry to be able to change things up a bit. We don't really have to worry too much about someone else's schedule so it allows us to do things, like choose your own girl or hero workout on the first Friday of the month, followed by a social! :) I'm ALL about the social. :)

I missed our first choose your own workout (it sort of reminds me of the old choose your own adventure books because you never really knew what was going to happen once you chose... ) because I had district swimming, so I was really psyched to be able to meet up this time. Well, I got stuck late at work with a table that walked in 4 minute before closing (thank you VERY much) so Friday am workout was OUT. No could do on about four hours of sleep. So I settled for coming in after school and getting some solid work in.

After doing max OHS this week, I have to say, I was sort of inspired when it came to OHS. Now, also after slamming my shin into the box, I was not really looking to do any running this week either. So, for my hero, I chose "Josh". It was a combination of OHS and pull-ups and I thought it would be good anyway, since I really need to keep working my chins on the fixed bars.

I really wanted to go rx'd with 95, but the problem is that without a rack, I would have to snatch everthing up. Snatching 95 is feasible for me, but it makes the workout a whole lot more complex. And let's also face it, my body was tired. In between all the working out I lead a pretty crazy life, and let's just say, it's catching up with me. So, I had to concede defeat and I went with 65 lbs.

Josh looks a little somthing like this....
21 OHS
42 Pull-ups
15 OHS
30 Pull-ups
9 OHS
18 Pull-ups

I have to say that overall I was pretty pleased with this. I know where I need to work to make this faster but this was a solid workout for me. I hit this in 11:18. What held me back was not the OHS. I banged through this with 1 drop on the 21 and 15 and none on the 9. But the pull-ups, especially right after trying to maintain active shoulder with that bar over my head were a total smoker. But, I felt pretty good about the time, and am glad I got to hit it.

As I was working out, I noticed 3 women come through the door who I didn't recognize. Really, our affiliate has literally EXPLODED since moving spaces (over 30 new members) and I didn't think anything of it. Well I finished the workout and was talking to Jerry when one of the women said to me, "Are you Katie?" Now, I'm not going to lie, it totally tricked me out. I was like, oh God, what did I do? Why does she know me, did I accidentally smile at her boyfriend or husband or something? I was a little panicked. I'll be honest. But then she introduced herself and told me her name was Lynn (I'm sorry if the spelling is wrong!). She told me that she reads my blog all the time! How cool! I was relieved (naturally) that it was a CF related knowing of me, and then relaxed immensely.

Turns out, Lynn and some of the other women from an affiliate in Ocean City were in town for the barbell cert this weekend and had dropped by for a workout beforehand! Awesome! As Lynn was introducing me to one of the trainers at the affiliate, she asked if I was the girl who wrote that whole journey story. And I had to admit that yes I was. She told me that it was a great story. I have to say, at that point, I nearly cried. Shut up I know that makes me sound like a wuss, but I did. There have been times where I've been ready to throw in the towel with my writing on this blog, largely in part of some drama that's happened, just because people either don't know how to take me, or due to things that THEY'VE done, which then reflect on me.

So when I heard her talk about that story this blog, in my mind, just became completely validated. I write because I like to make people laugh, and because I hope that they can take away something from my experiences. From an athlete perspective, maybe they can see how to make something better thanks to Jerry's tips and tricks, or they can find the courage and strength to stick with it and not give up once they see someone who has struggled just like them. From a trainer's perspective, maybe they see just how powerful their positions really are. Trainser have the ability to change someone's LIFE. That is no small feat and it's something to be insanely proud of. You are helping someone to become a new person, to reach goals, do more than they ever thought possible. To see that they were taking something away from my blog made all the writing and all the hours I've spent coming up with catchy titles and funny blurbs and ideas for daily blogs all worth it. Now, how awesome is that?

Everyone has their own CrossFit story. Mine is being written one page, one day at a time. On this journey, I'm being given the opportunity to meet some amazing people, and maybe make a difference while I push myself to become better. We always talk about "power" in CrossFit. It's in the programming, it's in your hips, your legs, your wave of contraction. But it's also in the people. Can you feel it?

Thursday, March 5, 2009

I fall off the box, hit a 35 lb strict chin, and find a pet rock...

You know, it's been awhile since I've had one of these really great long titles to post up. :) But, lo and behold, it was bound to happen. I was just bound to have one of those workouts. :P

I wasn't really feeling up for CF yesterday. After two AWESOME days back to back at CF, I was thinking that a day off would be a good idea. But after awhile, and a little nudging from my adoptive dad, Lt. Col. Dan, I decided to get my butt off my chair, leave work, and get to CFOT. No lie, the workout yesterday was a brutal metcon, especially after doing two leg intense days back to back. The workout looked like this...

For time
50-40-30-20-10
Double unders (sub box jumps if you're not strong with the double under)
Wall ball (14 lbs)
Abmats

Ok, abmats and I are getting along pretty well these days. All this overhead work has really forced me to focus on keeping my core tight, so really, things in that department aren't all that bad. But after doing heavy deads and heavy squats the box jumps and the wall balls were rough. After the 50's I had shakey leg syndrome. And you know, it was bound to happen... yup, somewhere amongst the 40's, my foot didn't quite make it on the box and WHAM! Into the box went my shin. I'm not going to lie, if you've never done that, oh my god does it ever hurt. The skin that tore off was actually stuck to the inside of my pants... ew... it's not bruised right now, oh no, because my shin is now full of fluid. De-lightful. That's going to look so pretty in about two days. *sigh* Only me... well not only me, I've seen others do it, but of COURSE it would happen to me. :P I finished this one up in 28:46... not to bad, but not all that great. I rested quite a bit on those wall balls. They gas me like no other.

After all was said and done with the workout, Jerry had some extra work.

Weighted chins
1-1-1-1-1

I've always done my chins with my pams facing away from me. I've never tried doing them with my palms facing me. So, I hopped on the bar and decided to try to change my grip to see if I could do it. Holy crap it was so much easier to get up! So apparently when doing strict chins, I should use that grip. Anyhoo, I did a few strict chins with just bodyweight, hit a sort of l-sit (I wasn't completely straight), and then added some weight. I didn't have much energy left in me after that WOD so I knew I only had a few good attempts. I straight threw on a 20lb weight vest which went up way easy. I was really surprised, but I decided then to try the 26lb KB. That went up pretty easy too. We don't have any 30 lb KBs which would have been the next logical jump for me, so I had to go with the 35.

Well, to use the KB for this we use a slip knot around the handle, and then hang the KB around our waist. Well, I put the slip knot on the 35 and then dragged it behind me over to the bar. It looked really comical, and I started joking around about "my pet" and keeping it. It was like my pet rock. :) So, Andrea told me that if I was going to keep it, then I had to take it on a date with me, and I had to wear stillettos while dragging the KB behind me. I think that would be HILARIOUS... anyone want to be my date for the evening? ;) Just imagine how much fun we could have getting strange looks from people. :) Ah, yes, I am my own unique individual. :)

But, anyway, after Andrea and I schemed this up, I still had to get on the bar and do my strict chin with my pet rock. So I strapped in, and away I went. I got about 2 inches from the bar and sort of hit a wall.... but I pulled and I tugged and I tugged and I pulled, and somehow, I pulled my chin up over the bar, with an additional 35 lbs on me. Stoked. Three days in a row I've PR'd on strength exercises at CFOT. I was stoked. But I was also spent. There was no way I was going to try to make one with 45. No way. So instead, I sat down and hung out at CFOT for a little while. Now, because I'm me, and I'm weird sometimes, I really wanted to see if I could sit down and fit INSIDE our new tires. :) So my pet rock and I sat down inside one of the tires. Believe it or not, I actually sort of fit! Everyone of course thought I was nuts, but eh. It was fun. :) And Danny did snag a photo of it... :P

But of course, this is why I'm not allowed to work out at night anymore. At zero dark thirty I need to get moving and I'm not allowed to stay and play and be a goofus. At night, I make a complete tard out of myself... no more night workouts for me! :P

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Squat Vid




Here I is in all my glory. :P

Tuesday is a heavy lifting day! (said with rugby chant enthusiasm... :) )

It IS a heavy lifting day! Even though deadlifts are a bit of an achilles for me, I was really excited to hit them. I've been focusing on form and working on not rounding out, so I was interested to see how I'd do with heavy singles as opposed to touch and go. I started out really light, really wanting to make sure I worked up feeling good, with good form, and then I got called a wuss... so I dug in and went for it. Here's what I looked like today.

65 X 5
85 X 5
95 X 3
105 X 1
115 X 1
145 X 1
165 X 1
185 X 1
195 X 1
205 X 1 PR
210 X 1 PR

So seriously... for real... woot! Two days, back to back PR's... I say woot! :) And then I do my happy dance... which is just slightly better than Elaine's dancing on Seinfeld... :) Tehe... We'll see about CF tonight though... I'm wicked sore... :P

Monday, March 2, 2009

Max Overhead Squats

Guess what we did today?!?!!?! Nooooo... we didn't do snatches today. Silly pants. Overhead squats! And you know what we did with them? MAX! We've never done max overhead squats... kind of like the snatches. We'd never done them until recently. Jerry wrote on my Facebook yesteday that I needed to get my butt to CFOT today to hit the squats, so since we had a snow day (yay for snow days!) I slept in this morning and hit CFOT for an evening class. Have I mentioned how much I heart having multiple evening classes??!?!! (I do... I heart it muy mucho!) And for those of you who no hablo espanol... el nino is spanish for... the nino... Sorry... sorry. I went all Chris Farley on you for a minute. It's my attention deficit oooh shiny! disorder. I sorry. But really, I heart the night classes big time.

So, I warmed up today with some wall squats and PVC overhead squats and then it was off to the races. My loads looked like this.

15 X 5
35 X 5
55 X 3
65 X 1
85 X 1
95 X 1
105 X 1
115 X 1
125 X 1 (F)
125 X 1
130 X 1
135 X 1 (cut it close)
135 X 1 (repeated since I cut it close)
140 X 1 (F)
140 X 1 (F)
140 X 1 (SOF)

I have to say, I haven't really been feeling super hot at CF lately. The snatches last week felt pretty good, and so did Helen, but aside from that... it's been awhile. Today, I have to say, I felt AWESOME. I haven't been jerking much lately at all. My top out two weeks ago was 125. So today I was doing BEHIND THE HEAD jerks with that weight. I was really pleased. I say sort of fail on 140 because I had the weight over my head, dropped to the hole, and got halfway out before I was just too tired. I was more than halfway up. It was so close. I just was pretty wiped and couldn't hold it. I'm not sure I could jerk much more than that, so that's pretty much my max. But... it's ok. Today was a great day at CFOT! :) Woot!


Jerry took some video today, so we'll see if he posts it up later. If he does, I'll upload it. We are going to do these again... right Jerry? ;)