Sunday, May 31, 2009

How low can you go? All the way to the flo'? Can you bring it to the top?



So, my musical selection today may seen a little far fetched, but for today's wod, that really was the million dollar question..... can you get the weight all the way down and break parrallel before bringing it back to the top? That was the million dollar question because today was.... MY BELATED BIRTHDAY PRESENT! WooooooooT! MAX REP BACK SQUATS! WoooooooooT!

I worked in with the boys today and it was one AWESOME day... I had to lift and run because I was going to a wine festival yesterday, so I didn't see the final weights the boys used but they were lifting STRONG yesterday. Stewart, Sean, and Anthony all helped to get me to my max weight effort! Seeing as how my hamstrings are weaker than my quads (I'm very quad dominant) this should actually be a weaker move for me, but yesterday I was able to knock down some pretty serious weight. I still need to work on my form a bit. Once the weight gets heavy I try to stay too upright, but overall I had some good lifts yesterday. Check out the video!




45 X 5
75 X 5
95 X 5
115 X 3
135 X 3
155 X 1
175 X 1
185 X 1
195 X 1 F
190 X 1 PR
195 X 1 PR
200 X 1 PR

This is the second time this week that I've PR'd on a heavy squat and I'm totally stoked about both of them. Saturday's a heavy lifting day! (Said with rugby chant enthusiasm! :) )

Friday, May 29, 2009

A belated song for all my military friends...

I had downloaded this song a few weeks ago after hearing the live version of it... while searching for a video to go with yesterday's WOD, I came across the video of it... in honor of Memorial Day, in honor of every military friend I have made along the way... I should have posted this last week... I'm sorry for the delay... but the message is clear... this song is not about the war... it's about the warrior... it is beautiful and haunting at the same time...

Thursday WOD: Workin' that money maker!

Thursday's wod had us workin' that money maker! Or runnin it off... whichever...



After two hero WOD's and some max overhead squats, I knew some metcon would be on the menu for today, and boy was it. This was was rough on the legs. I clearly know after this WOD that my metcon is sucking big time, so clearly, now that the move is done, school is almost over, and I'm down to 2 jobs, it's time to stop pussy footin' around, and get my diet back under control. I've become wicked strong, and nice and SLOW. UGH. The wod went a little something like this...

Run 800 M
40 box jumps
40 KB swings
Run 800 M
30 Box jumps
30 KB swings
Run 800 M
20 Box jumps
20 KB swings

My total time was just over 30 minutes. I should have easily had this in under 30. Harumpf.

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

OVER and OVER again...

Ok, so maybe the song is a bit of a stretch today... but... I only ever said that one or two words needed to relate to the WOD! Mwah mwah mwah... ;)



Today was..... OVERHEAD SQUATS! Woot! I LOVE overhead work, but then again you knew that didn't you? I guess it's no surprise anymore is it? LOL. I don't know why I love overhead work so much, I mean, no matter what it's hard, but honestly, there's just something about it. Me, the oly bar, gettin' it up there... I don't know. For some reason it speaks to me.

And today, we spoke VOLUMES to each other. Lately, things in the box have been rough for me. Well, who am I kidding.... things in general have been rough. But at the box, well, I always like to feel good there, and it was bumming me out that it wasn't happening. I needed today... I needed it the way a thirsty man needs water or a hungry man food. I needed to reset the buttons. To have a good day and to get back on track. I warmed up today with an 800M run and I think that was a great choice for me. I was a little tight after yesterday's hero and I think it really helped to relax my legs and loosen me up. I was sure today to stretch out my wrists since I forgot yesterday and wound up with some sore wrists.

Sean wanted to work in with me today (yup, I'm just that cool!) and so off and away we went. My jumps were smaller than Sean's, so we were cursing each other and generally insulting each other while stripping and adding weight, but it was great to work in with him. Sean hit a BODYWEIGHT OHS today and it was AWESOME! My numbers were not quite bodyweight, but for me, I was damned pleased with myself. The video will come later but for now, I'll just give you the digits. ;)

35 X 15
55 X 5
65 X 5
75 X 3
85 X 1
105 X 1
115 X 1
125 X 1
135 X 2
140 X 2 PR
145 X 1 PR
150 X 1 PR

Squat Vid

Not only did I nail that 140 that I missed on the last vid of me doing OHS, I did it twice to make sure the depth was ok. Then, I hit 145, and THEN hit 150. I was shocked and amazed and totally STOKED. That was a 15 lb PR! I did do a little happy dance and it totally made my day. Personal issues or no, that lift was freakin' awesome and I'm totally pleased with myself today! :) WOOT! :)

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Hero WOD: DT

On the day after Memorial Day, this seems a fitting song for our WOD today. God Bless all of our servicemen and servicewomen in uniform.



Today's WOD was one of those wod's that really, doesn't look too bad on paper, but once you begin, you learn very quickly that looks are extremely deceiving. DT is a hero workout and looks a little something like this.

5 RFT
12 deadlifts
9 hang power cleans
6 jerks
RX-100lbs

I'll be the first to admit, after Murph Friday, I was still pretty sore, and after 3 days off, I was feeling sluggish and not really wanting to get back into the work week. So, me feeling very lazy, I decided not to actually count out all the weights to equal 100lbs, so I just threw 105 on the bar. This was a BAD idea. It's a hero workout, there's a GOOD reason the weights are where they are. Anyway, I smoked through the deadlifts which felt really good, and then on the hang power cleans, realized just how heavy 105lbs was. They smoked my forearms. I also cracked myself in the clavicle a few times too before I even got to put the bar over my head.

It sucks if you can't get all 6 jerks in a row too, because then, you have to clean the bar AGAIN and throw it up over your head. So in all you wind up doing like 12 cleans and 6 jerks. This WOD quickly turned into a BEAST of a workout, but again, I reiterate, it IS hero WOD and I should have known a whole lot better! By round 3 I was sucking wind big time. Ok fine, we'll call a spade a spade, by round 2 I was sucking wind big time, but I was too stubborn to drop the weight, and too stubborn to quit, so I kept going. The more tired I got, the better my jerks got, and the worse my cleans got. It doesn't really make much sense, but I guess I used more effort on the jerks, but screwed up my clean form. Weird. Anyhoo, total time on this was 19:53. Just shy of 20:00. I felt like I had gotten hit by a truck at the end. As RX'd this thing is a beast, as uber RX'd, well, that was just flat out retarded on my part. I should have counted the weights. Note to self.

But since this was the day after Memorial Day, I think this was a very fitting WOD. Two heroes back to back. Since joining CF I have made a lot of friends in all branches of the military. They are tough SOB's and I'm proud to have them as a part of my extended CF family, and I'm glad that they are the people protecting our country and myself. They are strong and I'm proud to honor their service to our country. Hoorah!

Friday, May 22, 2009

Hero WOD: Murph

CrossFit: Happy early birthday! Now do Murph.
Me: $@#!#$


I marked my territory doing Murph... how do I know it's mine? Because I chalk once, and put my hands back in the same place everytime... and because I recognize all the sweat droplets... God knows I stared at that spot of the floor long enough today! If you look carefully in every photo from the 0515 class... I am SOMEWHERE in the background doing push-ups.... *&&^^(*(*)__) push-ups!


As Sean would say... here is my butt rock selection of the day... :P



Sooo tomorrow is my official birthday... I'm going to have to change my about me section to reveal my true age. :P I asked Jerry for some back squats X 1 as my birthday present but he already had Murph on the menu... darn. So for my birthday present to day I got to hit Murph. The last time we hit Murph was December and I did it in 1:08. Today I did it in 1:01:53. No matter what I do, I cannot break 1:00 on this stupid thing. It's driving me insane. I can fly through the chins and the squats, but GD the push-ups just slow me down so much. I really and truly did not rest that much today. I didn't! I put my head down a few times, but it was only for a few seconds at best! Eck! Oh well, as Jerry says, it's better to finish than to never start. True, but man, I'm smoked!!! Got my butt kicked by all the other classes today. Note to self, kill push-ups next time you see him...

Thursday, May 21, 2009

When life and CrossFit collide...

Today's musical selection... enjoy! :) (I swear I seriously have the most random musical taste ever.)




I titled this post today when life and CF collide because I've been finding lately that I've been having a hard time leaving my life at the door and focusing on CF while I'm there. I know I need to CF, which is why I keep going, but my mind is not always 100% there. My life outside the box is colliding with my life inside the box. I want to continue to progress and continue to see improvements with CF, but can that occur when the performances I'm giving aren't as good as they should be? I guess I'm stuck with the age old question then. Is it better to get in a sub par performance than none at all? Are you really doing yourself any favors? I know people who use their workout as an escape, but for me, it's become (somehow) a time when I brood over things. It's the opposite and I don't know how to shake that other then telling myself to shut up, which isn't always the most effective, and sometimes makes me look slightly crazed when I talk to myself.

I personally feel like it's better to get some than not (good lord I'm leaving lots of room for jokes today). But at the same time, I HATE that when I've been in the box lately, I'm not all there. My weights are down, my times are slower, but more than anything, my head and spirit are down. It feels great to be around the CF crew, as they've been wonderfully patient with me these last few weeks, but at the same time, I don't want to exhaust them with my poor spirits and attitude. I don't want to become a toxic person. I don't like my life colliding with my CF life but it's become a battle that I'm having to fight. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to lay the burdens at the door so I'm only shouldering the bar and not my baggage too?

I felt my baggage sitting square on my shoulders today inside the box, and it didn't help me with my form while I was trying to do my overhead work. Today was truly an interesting day at CF. I certainly love me some overhead work (have I mentioned that at ALL lately?) but there are certainly overhead things I like more than others. You're not supposed to have favorites among your children (or all your boyfriends) but sometimes it's hard not to. It's the little things really that sometimes just pull you one way or the other. Take for example my boyfriend Tom... just kidding... I don't have multiple boyfriends... unless you start talking about all the CF relationships I have. Deadlifts and I are back on speaking terms, but we're not comfy cozy. And push-ups and I are still on the outs. I don't think I'm every forgiving his sorry butt. But anyhoo, I got off track here... surprise surprise.... anyway, you're not supposed to pick favorites. So I try hard to love all my overhead work equally, but I can't.

Today we did max push presses X 1 and I have to say it was a little odd. I'm so comfortable with the clean and jerk, and pretty comfortable with my snatch, (*snicker*) that doing the pp felt a little, well, odd. I'm so used to getting under the bar, that to push it up really felt weird. I didn't do too badly, despite all that's been going on, so I was pretty happy with the weight I used. I def need to make sure that I keep that "double chin" and push the bar straight up in front of my face instead of making my first movement out away from my face, and then chasing it to put it up over my head. I also need to make sure that on the "dip" portion of the dip and drive, the bar isn't slowly rolling down my shoulders.

Here's the skinny on the weights...

35 X 5
55 X 5
65 x 1
75 X 1
80 X 1
85 X 1
90 X 1
95 X 1
100 X 1
105 X 1
110 X 1
115 X 1
120 X 1 (F) Moved out instead of straight up... told you I need to work that!

So... things to work on... but that's what CF is for right?

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Today was not a good day...

I will be fine, but it was not a good day... and that's all I'm going to say about that....

5 rft
400 M run
15 kb swings (35)
12 box jumps
9 pull-ups

Time-26:42

Tuesday, May 19, 2009

How do you sleep?

Well, quite well actually Jesse..... thanks for asking... :P today was a day where I needed to sleep in. I only got 4 hours of sleep on Sunday, and didn't hit bed until after 12 last night due to some minor construction going on in my new place. 4:20 was just not happening. Soooo... I slept in until six and had a sleepy morning... I'm going to hit CF this afternoon (I think), but until then... enjoy this godawful video that had to do with sleeping... I really actually like this song (God did I JUST admit that in public?) but think this vid is super bizarre...

Monday, May 18, 2009

Over my head!!!



OH my it is GOOD to be back! I can't tell you what the last three weeks have been like! Between school, prepping for the standardized tests, working like a fiend at the restaurant, being sick, trying to CF, moving my house, traveling back to PA for my friend's wedding, coaching... AHHHHHHH! It's been insaneo, but GUESS WHAT?!?! It's done! I've survived the move, the crazy work schedule, sol's started today and will be done soon, and that means the school year is winding down too.

That also means that now I can get back into CF more, and I can get back to my diet, which has gone by the wayside due to, well, everything. So... I'll post a wedding photo so you can see how cute I looked (and so I can prove that I DO wear dresses). But in the meantime... CF! I got over my head today!!! ;)

Today's wod was.... SNATCHES!!!
Snatches 1-1-1-1-1

Yuppers... I haven't hit these in awhile, so I was STOKED to see these on the white board. Last time we hit snatches I got 95 off the floor, and then started to lose things in translation. I just couldn't get my hips open enough, and so then switched to the hang position for a few and tried to put up 100 and 105. I got 100 from the hang, but couldn't get 105 at all.

Today though, I failed once on 95 from the floor, then came back and got it. I threw on 100 and threw that up from the floor, then threw 105 on the bar and hit that from the floor too!!! I was stoked! After 105, I thought I had more in me. I had 110 on the bar and threw it up over my head too! But.... I couldn't lock it out. I was determined to get it and tried 3 more times but to no avail. I could get it overhead but couldn't lock it out and stand up with it.



I was bummed that I couldn't get 110, but 105 was a new PR and 110 still felt pretty good for a failed weight. I was glad to start the week over my head! I hope you enjoyed my musical selection again today!! :)

Friday, May 15, 2009

'Cause I'm wanted... DEAD or alive...

Today's musical selection!!!! Until I get the time to write you're just going to have to GUESS what we did today... ;) Enjoy your six degrees of Kevin Bacon! :P



This was one NASTY little metstrength wod. Jerry is just so good at putting together these little bits of nastiness. I shudder to think about what he is really capable of. The wod looked a bit like this.

5 rft
5 deadlifts (165)
10 push-ups
20 air squats

This really is a deceiving workout. The numbers are relatively low, and so are the rounds, but still this smoked me. To go from air squats right back into deadlifts? Ugh. Not nice. To be fair though, the push-ups didn't feel too bad, and the squats were fine. But for whatever reason, deadlifts and I just can't seem to get along. Maybe we're like oil and water? Maybe we just don't mix. My arms are so disproportionately strong when they're compared to my legs. It's frustrating sometimes. I know I should work my weaknesses, but I just can't seem to get a good feeling on deadlifts.

I'm fine on 1 rep maxes, but when I try to tie reps together, I don't keep the same posture, and then I round out and end up with a sore back. You know... with CF there's always something to work on...

Thursday, May 14, 2009

PULL me UP from my knees...

Ok, so I know I'm behind on actually writing about my workouts, but I really am sorry. I'm working my full time job (teaching) plus five nights this week at my other job, and I'm STILL moving. I promise that when I can I will get to the writing of these things. Maybe later today or tomorrow. Scouts honor... wait I never was a scout so I don't know that that works. Hmmmm... Anyway....

TODAY'S MUSICAL SELECTION! Ha... now, the title has nothing to do with the workout, but one or two words in the song just MIGHT have something to do with the workout, in a six degrees of Kevin Bacon kind of way... OR actually a ONE degree of Kevin Bacon today... ha!



And if you're not tracking the Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon reference, click here... :)

I was having a rough time getting rolling on Thursday, but I managed to get out of bed after another long night at work and get to the box. This workout was an interesting little couplet that looked like this.

Max strict press
1-1-1-1-1
Weighted strict chin
1-1-1-1-1

The workout is designed to be done, 1 strict press, 1 pull-up, and is an interesting mix of pushing and pulling. Despite my great overhead strength, strict presses are not a strength for me. And after well, everything, I wasn't feeling particularly strong on Thursday, but hey. Don't knock me, I got to the box. So my max strict press was only 85 (not too far off my strict PR of 93) and my max chin was only 25.

Silly me put a dumbbell between my legs and dropped it on my foot during my chin! Ouch... silly Katie... :P Overall though, a good strength workout.

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

PUSH it...

Here are a few choice musical selections that could potentially be fudged to have some sort of a six degrees of Kevin Bacon connection to the workout I did this morning... translation... so the subject isn't EXACTLY related, but a word or two might be... ;) BTW does it disturb anyone else that Hillary Duff is in a towel? I was disturbed...



Push It!

Another related song...

After viewing my youtube videos... please click right here ------> :)

Oh, please tell me that you find my Rick Roll hilarious! I did! And look, you learned something new! Thank God for Wickipedia! :) hehe...

Alright enough silly banter, let's get down to business. Jerry put together one nasty little WOD Tuesday. I love me some barbell work, but with schedules and everything... well you've been reading. You know life has kept me away from my true love, so Tuesday's WOD was a bit challenging for me, but it was good to get back into the box.

Our wod looked like this.

15 minutes
Every minute do 2 clean and jerks
90% of your max
For every rep missed or failed attempt, add 5 burpees to be done at the end.

Ok, first off, no way was 90% of my max going to happen. That would have had to have been about 130. Nuh uh. No could do. Sooo... I decided to go with 115. I thought that would be a good compromise. But after 3 rounds with 115, I was having issues with my clean. Something was hinky (thank you Abby and NCIS) about my clean. It just didn't feel right. I was doing something funky with my knees and so it was just causing me grief. I had to drop down and did 105.

After dropping, I got into a rhythm and it felt pretty good. I only had 2 misses in the whole set. I should have tried 110 instead of 105 first, but hindsight is always 20/20. The 105 felt better, but the clean part was still hinky. My jerks were pretty solid. They felt about spot on, but I can assure you that I'm definitely still sore two days later. It felt good to get the jerks in though, and I'm glad I got back into the box. I was able to push jerk it real good! ;)

Monday, May 11, 2009

Welcome BACK!



Ok, so it's not quite what I was looking for, but would you believe that YouTube doesn't have a good cut of the ACTUAL Welcome Back Kotter theme song? The one they had was CRAP! Don't they know that I need to have these random tidbits available at a moment's notice? *sigh* Oh YouTube... you've let me down...

But it was a really super fun day. I'm still not up to 100% but I'm feeling better, and the move is sort of behind me. We're cleaning and finishing up moving the small odds and ends, so I'm feeling a smidge more calm, as opposed to the all out panic attacks I was having last week. So, since I'm feeling better, I figured it's time to get back to CF. No more screwing around with this 1 or 2 days a week crap. That's for the birds! So, I got up at my usual time and hit the zero dark fifteen class. I have missed my zero dark fifteen family, and I'm not going to lie, I was thrilled to see a strength workout on my first day back as opposed to a thrasher metcon. LOL.

Sooooo we did some back squats! Woot! I'm really starting to heart back squats. I may make a t-shirt. Actually a tank top I think. Katie hearts back squats. :) Whatdya think? ;) My trials actually felt really good, and Jerry told me that my form looked better than the last time when I was trying to hold too upright of a position. So, all in all, it felt good to be back at the box. My trials looked a little sumptin' like 'dis.

35 X 5
65 X 5
85 X 5
105 X 5
125 X 5
145 X 5
155 X 5
165 X 5

Woot! When we did 3's a few weeks ago 165 was my top out on 3... then it went up to 185. Now my 5 repper is at 165. Strong girl! :) (Just like my tank top says!!!) :) Eeeh! :) Just watch the youtube... the "eeh" will make sense if you just watch the pig. :) I heart pig. He makes me giggle.

Saturday, May 9, 2009

Not dead...

Just in case you were worried, I just wanted to let you all know that I'm not dead. After sitting in the rain last weekend to cheer on my sis as she ran a marathon, I've managed to get myself good and sick. Now, logic and reason would tell you that if you're sick you should rest, slow down, and take care of yourself. But, if you happen to be me, you ignore those things because you've got jobs to work, a lot of crizzap to do, and a house to move. So while I was too sick to be at work for a few days this week, I unfortunately had to move my house regardless. The good news is, that well, I'm almost done with this whole moving mess. The bad news is that I'm still sick, and I've missed almost an entire week of CF. This means bad news when I try to return. I can't begin to guess what I've lost over the course of just one week. Ruh roh. I intend to try to be back on Monday, but we'll see how the moving and working goes tomorrow. Let's cross our fingers cause right now my body is pretty zonked.

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

RUNNING down a dream...

I am convinced that I can find a song that I can fudge to pertain to ANY CF workout! :) He...