I STRICTLY told you not to PUSH my buttons... you JERK!

Ha... do you like how I so CLEVERLY told you in my title what the workout was for yesterday? I'm so totally sneaky like that. So anyhoo... in the world of Katie (which is really, really, super awesome btw) there are few things better than barbell work. Things that are deep fried and smothered in chocolate may rank above barbell work, but that may be about it. I love barbell work, even moreso when it's overhead. Yesterday was a combination of two of my pretty favorite things and one of my "eh, it's ok" things.

Monday's wod looked like this.

Strict press 1-1-1
Push press 1-1-1
Push jerk 1-1-1

Strict press and I are not necessarily the best of friends. I mean, I love going overhead, but when it comes down to it, strict press isn't my best movement. I've gotten so used to using my hips that to take that away feels very foreign and I'm not necessarily a fan. But I like doing push presses and push jerks. So, I was totally ok with sort of getting through the strict to get to everything else. ;)

I started off with an 800 M run because I haven't been doing much running lately and I want to get back to that and I think that was a good move. It got my heart rate up and it also just got the blood flowing in my legs, which is really important even though it's technically overhead work. You can't push press or push jerk without strong legs, so definitely a good idea to get them moving.

I felt strong on the strict press this time, and made some different jumps this time too. Two weeks ago when we did a max strict press, I was too slow in the ramp up and it cost me. I was burnt out by the time I got to my max loads. So, this time I ramped up faster and then made one final jump to go for a PR. There was no tying then going above the PR. I just went straight for it. Strict press gains are so minimal that I figured that I could always drop down if I needed to. I really wish Jerry would have caught this one on tape because it was memorable. I got stuck, but pushed through with my left arm first, then my right. I definitely am stronger in my left arm than my right which is sort of funny since I'm right handed. Regardless, I started the lifting day off pretty well with a new PR in the strict press at 95 lbs. That's no small feat for me.

After the strict I moved on to the push press and felt pretty solid the whole way up. I was trying to figure out how high I should be able to go, and just kept adding weight. On all three movements I did way more than 3 attempts, but it's ok. It all makes me stronger. :) So on the push presses I worked up to 125 which was another PR for me. And then it was on to my favorite, the push jerk. I don't know quite why, but I love throwing heavy things over my head, and of all the movements I can jerk the most. So, the jerk is therefore my favorite. :)

I started jerking around 115 and then jumped to 125, 135, and then hit a solid 145. My PR before today was 147. When I hit 145 and it felt that good, I knew that 147 was going to go bye bye as the PR. I stacked 150 and Jerry hit record. I hit 150 from a behind the head jerk position before when I did my overhead squat a few months ago, but that is a different movement so that doesn't count as a PR. So I was getting really stoked as my weights got heavier. Especially considering that this lift was done AFTER all the other ones. Sooooo, I put 150 on the bar, Jerry hit the record button and 150 flew over my head. I mean, it felt good, and it almost felt easy. I looked at Jerry, he looked at me and asked what I was thinking, and I said I was trying to decide if I was done. He said, you might as well throw 155 on the bar. And so I did. This was the end result. :)

Push Jerk at CrossFit Old Town