Hellllooooo! It's so nice to be back with you all my friends in blogger land. I have been away too long and I have a lot to catch you up on.... or so I think. The bad thing is, I can't really remember the middle of the week anymore.... so maybe not really catching you up so much?
It was a rough start to the week this week but I have to say that I came through the end of the week pretty well. This was the first time I've really felt challenged to remain Primal, but despite the rough start, and the less than favorable eating conditions, I managed to keep it as Primal as I could. My will power apparently returned en force on Wednesday and despite the temptation, I kept my hand out of the candy jar. The problem is not that I really want candy, but in particular this week that I was being forced for the first time in nearly 2 months to have to sit still and attend. After being off for 2 months and not really needing to be tied to a chair or particular spot, this was agony for me. The teacher was actually quite good, but I'm used to much more going on than just sitting in a chair. So needless to say I was restless. Not bored or unengaged, but restless. I have a bad habit of attempting to do more than 1, ok fine, 5 things at a time, so just sitting there was killer.
So, my answer, since it was in front of me, was to eat. I didn't need that much food, but it was there and keeping me more focused on the teacher. I realized that I was boredom eating though and on Wednesday, like I said, got it under control. I still wasn't 100% perfect (like I'd like to be) but the end of the week was fffffaaaarrrr and away better than the beginning of the week. Now that that is out of the way, I feel a little more prepared and a little more secure about going back to school next week. I will have access to a fridge and microwave and won't be dependent on anyone, so I feel confident that with some pre-planning/pre-packing, I'll be able to do ok. Not to mention, I don't keep that crap in my room so I won't be around it and staring at it all the time.
I'm not really all that enthused about going back to school this year, especially after the situation I just found out about yesterday, but what can you do. I'd share the situation but it's probably not very prudent of me, and besides that, it would just be more venting on my behalf. So I'll just say that I'm not excited.
But have no fear, just because I ate like crap doesn't mean I worked out like crap. I was actually very pleased with how well I fought to stay in the box this week. I hit five days this week, including today, and while they didn't feel particularly good (due largely I suspect to lack of sleep) I was glad I kept my drive going despite all the challenges of the week. I was still trying to work full time this week at the restaurant so three long 15+ hour days back to back is a lot. Especially when it f's with your sleep schedule and only allows you to have 4 hours of sleep a night.... :P But I was in at 0515 and I am glad I got the work in.
Wednesday was a relatively unimpressive back squat day. I hit 205 for a new PR but I feel like I really should be able to lift a whole lot more. I got stuck in the hole and couldn't drive up with 215 and I'm just not sure what's up with that. Again, it could have been lack of sleep or lack of focus, but CF always says performance on demand, and well my performance was wanting. Thursday was a rest day (3 on 1 off) and then yesterday we hit a pretty wicked circuit.
Thursday
7 rft
3 heavy deads
6 toes to bar
9 burpees
For my heavy deads I chose the top women's weight, and decided to give 205 a try. I really think the key for me to figuring out deadlifts has to be that I pull some moderately heavy weight from time to time. At 185 form faults are eh, at 200 or so they start to show big time. I think using a still heavy, but lighter weight to force me to work on my form will be helpful. I can't just use strength and not form to get it up. Did that make sense? Anyway, I got all 7 rounds in, and felt like I had done some seriously good work on my deads. I rounded a bit, but by the end when I was really tired, I really focused on tightening my core, and taking a bigger breath than usual. I think some of my last deads were some of the best ones for that reason. I still am not a huge fan of them, but I felt like I gave the wod a good push yesterday.
Today however, was not so bueno, but that just may be because the workout totally sucked. No, I mean really sucked. Another of Jerry's brilliant, masterful, ick tastic wod's.
100 Thrusters for time
5 pu for every drop or foul
65 lbs for women 95 lbs for men
This was like a god awful version of Fran. A long and seriously shitty version of Fran. I didn't want to burn out, so I thought that doing rounds of 10 would be feasible. So I stopped at 10, ha, I say stopped like I had more energy to keep going, ha, that's kind of funny. Then did my 5 pu's and then got back on the bar to do another 10. I did 10 more, barely and then did my 5 pu's. After that it was game off... I could only do 5's. You realize that it's a long count and a lot of pull-ups to count by 5's to 100. Ugh.... but I didn't quit. Like I said the other day, that is one thing about myself that I do like. I don't quit. I finished. It wasn't pretty but I did it.
Now, what am I doing? Well I'm contemplating dinner, definitely resting, watching NCIS Season 6, intermittently also watching Generation Kill (read the book... quite intriguing...), and as soon as I shower, it's time to get on the ball with more school stuff. I've missed everyone! :)
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Back squats, rest day, and taking a class...
Probably coming tomorrow but the end of that is the key part. I'm taking a class from 800-330 this week and worked last night, tonight, and tomorrrow night. I'll try to find time tomorrow inbetween work and class to update! But on a positive note, despite having no microwave or fridge access this week, and having a really rough first two days of the week, I toned down MAJORLY the bad eating yesterday. I didn't even have to move the chocolate bowl. The will power returned. I still overate, but not as badly, out of boredom. But I discovered that standing and just shifting my weight (off to the side so I wasn't disturbing anyone) was enough movement (ie stimulation) for my brain to be ok.... so that definitely helped! I'm glad I'm struggling with all this this week and not next week!
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Squeaky clean!
Jerry threw another metstrength WOD at us today and I have to say, I was hoping for a lifting day, but I guess I'll get that tomorrow instead. (max back squats! :) ) As pleased as I am about how my strength is coming these days, I know I still have a lot of work to do in the box. Ring dips are especially a weakness for me, as are now cleans apparently? It's like we've gone to racks and I've completely forgotten how to clean a bar. WTF? Anyway, today's WOD was a struggle for me but I didn't quit and I got it done.
If you were to ask me to list one thing I like about myself, I would say for me that this is one of the things I really am proud of. Sometimes, I get so disheartened when I see things like ring dips or what have you, but I don't quit. I don't give up on a WOD or myself halfway though. I'm proud of my stubborness you could say, and I'm proud I stuck with this WOD today. This really was a challenge for me. I hit fatigue on the ring dips around round 6 and really had to struggle with the other four rounds. The WOD today looked like this.
10 rft or 30 minutes
3 heavy hang power cleans
6 ring dips
9 box jumps
By round 6 or so my cleans felt a little better, but I noticed today how slow I've become on the bar with regards to my cleans. Whereas my speed with jerks etc has gotten better, my clean strength has sort of faltered big time. Again, regardless though, I didn't quit on the WOD. I kept going and really had to push to get this is. I was at round 5 by around 12 minutes, but only round 7 at about 19-20. I was worried that I was not going to get all 10 rounds in and I really wanted to. Ring dips are such a challenge for me that I didn't want to walk away not finishing this wod today. I hit round 10 at about 26 minutes and busted through the cleans to get to the dips knowing full well they were going to take me awhile.
At minute 28 I could see the clock ticking away and sort of hit panic mode, but Jerry helped get me through the last few dips so I could finish my box jumps. I landed on the floor at 29:01. I cut it pretty close today, but man I was happy to get that in. That really was a hard rx'd WOD for me. I think though for me, the key to improving now needs to focus on form and technique for things I don't do well, and speed for the things I do ok. I think dialing in with that and my diet can take me to that next level of badassitude that I want. Someday I really want to be a firebreather......
If you were to ask me to list one thing I like about myself, I would say for me that this is one of the things I really am proud of. Sometimes, I get so disheartened when I see things like ring dips or what have you, but I don't quit. I don't give up on a WOD or myself halfway though. I'm proud of my stubborness you could say, and I'm proud I stuck with this WOD today. This really was a challenge for me. I hit fatigue on the ring dips around round 6 and really had to struggle with the other four rounds. The WOD today looked like this.
10 rft or 30 minutes
3 heavy hang power cleans
6 ring dips
9 box jumps
By round 6 or so my cleans felt a little better, but I noticed today how slow I've become on the bar with regards to my cleans. Whereas my speed with jerks etc has gotten better, my clean strength has sort of faltered big time. Again, regardless though, I didn't quit on the WOD. I kept going and really had to push to get this is. I was at round 5 by around 12 minutes, but only round 7 at about 19-20. I was worried that I was not going to get all 10 rounds in and I really wanted to. Ring dips are such a challenge for me that I didn't want to walk away not finishing this wod today. I hit round 10 at about 26 minutes and busted through the cleans to get to the dips knowing full well they were going to take me awhile.
At minute 28 I could see the clock ticking away and sort of hit panic mode, but Jerry helped get me through the last few dips so I could finish my box jumps. I landed on the floor at 29:01. I cut it pretty close today, but man I was happy to get that in. That really was a hard rx'd WOD for me. I think though for me, the key to improving now needs to focus on form and technique for things I don't do well, and speed for the things I do ok. I think dialing in with that and my diet can take me to that next level of badassitude that I want. Someday I really want to be a firebreather......
Did I mention I hate running?
It's been a hectic week already as I'm back in a classroom... sort of. I'm not officially back to school yet, but this week am being forced to take a class on Responsive Classroom. It's not horrible but it's definitely a sign that the summer has come to a close... how sad!
I'm going to come right out and say one thing before I get into yesterday's WOD. I've not been a good Primal girl these last few days. What did I see as soon as I sat down yesterday? An entire bowl of chocolate sitting in the middle of each and every table. And what did I do? I ate it. Mark Sisson talks in his book about eating something because it's there. I find that so long as I can control my own eating, ie, I can cook it etc, I'm good with the Primal world. But once outside factors start getting thrown in, all goes to pot. Both yesterday and today I struggled to stay out of the chocolate bin. I also struggled because, I took good food, but out of boredom, ate it so I could have something to do besides sit in a chair and listen. How terrible is that? I've gone super over my carbs for two days now just because.
To no end it drives me crazy, and it makes me start having some of those self-depricating feelings again. Feelings like "I'm not going to be able to do this" "I can't do this" "I hate that I do this." You know the type. It was the biggest downer I've had since starting this almost a month ago. I can tell, maybe not because of my weight, but definitely my WOD's that this program is having an effect on me, and it makes me nuts that counterintuitively my body wants to eat, and eat bad things, just cause they're there. I've thought of moving the chocolate bowl to another table, but seeing as how I'm sharing it with four other people, I don't want to deny them of anything just because I've got my lifestyle going on. I'm really going to have to dig deep for the resolve not to eat any of the chocolate, and steer clear of the snacks at the back of the room that are also present. I hadn't had Tostitos in such a long time, and today they just looked so good! :( I'm also going to have to dig deep to find a way around the lunch conundrum. There is a Harris Teeter not too far from the school, so perhaps instead of doing the sandwiches or chips etc at the class, I can use my time to go buy something. Apparently I still have a long way to go with my eating. I'm not nearly as cured as I thought I was. It's a very humbling day.
Now, speaking though of good things, yesterday we had a WOD where we had to run. I was not a fan! But the running was followed immediately by snatches and C2B pull-ups. Yesterday's WOD was a true testament to the strength gains that I've made in the box lately. Not only has my running improved, but the girl who struggled to do 1 C2B pull-up a few months ago, was able to do them all. I say woot! Our WOD yesterday looked like this
400 M run
15 snatches
15 C2B pull-ups
400 M run
12 snatches
12 C2B pull-ups
400 M run
9 snatches
9 C2B pull-ups
Weight- 85lbs
Time- 17:22
The running of course did not feel good (when does it ever?) but it wasn't as bad as in the past. Perhpaps part of that is the release in the oppressive humidity we've had as of late. It was much cooler yesterday morning and made the running seem to come easier to me. After hitting the run though, I was pretty winded and was having a hard time tightening up for the snatch. I got through them though, and used the "pro" weight of 85lbs. That's not too far from my max snatch weight though, so it was definitely a challenge for me.
My C2B pull-ups were not speedy by any means, but to go from barely being able to do 1 in May to be able to do a set of 3 or 4 really says a lot. I think I still need to work more on getting a wider grip for C2B and also just that final pull into the bar. One of my, not faults, by form signatures has always been to be farther behind the bar than most on pull-ups. I think for me this is something to work on in order to get better at C2B pull-ups. Always something to work on, but altogether, a decent feeling WOD.
I'm going to come right out and say one thing before I get into yesterday's WOD. I've not been a good Primal girl these last few days. What did I see as soon as I sat down yesterday? An entire bowl of chocolate sitting in the middle of each and every table. And what did I do? I ate it. Mark Sisson talks in his book about eating something because it's there. I find that so long as I can control my own eating, ie, I can cook it etc, I'm good with the Primal world. But once outside factors start getting thrown in, all goes to pot. Both yesterday and today I struggled to stay out of the chocolate bin. I also struggled because, I took good food, but out of boredom, ate it so I could have something to do besides sit in a chair and listen. How terrible is that? I've gone super over my carbs for two days now just because.
To no end it drives me crazy, and it makes me start having some of those self-depricating feelings again. Feelings like "I'm not going to be able to do this" "I can't do this" "I hate that I do this." You know the type. It was the biggest downer I've had since starting this almost a month ago. I can tell, maybe not because of my weight, but definitely my WOD's that this program is having an effect on me, and it makes me nuts that counterintuitively my body wants to eat, and eat bad things, just cause they're there. I've thought of moving the chocolate bowl to another table, but seeing as how I'm sharing it with four other people, I don't want to deny them of anything just because I've got my lifestyle going on. I'm really going to have to dig deep for the resolve not to eat any of the chocolate, and steer clear of the snacks at the back of the room that are also present. I hadn't had Tostitos in such a long time, and today they just looked so good! :( I'm also going to have to dig deep to find a way around the lunch conundrum. There is a Harris Teeter not too far from the school, so perhaps instead of doing the sandwiches or chips etc at the class, I can use my time to go buy something. Apparently I still have a long way to go with my eating. I'm not nearly as cured as I thought I was. It's a very humbling day.
Now, speaking though of good things, yesterday we had a WOD where we had to run. I was not a fan! But the running was followed immediately by snatches and C2B pull-ups. Yesterday's WOD was a true testament to the strength gains that I've made in the box lately. Not only has my running improved, but the girl who struggled to do 1 C2B pull-up a few months ago, was able to do them all. I say woot! Our WOD yesterday looked like this
400 M run
15 snatches
15 C2B pull-ups
400 M run
12 snatches
12 C2B pull-ups
400 M run
9 snatches
9 C2B pull-ups
Weight- 85lbs
Time- 17:22
The running of course did not feel good (when does it ever?) but it wasn't as bad as in the past. Perhpaps part of that is the release in the oppressive humidity we've had as of late. It was much cooler yesterday morning and made the running seem to come easier to me. After hitting the run though, I was pretty winded and was having a hard time tightening up for the snatch. I got through them though, and used the "pro" weight of 85lbs. That's not too far from my max snatch weight though, so it was definitely a challenge for me.
My C2B pull-ups were not speedy by any means, but to go from barely being able to do 1 in May to be able to do a set of 3 or 4 really says a lot. I think I still need to work more on getting a wider grip for C2B and also just that final pull into the bar. One of my, not faults, by form signatures has always been to be farther behind the bar than most on pull-ups. I think for me this is something to work on in order to get better at C2B pull-ups. Always something to work on, but altogether, a decent feeling WOD.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Owwwwww...
Let's make this one short and sweet shall we?
3 RFT
600M run
500M row
40 Double unders (sub 40 box jumps if you don't have double unders)
I subbed box jumps as I'm not coordinated enough to do double unders.
Time 29:41
Ow... See what I mean?
3 RFT
600M run
500M row
40 Double unders (sub 40 box jumps if you don't have double unders)
I subbed box jumps as I'm not coordinated enough to do double unders.
Time 29:41
Ow... See what I mean?
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
There are not enough explatives for this blog title...
So basically, we all know that I hate metcon workouts. They are so horrible for me and I hate them. Did I mention that I hate them? Well today was another disgusting metcon. Chelsea. Ugh.
Every minute on the minute complete
5 pull-ups
10 push-ups
15 squats
Sound familiar? Oh yeah. Cindy. But this time, go for 30 minutes. Once you can't do it in a minute anymore, just go AMRAP. F'ing blows. I was done after 3 rounds. 3! How f'ing retarded is that. My push-ups were so slow that I couldn't do it. I finished with 16 full rounds which is 160 push-ups mind you, and for the girl who SUCKS at them, that's one hell of a lot of push-ups. Anyway, I'm angry about this wod today and not at all pleased. Roar!
Every minute on the minute complete
5 pull-ups
10 push-ups
15 squats
Sound familiar? Oh yeah. Cindy. But this time, go for 30 minutes. Once you can't do it in a minute anymore, just go AMRAP. F'ing blows. I was done after 3 rounds. 3! How f'ing retarded is that. My push-ups were so slow that I couldn't do it. I finished with 16 full rounds which is 160 push-ups mind you, and for the girl who SUCKS at them, that's one hell of a lot of push-ups. Anyway, I'm angry about this wod today and not at all pleased. Roar!
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
The old me's DEAD and gone...
Sing it Justin...
I've been traveling down this road to long... the old me's dead and gone, dead and gone...
Ok, ok, fine... I'll spare you more of the Justin/T.I combo, but for the longest time.... whooooaaaaaa, for the longest time, time! Whoooooaa for the longest time! Hey I said I'd spare you Justin/T.I, I never made any promises about Billy Joel. ;) Anyway, for the longest time, deadlifts have been a weakness for me. I'm terrified of them because I'm very scared about potentially pulling my back out. I'm very quad and back dominant so deadlifts are hard because for me they are counterintuitive. Whereas all our great runners and the like are great with deads, I'm sort of ubo retardo.
So, today I went to the 12:30 class to hit these, hoping for a little moto from Jerry to get me going. But lo and behold, Jerry does not do 1230 on Tues/Thurs. Oh noes! But Melissa did a great job of keeping my head in the game and getting me to lift well. My form was pretty good until about 220. Things started to break down just a bit and I started to do that funny core tension thing I do. I tend to get above my knees and then let go of my core tension, so I round, not off the floor, but on the way up to the finish of the lift. It's weird. Today we were doing max singles and my weights looked like this.
85X5
105X3
125X1
145X1
165X1
185X1
205X1
220X1
230X1 (PR)
240X1 (PR)
250X1 (PR)
That final PR today was ugly. Straight up, I rounded off the floor and it looked nasty. But, I guess what counts is that I got it up right? A PR is a PR, but still. I don't feel good about it. 240 form wise was OK, I mean, I jerked the bar off the floor, I didn't have solid tension, but other than that I maintained pretty well. 250 though, I was tired and I just let go of my tension. The funny thing is though, that even despite that, 250 felt easy. I felt like I easily had 260 or 270 in me. I hadn't hit shakey leg syndrome yet. Oh well, maybe one day soon I'll get my form under control and then we can find a true max for me. One day. :P
Oh, as an aside.... the 26 pull-ups yesterday got me back on the record board at CFOT with pull-ups. THAT felt great. :) Woot. Here's to PR's.
I've been traveling down this road to long... the old me's dead and gone, dead and gone...
Ok, ok, fine... I'll spare you more of the Justin/T.I combo, but for the longest time.... whooooaaaaaa, for the longest time, time! Whoooooaa for the longest time! Hey I said I'd spare you Justin/T.I, I never made any promises about Billy Joel. ;) Anyway, for the longest time, deadlifts have been a weakness for me. I'm terrified of them because I'm very scared about potentially pulling my back out. I'm very quad and back dominant so deadlifts are hard because for me they are counterintuitive. Whereas all our great runners and the like are great with deads, I'm sort of ubo retardo.
So, today I went to the 12:30 class to hit these, hoping for a little moto from Jerry to get me going. But lo and behold, Jerry does not do 1230 on Tues/Thurs. Oh noes! But Melissa did a great job of keeping my head in the game and getting me to lift well. My form was pretty good until about 220. Things started to break down just a bit and I started to do that funny core tension thing I do. I tend to get above my knees and then let go of my core tension, so I round, not off the floor, but on the way up to the finish of the lift. It's weird. Today we were doing max singles and my weights looked like this.
85X5
105X3
125X1
145X1
165X1
185X1
205X1
220X1
230X1 (PR)
240X1 (PR)
250X1 (PR)
That final PR today was ugly. Straight up, I rounded off the floor and it looked nasty. But, I guess what counts is that I got it up right? A PR is a PR, but still. I don't feel good about it. 240 form wise was OK, I mean, I jerked the bar off the floor, I didn't have solid tension, but other than that I maintained pretty well. 250 though, I was tired and I just let go of my tension. The funny thing is though, that even despite that, 250 felt easy. I felt like I easily had 260 or 270 in me. I hadn't hit shakey leg syndrome yet. Oh well, maybe one day soon I'll get my form under control and then we can find a true max for me. One day. :P
Oh, as an aside.... the 26 pull-ups yesterday got me back on the record board at CFOT with pull-ups. THAT felt great. :) Woot. Here's to PR's.
Monday, August 17, 2009
I'm a big kid now! I did pull-ups!
Wait, what? Not THOSE kind of pull-ups. These kind of pull-ups.
A cheesetastic joke? Absofreakinlutely, but this is why you heart me! :)
Today we hit an old CFOT favorite, but with a new twist. Onion skin was a workout we did a few times in the Blue Room and it involved max strict press and max pull-ups. It sucks because it fries your freakin' forearms. But back in the Blue Room we did it a little bit differently. Jerry never prescribed a weight for us. He told us to use what he thought we could handle.
For the wod today though, he went to his evil CrossFit laboratory, threw some stuff into beakers, heated it up, then laughed (somewhat maniacally) and brought us a WOD designed to make us feel like the Incredible Hulk after round one. You know the picture I mean, where the Hulk is busting out in the forearms? Look it...
See what I mean? His veins are practically busting out of his arms! That's totally how I felt yesterday. Melissa suggested with this WOD that since it involves max rep pull-ups, anyone going for a pull-up PR should start with pull-ups. I was pretty certain that I could do more than my previous PR of 21, and so I decided to see where I was at. I felt good on the bar, shoulders were loose, no soreness, and I decided to go for it. The WOD officially looked like this.
Onion Skin version 2.0
2:30 max pullups (once you're off the bar, that's it, the rest is rest)
2:30 max push press (once you put the bar down, that's it, the rest is rest)
5 rounds
Now, Melissa ALSO suggested, ok no, TOLD both myself and Andrea to use 75lbs for the push presses. WTF? I hate being good at overhead work sometimes. So, I listened and went for a pull-up PR first, then had to attack a 75lb max push press afterwards. Stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid. My arms were so jacked after that max I could barely even LIFT the bar. Now, you can sort of game this wod, but regardless of what you do, it's going to suck, and by the end you're not going to be able to bend your arms/use your arms or hands. My rounds broke down like this (I think):
Round 1 PU-26 (PR!!!) PP-14
Round 2 PU-15 PP-14
Round 3 PU-16 PP-15
Round 4 PU-16 PP-16
Round 5 PU-16 PP-10
Right after this, I had to shower cause I had to work dayshift... hahahahahahahahaha... I had to take a 20 minute shower cause my arms didn't work. Hahahahahahahahahahahah. My piece of Facebook flair comes to mind right now...
"My trainer is awesome and I can't feel my arms right now." HA!
Saturday, August 15, 2009
The Big Apple
This weekend I am enjoying a belated birthday present from my oldest sister, and am being a tourist in NYC. I'm not really working out has I hit a straight four wod's this week before I left, but I did get to stop in and visit three boxes yesterday and see my awesome friends Keith Wittenstein and Jeff Yan. I had an awesome morning hanging out with them yesterday and even, thanks to Keith, got to have a very Primal farm fresh breakfast in the middle of Brooklyn. My cooking is very limited right now, and last night's dinner was kind of a cheat. We were at a Mexican place and I got a burrito. The inside was all Primal. Chicken, lettuce, onions, avocado (yummmmers!), and some sour cream on the side. However, after I pulled everything out of the burrito and ate it, I ate the tortilla. Doh! I also had some tortilla chips with fresh homemade guacamole... doh! But, to be fair those were my first Primal slips this week really, and to be fair, not to terribly God awful. I feel a little sluggish cause of the extra carbs, but not too bad. I did also have a few drinks yesterday too, but kept it reasonable.
Today we're going to go see the plastinated bodies again! I'm so stoked. When I saw this last September in B-more this was freakin' AWESOME! But then we're going to the Shake shack (a NYC hot spot) for a milkshake before we go to the Mets game. I'm sure there will be cheating today today, but you know what, I'm on vaca and I'm keeping it reasonable. I'm not eating fried food and crap for every meal. I'm doing well. :) I was going to do a WOD with Keith today but I'm thinking with our schedule it's not going to happen, but we don't have anything planned for tomorrow, so I may go to their open gym tomorrow morning before I bust out for DC. So anyway, I'm sorry my posts have not been here for you to read and enjoy, but never fear, my culinary craziness will return once I return to DC. As will my CF documentation! :)
If you want to see some of the photos from my first day click here
Thursday, August 13, 2009
%$#@&*^%$#@ metcon...
Here I is, on the Bolt Bus, rockin' out to my boyfriend Michael Buble and ready to update you all on the lovely WOD I decided to go do this AM. I was thinking about making it to the Black Box while I was in NYC, but I don't know my way around well enough to get there or to Brooklyn and so I guess I'll just take a few rest days and enjoy myself. There may be some swimming involved so not entirely rest days, but mostly. Anyhoo, since I'm not going to be going to CF this weekend, I decided I needed to hit a WOD today. Wouldn't you know it, Jerry gave us another metcon. GD. I HATE metcons. It's my biggest weakness, which of course means I need to work it, but I seriously hate metcons. See, that's part of the reason I hate rowing so much. Jerry always puts it in the metcons, but notice that I only said that it's PART of the reason. :P
So, sore and cranky I went to the box this AM for the 0900 class. It was amazing to watch Danya and the other folks in the class go to town on this, but for me, I was just trying to get through it. I did everything RX'd but it really didn't feel good. My hamstrings are sore from the deadlifts and the rowing, my quads are sore from all the squats, my shoulders hurt from the dips and strict chins, and of course, my @ssmar hurts from going with a right foot dominate split jerk. Ugh. Needless to say then, I was not pumped at ALL to see two of my nemesi in a workout today; push-ups and running. Yar! The WOD today looked like this.
5rft
7 toes to bar
12 push presses (65lbs)
15 push-ups
300 M run
Time: 25:32
This wasn't too shabby of a time, but the push-ups slowed me way down. I was making up some time on the push presses, but this is how tired I was today. I couldn't do all 12 of my push presses unbroken. I had to rest in the rack. Says the girl who two weeks ago did 202 in one WOD. 65 for me is a very easy weight, also says the girl who just jerked 165, so for me to struggle with 65 is sort of odd, but I guess that's my body's way of telling me to knock it off and take a rest day. So I'm only happy to oblige! :) I'm going to be enjoying myself in New York so I'm sure that my body will not mind taking a rest day. I'm sure though that I will do plenty of low impact exercise (ie walking) as last year I never got to really play "tourist" in NYC. I got to go workout and see a show and see a soccer game which was great, but I didn't get to see the Empire State building or anything like that. So this weekend Katie=Tourist. HOWEVER I will NOT tip like one... dirty rat bas..... (leaving that thought unfinished, you fill in the blanks).
Until later... when I think of something else food-wise or workout wise or vacation wise that I want to tell you. :P
So, sore and cranky I went to the box this AM for the 0900 class. It was amazing to watch Danya and the other folks in the class go to town on this, but for me, I was just trying to get through it. I did everything RX'd but it really didn't feel good. My hamstrings are sore from the deadlifts and the rowing, my quads are sore from all the squats, my shoulders hurt from the dips and strict chins, and of course, my @ssmar hurts from going with a right foot dominate split jerk. Ugh. Needless to say then, I was not pumped at ALL to see two of my nemesi in a workout today; push-ups and running. Yar! The WOD today looked like this.
5rft
7 toes to bar
12 push presses (65lbs)
15 push-ups
300 M run
Time: 25:32
This wasn't too shabby of a time, but the push-ups slowed me way down. I was making up some time on the push presses, but this is how tired I was today. I couldn't do all 12 of my push presses unbroken. I had to rest in the rack. Says the girl who two weeks ago did 202 in one WOD. 65 for me is a very easy weight, also says the girl who just jerked 165, so for me to struggle with 65 is sort of odd, but I guess that's my body's way of telling me to knock it off and take a rest day. So I'm only happy to oblige! :) I'm going to be enjoying myself in New York so I'm sure that my body will not mind taking a rest day. I'm sure though that I will do plenty of low impact exercise (ie walking) as last year I never got to really play "tourist" in NYC. I got to go workout and see a show and see a soccer game which was great, but I didn't get to see the Empire State building or anything like that. So this weekend Katie=Tourist. HOWEVER I will NOT tip like one... dirty rat bas..... (leaving that thought unfinished, you fill in the blanks).
Until later... when I think of something else food-wise or workout wise or vacation wise that I want to tell you. :P
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
I don't want to "Pesto" you...
Snicker, get it, I said Pesto, like pester, but kinda, sorta...not. Ok fine! It was a lame joke, but whatevs. You still heart me and that's all that matters. Sooooo this whole nutrition thing. Did I happen to mention that I bought some cookbooks to aid me in the whole cooking process? I did indeed hoping to find a concoction of Primalesque ingredients to help keep my diet varied.
There is nothing more killing to trying a new lifestyle than trying it, and eating the same gd thing every single night over and over and over again. So I'm sort of hell bent and determined to keep things Primal, and keep them interesting.
Today on my way home from CF I was thinking that I needed to come back and finish my blog about the WOD yesterday. But then I started thinking that I was hungry (after THAT WOD today I CAN'T POSSIBLY understand why I was hungry!?!??!) and realized no meat in the house. Wah, wah, wah.... so what could I do? Hmmmm... the conversation that was taking place in my head went a little sumptin' like this...
"I'm hungry, but crap. I ate the last of my chicken yesterday. So then what do I do for lunch today? I guess I could go to Safeway and get some chicken. But I just HAD chicken. I don't want more grilled chicken. Ugh. What could I do to make it better? Cream sauce? Eh... too much like work... Used tomato sauce yesterday... *GASP* Pesto... what about Pesto? Is Pesto Primal? I'll get out the cookbook and check when I get home. If it is... Safeway for some chicken and game ON!"
So needless to say, Pesto is pretty much Primal accept for some cheese. Sisson argues that in the Primal (nearly Paleo) lifestyle dairy is fine in moderation. I did have some heavy (whipped) cream on my fruit at breakfast (this is a long story involving me not knowing how much whipped cream is made from one quart of heavy cream and now needing to get rid of it, ok?) and a little Feta on my eggs, so I probably had too much dairy today, but the Pesto just sounded so good that I had too.
Let me tell you... this was fast, simple, and damned good.
Katie's Eazy Peezy Pesto
Ingredients needed: Garlic, Basil, Walnuts, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Salt, Parmesan or Romano cheese
Combine in food processor 2 C. Basil, 1/4 C walnuts 1 clove garlic* and about 1/4 C olive oil. Stop periodically and scrape the sides. Add another 1/4 C olive oil gradually to the mixture. Stir in the cheese before serving.
*The recipe calls for 1/2 clove of garlic. I like garlic... really really like garlic and so I put in a whole clove.
A few notes on this recipe....
This recipe comes up rather thick. If you prefer a thinner pesto, simply add more EVOO. Also, if you happen to just not read the directions and throw all the ingredients into the blender and hit frappe, it still comes out pretty tasty..... NOT that I didn't follow the directions or anything because I would never do that! :P
To do this on chicken, two things you can do. Cook the chicken, and warm the Pesto seperately and place on the chicken when it's done grilling/baking/sauteeing etc. Or do what I did and pop the oven on to 350. Then spread chicken breasts in a glass baking dish rubbed with a little bit of EVOO and salt and pepper. Cook for 10-15 WITHOUT Pesto, the top the breasts with Pesto until chicken reaches temp. Temp for poultry is 165. If you don't have a thermometer, get one. It makes your tasties so much tastier because you're not overcooking them! Enjoy!!!
Also, highly recommend the following book for your kitchen reference...
I still hate rowing...
CFOT is boasting a rather large, and not to mention, very diverse family these days. We have everyone from lawyers, to teachers, to folks on the hill, to rowing coaches... wait did I just say rowing coaches? Yes, yes I did. We are actually fortunate enough at CFOT to have our very own rowing coach on board. Today, Jerry had her come in to talk some sense into us about our rowing form. Now, she did a great job, terrific. (Ellen, three cheers!) However, despite her great tips, I still hate rowing. I can't explain why, I just can't seem to like it. The rower never feels good. You know what I mean? Somedays you're running or lifting and you're like, man I feel ON today. No, not rowing. I NEVER feel like that on a rower. Therefore THE ROW MUST DIE! NO, no, for serial. It really needs to go away.
Ellen had some great tips for body positioning and stroking, but I just couldn't seem to get my timing down. Now reading that last sentence, I realize that it is LACED with innuendo... alright... go for it.... anyway, after Ellen's tutorial, Jerry laid out a circuit for us. It's similar to things we've done before.
Intervals
For time
Rest 2 minutes repeat
500 M row
40 air squats
30 abmats
20 kb swings (35)
10 pull-ups
Sooooo we were supposed to do 2 rounds. Yeah... about that... I smoked something this morning that made me all sorts of stupid... yeah, that's why I did 4. Ok, Ok, I didn't REALLY smoke anything, but I felt stupid after the 4th round. On Facebook I have a piece of flair (I heart flair!) that says, "My trainer is awesome and I can't feel my arms right now." Often very true. But what about when you can't feel your arms or legs cause they've both gone to Jello? What then? What does THAT mean? Oh yes, it means that you had a moment like me where you miraculously went and turned plain old dumb. My times broke down like this 5:32/6:30/6:29/6:27. Not too shabby, but the speed demons had this in under 5:00. *sigh* I want to be strong AND fast... :( Oh...
Isn't there a song about this?
I'm sure there must be. There has to be... I'm able to find songs for everything. There has got to be one about time stopping and turning off the clock. I will find it... give me an hour or two. :P
Yesterday I did make it to the box, but I'll be honest. Now that I'm not in school, I'm very focused on trying to get my diet under control. I'm half in love, half in hate with the Primal diet. I love the idea... LOVE LOVE LOVE it, but it's taking me some getting used to which I hate. I'm spending a lot of time in the kitchen AND in the grocery store, experimenting with new foods, and new ideas. It's kind of fun and exciting, but at the same time kind of a pain in the ass. But it's cool. Yesterday I actually made my own salad dressing and this week I've tried Feta Cheese. For one reason or another (I think it's the mold) I've always been a bit turned off by the crumbling cheese family. But I'm trying to get some variety in my diet and not JUST eat chicken and green beans, and so I'm trying to branch out. For me, diet is the final frontier so to speak. I've mastered a lot of movements in CF, and now am sort of honing in on them. Now it's time to up the diet and switch up the game plan a bit.
Readers, you've been along with me on quite the journey. I've almost come full circle. Now instead of focusing on just trying to lift 20 lbs, I'm focusing on my diet to get the fat off and start kicking some serious booty. How funny is that? Me who just two years ago could barely last a workout is not trying just to get an edge... priceless. See what this program can do?
Anyway, all the nutrition stuff has been keeping me busy during the day before I go to work at night, and so I apologize with not being as dilligent in my postings, but if you want, add me as a friend on FB to keep up with me (I usually post good stuff there first) and also to keep up with CFOT, feel free. A few of us have gone Primal and are sharing recipes and tips on the CFOT fan page. So if you want to keep up that way, feel free... otherwise, you're just going to have to be patient with this blog. :P If you are interested in seeing recipes etc continue to pop up here though, leave a comment and let me know and I'll post pics/recipes of things I've concocted. No promises that there won't be a few duds along the way though.
Speaking of CF though I'm going to be late if I don't get a move on! I'll finish talking about my nutrition and yesterday's clock stopper when I get back! :P
Hmmmmm... so remember what I said about my nutrition keeping me away from my blog?!? DOH!
Anyway, yesterday's WOD was really a smoker. It combined three things that are really hard for me, and because of that, I just sort of said f' it. I basically shut the clock off, and went for a full range of motion on my exercises. I really have been having a hard time with ring dips, and I especially wanted to try them without the band. So here's how the WOD broke down.
7rft
3 moderately heavy deadlifts (165)
5 ring dips
7 l-sit pull-ups (I had to sub strict)
To be honest, the deadlifts on this wod really didn't feel that bad until about round 5 when I just got flat out tired. The elite weight for this wod was 205. Deadlifts are not a strong exercise for me, so I'm always cautious when we do them. But really and truly the dips were the focus for me. I just blocked it out, and went for it. It sucked, but I did all 35 without a band. I can throw lots of stuff over my head and that's great and all, but being able to move my own bodyweight is really where it's at. I didn't really time myself, but I know this took more than 30 minutes for me. But I didn't cheat it. The strict pull-ups were strict, and the ring dips were all legit. So, as badly as it sucked, I got some great strength work in.
Yesterday I did make it to the box, but I'll be honest. Now that I'm not in school, I'm very focused on trying to get my diet under control. I'm half in love, half in hate with the Primal diet. I love the idea... LOVE LOVE LOVE it, but it's taking me some getting used to which I hate. I'm spending a lot of time in the kitchen AND in the grocery store, experimenting with new foods, and new ideas. It's kind of fun and exciting, but at the same time kind of a pain in the ass. But it's cool. Yesterday I actually made my own salad dressing and this week I've tried Feta Cheese. For one reason or another (I think it's the mold) I've always been a bit turned off by the crumbling cheese family. But I'm trying to get some variety in my diet and not JUST eat chicken and green beans, and so I'm trying to branch out. For me, diet is the final frontier so to speak. I've mastered a lot of movements in CF, and now am sort of honing in on them. Now it's time to up the diet and switch up the game plan a bit.
Readers, you've been along with me on quite the journey. I've almost come full circle. Now instead of focusing on just trying to lift 20 lbs, I'm focusing on my diet to get the fat off and start kicking some serious booty. How funny is that? Me who just two years ago could barely last a workout is not trying just to get an edge... priceless. See what this program can do?
Anyway, all the nutrition stuff has been keeping me busy during the day before I go to work at night, and so I apologize with not being as dilligent in my postings, but if you want, add me as a friend on FB to keep up with me (I usually post good stuff there first) and also to keep up with CFOT, feel free. A few of us have gone Primal and are sharing recipes and tips on the CFOT fan page. So if you want to keep up that way, feel free... otherwise, you're just going to have to be patient with this blog. :P If you are interested in seeing recipes etc continue to pop up here though, leave a comment and let me know and I'll post pics/recipes of things I've concocted. No promises that there won't be a few duds along the way though.
Speaking of CF though I'm going to be late if I don't get a move on! I'll finish talking about my nutrition and yesterday's clock stopper when I get back! :P
Hmmmmm... so remember what I said about my nutrition keeping me away from my blog?!? DOH!
Anyway, yesterday's WOD was really a smoker. It combined three things that are really hard for me, and because of that, I just sort of said f' it. I basically shut the clock off, and went for a full range of motion on my exercises. I really have been having a hard time with ring dips, and I especially wanted to try them without the band. So here's how the WOD broke down.
7rft
3 moderately heavy deadlifts (165)
5 ring dips
7 l-sit pull-ups (I had to sub strict)
To be honest, the deadlifts on this wod really didn't feel that bad until about round 5 when I just got flat out tired. The elite weight for this wod was 205. Deadlifts are not a strong exercise for me, so I'm always cautious when we do them. But really and truly the dips were the focus for me. I just blocked it out, and went for it. It sucked, but I did all 35 without a band. I can throw lots of stuff over my head and that's great and all, but being able to move my own bodyweight is really where it's at. I didn't really time myself, but I know this took more than 30 minutes for me. But I didn't cheat it. The strict pull-ups were strict, and the ring dips were all legit. So, as badly as it sucked, I got some great strength work in.
Monday, August 10, 2009
SPLITTING hairs...
Ok, so maybe we weren't REALLY splitting hairs this morning ("Ok, Brand, Michael Jackson didn't really use the bathroom at my house... but his sister did!"), but we were splitting some jerks today! And as we all know, I HEART throwing heavy weights over my head! :)
We've never done split jerks specifically though so learning the split was interesting. I'm so used to doing the push jerk that this felt almost awkward. I stayed at 85lbs for a few lifts to try to get the positioning right. It's a little unusual to try to adjust and move your feet with weight over your head but after a few I felt a little bit more comfortable with the movement and started adding some weight. My weights today looked like this.
35X1
55X1
85X1
85X1
85X1
105X1
125X1
135X1
145X1
155X1
165X1 BW PR
170X1(F)
170X1(F)
170X1(F)
Yeah, you read those right. Isn't this insane? I can throw a buttload of weight over my head. I can't believe I jerked my bodyweight today! How insane is that? I mean, I've known basically since I started CF that my shoulders are retarded sorts of strong, but today, holy cow. I learned just how strong my shoulders really are. I have 170 easily, but by the time I got there, I was pretty tired. I gave it a good try, and on the second attempt I was so close to having it, but I just couldn't lock out. This was another good day at the box for me. I love doing stuff like this! :)
To view my PR BW Split jerk click here.
We've never done split jerks specifically though so learning the split was interesting. I'm so used to doing the push jerk that this felt almost awkward. I stayed at 85lbs for a few lifts to try to get the positioning right. It's a little unusual to try to adjust and move your feet with weight over your head but after a few I felt a little bit more comfortable with the movement and started adding some weight. My weights today looked like this.
35X1
55X1
85X1
85X1
85X1
105X1
125X1
135X1
145X1
155X1
165X1 BW PR
170X1(F)
170X1(F)
170X1(F)
Yeah, you read those right. Isn't this insane? I can throw a buttload of weight over my head. I can't believe I jerked my bodyweight today! How insane is that? I mean, I've known basically since I started CF that my shoulders are retarded sorts of strong, but today, holy cow. I learned just how strong my shoulders really are. I have 170 easily, but by the time I got there, I was pretty tired. I gave it a good try, and on the second attempt I was so close to having it, but I just couldn't lock out. This was another good day at the box for me. I love doing stuff like this! :)
To view my PR BW Split jerk click here.
Saturday, August 8, 2009
First Friday
I totally heart first Friday. It's always a fun time at CFOT and I'm glad that Jerry came up with the idea. Every first Friday we have the opportunity to choose our own hero or girl workout and get busy. It's fun to see how many people make it in on Friday. The board is always covered. I got stuck on a Josh train for awhile. I loved the overhead squat pull-up combo, but I've tried to get away from that for the last two months. Last month I did a men's RX'd Randy. This month I decided to do Fran. We've been working on heavier thrusters and pull-ups a lot and so I thought I'd see if I could break my PR but now for the second time I've missed it. I did Fran in 6:03. Bummer.
I did 17 unbroken thrusters in the first round and 14 unbroken pull-ups but then I went into the round of 15's and felt like serious poo. I just couldn't tie anything together and the second round took me way too long. The final round I was able to do the thrusters in 5 and 4. The pull-ups took me too long too. So, I hate to say it, but maybe I need to game Fran? That sort of sucks, but that great first round that I had killed my second round. I was done with my first round in 2:03. Each round should have been faster from there, but sadly they were. If you think my 15's should have taken only 2 minutes that would put me entering the final round at 4:03 (plenty of time for a PR) which I should be able to do in 1:00 or so. So, really I need to figure this one out... as sucky as that is... boo.
I did 17 unbroken thrusters in the first round and 14 unbroken pull-ups but then I went into the round of 15's and felt like serious poo. I just couldn't tie anything together and the second round took me way too long. The final round I was able to do the thrusters in 5 and 4. The pull-ups took me too long too. So, I hate to say it, but maybe I need to game Fran? That sort of sucks, but that great first round that I had killed my second round. I was done with my first round in 2:03. Each round should have been faster from there, but sadly they were. If you think my 15's should have taken only 2 minutes that would put me entering the final round at 4:03 (plenty of time for a PR) which I should be able to do in 1:00 or so. So, really I need to figure this one out... as sucky as that is... boo.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Avacado-who?
Hokay, here's the Earth... chillin'.... oh, wait. Sorry. Now isn't the time to quote Ze end of Ze world? Hokay.
So avocados huh? Sisson touts them as quite the super food. Lots of good fat, lots of good nutrients, game on. Until starting the Zone last year, believe it or not, I had never had an avocado. Nope, never. They look funny and the inside is weird lookin', and they have the big ball thing. Ewwwww... so regardless, whatever childish schoolgirl reasons I was holding on to did not permit me to eat them.
Now however I can say that I really do like them. I like to put avocado on:
-scrambled egs
-chicken
-sammiches (did you like how I did that? sammiches? ha!)
-salads
-steak
I use it:
-sliced for sammiches and salads
-mixed into my easy peezy avocado dip for sammiches, chicken, steak, and eggs
Here is my recipe for my easy peezy avocado dip:
***** Be sure to start with RIPE avocados. If you are an avocado newbie like I was, you need to realize the difference. Ripe=soft and a little squishy, emphasis on little. Hard=not ripe. *****
-Take 2 avocados. Cut them in half.
-Take a spoon and put it between the skin and the "meat" of the avocado. Try to run the spoon around the outside getting the entire avocado out in one shot. If you can't, no worries, just get it all.
-Put in bowl.
-Take some red pepper flakes and shakea, shakea, shakea them into the bowl.
-Take some garlic salt and swiiiish, swiiiish, swiiiiish around the bowl.
-Take a little bit of onion. Dice it fine and throw in. (Maybe 2tsp)
-Take a clove of garlic. Dice it fine and throw it in.
-Take some lemon juice and squuuuuuueeeeeeeeze, squuuuuuuuueeeeeeze, squuuuuueeeeeeeze.
-Now, mash everything up.
It will be a little lumpy obviously cause you have stuff in there, but mostly smooth.
*** Avocado is a food that oxidizes quickly when it comes in contact with air. (Hence the oxi part of the oxidizing) The lemon juice will help prevent the oxidization in the fridge, but another neat trick is to take a piece of plastic wrap and place it over the dip. Then, tuck it around your dip. Yeah, shove it down in the bowl and around the dip. This creates a (loose) seal that helps keep air from getting to it. It's not a miracle cure, your avocado dip will probably oxidize at least a little (unless you used a LOT of lemon juice) but it will help to extend the life of it a little bit. ***
Tasty! Enjoy! :)
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
I suck... AKA metcon day...
So the latest meat experiment did not go as planned... :( oh. But I'm sure there will be more cooking adventures in my future, so don't get disheartened. :P
Yesterday's workout was especially designed for me. Why you ask? Well because as Meatloaf said, 3 out of 4 ain't bad. Oh, wait that wasn't what he said? Oh. But 3 out of the 4 exercises that we had in our wod yesterday are things I'm awful at. No, no kidding. I am incredibly slow at push-ups, still working on getting back to full ring dips, and running, well, ha! If you've been reading for ANY length of time, you KNOW how I feel about running. (If you haven't, just imagine the worst possible thing you could make someone do. That's how I feel about running.)
I decided to go at the 0900 class yesterday because, after that little running wod last week at 1230, I learned my lesson. Do NOT run in the middle of the day in Virginia, in the summer, in 100% humidity. Ok, Ok, FINE. It was only 96% humidity that day, but you get the point. Running + midday + Katie= NO BUENO! So, I quasi happily motored to the gym (Jerry has been posting the wod's to the FB page. I knew in advance my pain for the day. That's why I say quasi.)
My heart sort of fell though when I saw that all the guys were in at 0900. Chad and Chad and Mark and Scott. Don't get me wrong. I love all the guys. They're terrific.... when I don't have to do a metcon wod with them. There's nothing more disheartening then having a round and a half to finish and seeing them all sitting there chatting. (I hate you all! Ok... not really... ) But as Jerry likes to constantly remind me, the only way to get stronger is to work your weaknesses. Got it, weakness working. Check. (Note to self, I HATE weaknesses.)
But I think of Jerry somewhat of almost an almighty guru. My spiritual leader if you will. What he says goes. So away I went. Our WOD looked like this.
5 RFT
275 M run
9 ring dips
12 push-ups
15 wall ball
Time 23:17
So since I'm doing that whole working my weakness thing, I was trying to do the first 2/3 ring dips no band and then switch to the band. I did that for the first 3 rounds, and then the 202 push presses from Monday caught up with me. Whew! That was a fun feeling. My push-ups, albeit slow, were all legit, and my wall ball were pretty super legit seeing as how I hit the men's target. Running, well, I have to say it's getting better. It's still not speedy by any means, but it is getting better. I think my performance will definitely increase as soon as October rolls around and the humidity lessens. I really feel it when I run. It's wicked bad.
For a minute there on round 2 there was a big flashing neon "QUIT NOW!" sign in my head, but I didn't. I kept on going, and just like with last Saturday, sometimes the most important WOD's are the ones where you want to give up, but don't. You only get stronger when you work through the mental stuff. It sucks, but it's necessary.
Yesterday's workout was especially designed for me. Why you ask? Well because as Meatloaf said, 3 out of 4 ain't bad. Oh, wait that wasn't what he said? Oh. But 3 out of the 4 exercises that we had in our wod yesterday are things I'm awful at. No, no kidding. I am incredibly slow at push-ups, still working on getting back to full ring dips, and running, well, ha! If you've been reading for ANY length of time, you KNOW how I feel about running. (If you haven't, just imagine the worst possible thing you could make someone do. That's how I feel about running.)
I decided to go at the 0900 class yesterday because, after that little running wod last week at 1230, I learned my lesson. Do NOT run in the middle of the day in Virginia, in the summer, in 100% humidity. Ok, Ok, FINE. It was only 96% humidity that day, but you get the point. Running + midday + Katie= NO BUENO! So, I quasi happily motored to the gym (Jerry has been posting the wod's to the FB page. I knew in advance my pain for the day. That's why I say quasi.)
My heart sort of fell though when I saw that all the guys were in at 0900. Chad and Chad and Mark and Scott. Don't get me wrong. I love all the guys. They're terrific.... when I don't have to do a metcon wod with them. There's nothing more disheartening then having a round and a half to finish and seeing them all sitting there chatting. (I hate you all! Ok... not really... ) But as Jerry likes to constantly remind me, the only way to get stronger is to work your weaknesses. Got it, weakness working. Check. (Note to self, I HATE weaknesses.)
But I think of Jerry somewhat of almost an almighty guru. My spiritual leader if you will. What he says goes. So away I went. Our WOD looked like this.
5 RFT
275 M run
9 ring dips
12 push-ups
15 wall ball
Time 23:17
So since I'm doing that whole working my weakness thing, I was trying to do the first 2/3 ring dips no band and then switch to the band. I did that for the first 3 rounds, and then the 202 push presses from Monday caught up with me. Whew! That was a fun feeling. My push-ups, albeit slow, were all legit, and my wall ball were pretty super legit seeing as how I hit the men's target. Running, well, I have to say it's getting better. It's still not speedy by any means, but it is getting better. I think my performance will definitely increase as soon as October rolls around and the humidity lessens. I really feel it when I run. It's wicked bad.
For a minute there on round 2 there was a big flashing neon "QUIT NOW!" sign in my head, but I didn't. I kept on going, and just like with last Saturday, sometimes the most important WOD's are the ones where you want to give up, but don't. You only get stronger when you work through the mental stuff. It sucks, but it's necessary.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Back squats...
Getting off of the nutrition train for a moment, and back to my wod's, today was another great day! Back squats! Who doesn't love some good old fashioned back squats.
Friday was OHS X 5. Today was back squats X 5. Lately I've been missing our back squat wods, but I got on it today! Melissa got some vid but I don't know if it will be posted or not, but I nailed a new PR! May was the last time I hit a back squat X 5 so the fact that I PR'd shouldn't be surprising, I mean I've definitely gotten stronger. But the fact that the PR was so big is pretty surprising. My work looked like this.
45X5
65X5
95X5
115X5
135X5
155X5
175X5
190X5
Woot! That's a strong day! :) Book it son!
Friday was OHS X 5. Today was back squats X 5. Lately I've been missing our back squat wods, but I got on it today! Melissa got some vid but I don't know if it will be posted or not, but I nailed a new PR! May was the last time I hit a back squat X 5 so the fact that I PR'd shouldn't be surprising, I mean I've definitely gotten stronger. But the fact that the PR was so big is pretty surprising. My work looked like this.
45X5
65X5
95X5
115X5
135X5
155X5
175X5
190X5
Woot! That's a strong day! :) Book it son!
FitDay Free Calorie Counter and Diet Journal: Foods Eaten
FitDay Free Calorie Counter and Diet Journal: Foods Eaten
Here is a sample day from the FitDay counter. The fat is a little high from this day, so I do need to back down some, but it's all about figuring things out right now.
Here is a sample day from the FitDay counter. The fat is a little high from this day, so I do need to back down some, but it's all about figuring things out right now.
Katie gets Primal! Roar! Grok On!
Awhile ago, a friend and fellow CF'er gave me the book Primal Blueprint, which is written by Mark Sisson, the author of Mark's Daily Apple. He encouraged me to read it after reading about my frustrations with my nutrition and weight. While reading through Sisson's book, I have to admit I was a little skeptical. Some of the things he suggested eating in large quantities were things the Zone had explicitly said to regulate, like Fat intake. But, seeing as how the Zone isn't working for me anymore, I really wanted to at least give it a go. So giving it a go I am. For those of you who aren't Primal, here is the basis of Sisson's plan.
Sisson lays out his plan quite simply in his book. Eat lots of animals and plants. What? That's it? No weighing, no measuring, no counting almonds? Well, not quite, but basically yes. Sisson's plan basically involves you eating about half of your diet in good fats, and filling the rest with good proteins and good carbs.
Good fats: Nuts and their derivitive oils and butters, cold pressed extra virgin olive oil, animal fats including lard (but pure lard NOT processed), cream cheese, avocados etc.
Now, for some of you who are going ape with this pronouncement, keep reading. Sisson says that the reason so many Americans are overweight has to do with carb intake. A big duh on that. We've known that for years, which is why diets like the Atkins and South Beach came around. But despite things being packaged and labeled as healthy and low carb, people are still gaining. Why? Well, it goes back to the carbs and sugars again. In order to maintain your weight, Sisson says that you need to intake about 100-150g of carbs per diem, that's it. Holy cow. Comparitively speaking let me put it to you this way, a venti white mocha from Starbucks has 76g of sugar, aka carbs. Say huh!? Yeah, so bottom line is that most of us go waaaay over our carbs everyday. The other thing is, that those carbs we're taking in should be natural, a la fruits and veggies. Our bodies aren't really adapted for dealing with completely processed crap. Not to mention, when we eat things that are processed we lose the valuable nutrient aspect that we get from natural sources like fruits and veggies. So Sisson says, keep your carbs between 50-100g to lose, and 100-150g to maintain. And when you're not eating processed crap, you'd be surprised at just how much this allows you to eat. He also tackles in his book the idea that for some, stepping down gradually may be a better fit than going all in and jumping straigh from 300+ to 50-100. That is a huge jump down.
So what does this gobblygook all mean exactly? Ditch the cereal, the pasta, the prepackaged junk you buy at the store. Hit up the produce aisle hardcore and purchase tons of organic fruits and veggies. Why organic? Because organic veggies as we all know are grown without pesticides and therefore regain more of their natural nutrients. Well, this should be a no brainer then. Buy organic even if it is pricier. Hey, we thought the Zone was expensive too, remember? Instead now, we're not buying bulk, or quantity, we're buying quality. If possible, go for local organic produce. If you can't get that, go local commerically grown. Local is probably your best bet since they're closer geographically they can be picked closer to the peak of freshness and don't have to be chemically altered to be ripe. After that is organic distant, then organic commercially grown.
Sound confusing? Think of it this way, the less the product has to travel the better. The fewer pesticides, the better. If you do purchase commercially grown produce, be sure to wash them in a fruit and veggie cleaner. I bought one at Trader Jose's for relatively cheap compared to the number of washes I will get out of it. I have to say it's amazing to see the produce without the white shadow on it.
Sisson also makes a similar comment about meat in his book. You want high quality meats. Meats that aren't given antibiotics or growth hormones, meats that are grain fed and given room to grow. Again, more $$, but better quality stuff. To break it all down on here would be too much, but basically, better quality = better for you.
The only real measuring you need to do in the beginning is take a rough figure of how much protein you need to maintain your body. Sisson gives a relative formula and you can go from there.
He encourages those just starting out to use a journal or online log like fitday.com to learn about your foods. Having a general idea of how much you're eating and what it's worth will help get you into whatever target category you are looking for. I've been using Fitday.com for three days and I have to say that it's great. It's been keeping me pretty much in line and I'm learning a lot about the food that I'm eating.
The general idea of Mark's plan though is for you to be knowledgable about your food and then move away from keeping track and scrutinizing. He says eat when you're hungry, stop when you're full. It's that simple, but with the log you quickly learn what the good stuff to put into your system is.
Many of you might be wondering how this compares to the Zone or even to Paleo since it seems so similar. It really and truly is very Paleoish. Mark actually answers all these questions on his site here -----> FAQ's
Mark's site (Mark's Daily Apple)also has a lot of recipes and other information about Primal living. In fact, as I stopped by today, he's doing a 30 day Primal Living Challenge. He's obviously very passionate about his work, and so I'm giving it a go. One place where Sisson does differ from ideas like the Zone and Paleo is that with him it's not just about the eating. Sisson also goes through his other rules for living in his book. There are 10 in all, but among them, thinking about sleeping, getting true sun, playing, and finding ways to avoid or beat stress. The man has a point. Eating is part of the equation, but so is stress.
If you're not my friend on Facebook you've been missing out on all the mobile uploads I've been making as I've begun cooking in a Primal manner. I have to say, it's some of the best tasting stuff I've had in awhile, and I've gotten a lot of comments about the food I've posted. I'm giving this a try for 30 days. A month. I want to see if this could work for me. The no weighing, no measuring, eating when hungry thing... I love it. But we'll see. However, if the scale this am is any indication, ditching the soda and going Primal may just be the ticket. Last Monday I officially ditched soda. Thursday I started going Primal. From then to now, there is a difference of almost 4 lbs. Now, that may be a fluke, but we'll see how things pan out as the month goes on. Either way, I felt good seeing that number on the scale today. It officially read 165.00. Last week it said 168.8. So, we'll see. We'll see. But for now, I love Mark Sisson and Grok (his primal example). Grok on!
Sisson lays out his plan quite simply in his book. Eat lots of animals and plants. What? That's it? No weighing, no measuring, no counting almonds? Well, not quite, but basically yes. Sisson's plan basically involves you eating about half of your diet in good fats, and filling the rest with good proteins and good carbs.
Good fats: Nuts and their derivitive oils and butters, cold pressed extra virgin olive oil, animal fats including lard (but pure lard NOT processed), cream cheese, avocados etc.
Now, for some of you who are going ape with this pronouncement, keep reading. Sisson says that the reason so many Americans are overweight has to do with carb intake. A big duh on that. We've known that for years, which is why diets like the Atkins and South Beach came around. But despite things being packaged and labeled as healthy and low carb, people are still gaining. Why? Well, it goes back to the carbs and sugars again. In order to maintain your weight, Sisson says that you need to intake about 100-150g of carbs per diem, that's it. Holy cow. Comparitively speaking let me put it to you this way, a venti white mocha from Starbucks has 76g of sugar, aka carbs. Say huh!? Yeah, so bottom line is that most of us go waaaay over our carbs everyday. The other thing is, that those carbs we're taking in should be natural, a la fruits and veggies. Our bodies aren't really adapted for dealing with completely processed crap. Not to mention, when we eat things that are processed we lose the valuable nutrient aspect that we get from natural sources like fruits and veggies. So Sisson says, keep your carbs between 50-100g to lose, and 100-150g to maintain. And when you're not eating processed crap, you'd be surprised at just how much this allows you to eat. He also tackles in his book the idea that for some, stepping down gradually may be a better fit than going all in and jumping straigh from 300+ to 50-100. That is a huge jump down.
So what does this gobblygook all mean exactly? Ditch the cereal, the pasta, the prepackaged junk you buy at the store. Hit up the produce aisle hardcore and purchase tons of organic fruits and veggies. Why organic? Because organic veggies as we all know are grown without pesticides and therefore regain more of their natural nutrients. Well, this should be a no brainer then. Buy organic even if it is pricier. Hey, we thought the Zone was expensive too, remember? Instead now, we're not buying bulk, or quantity, we're buying quality. If possible, go for local organic produce. If you can't get that, go local commerically grown. Local is probably your best bet since they're closer geographically they can be picked closer to the peak of freshness and don't have to be chemically altered to be ripe. After that is organic distant, then organic commercially grown.
Sound confusing? Think of it this way, the less the product has to travel the better. The fewer pesticides, the better. If you do purchase commercially grown produce, be sure to wash them in a fruit and veggie cleaner. I bought one at Trader Jose's for relatively cheap compared to the number of washes I will get out of it. I have to say it's amazing to see the produce without the white shadow on it.
Sisson also makes a similar comment about meat in his book. You want high quality meats. Meats that aren't given antibiotics or growth hormones, meats that are grain fed and given room to grow. Again, more $$, but better quality stuff. To break it all down on here would be too much, but basically, better quality = better for you.
The only real measuring you need to do in the beginning is take a rough figure of how much protein you need to maintain your body. Sisson gives a relative formula and you can go from there.
He encourages those just starting out to use a journal or online log like fitday.com to learn about your foods. Having a general idea of how much you're eating and what it's worth will help get you into whatever target category you are looking for. I've been using Fitday.com for three days and I have to say that it's great. It's been keeping me pretty much in line and I'm learning a lot about the food that I'm eating.
The general idea of Mark's plan though is for you to be knowledgable about your food and then move away from keeping track and scrutinizing. He says eat when you're hungry, stop when you're full. It's that simple, but with the log you quickly learn what the good stuff to put into your system is.
Many of you might be wondering how this compares to the Zone or even to Paleo since it seems so similar. It really and truly is very Paleoish. Mark actually answers all these questions on his site here -----> FAQ's
Mark's site (Mark's Daily Apple)also has a lot of recipes and other information about Primal living. In fact, as I stopped by today, he's doing a 30 day Primal Living Challenge. He's obviously very passionate about his work, and so I'm giving it a go. One place where Sisson does differ from ideas like the Zone and Paleo is that with him it's not just about the eating. Sisson also goes through his other rules for living in his book. There are 10 in all, but among them, thinking about sleeping, getting true sun, playing, and finding ways to avoid or beat stress. The man has a point. Eating is part of the equation, but so is stress.
If you're not my friend on Facebook you've been missing out on all the mobile uploads I've been making as I've begun cooking in a Primal manner. I have to say, it's some of the best tasting stuff I've had in awhile, and I've gotten a lot of comments about the food I've posted. I'm giving this a try for 30 days. A month. I want to see if this could work for me. The no weighing, no measuring, eating when hungry thing... I love it. But we'll see. However, if the scale this am is any indication, ditching the soda and going Primal may just be the ticket. Last Monday I officially ditched soda. Thursday I started going Primal. From then to now, there is a difference of almost 4 lbs. Now, that may be a fluke, but we'll see how things pan out as the month goes on. Either way, I felt good seeing that number on the scale today. It officially read 165.00. Last week it said 168.8. So, we'll see. We'll see. But for now, I love Mark Sisson and Grok (his primal example). Grok on!
Monday: Team Challenge
Yesterday's workout was sort of a pick your own poison because it was a team challenge. Which team reigns supreme at CFOT? Is it 0515? 0600? 0645? 0730? 0900? 1230? 1700? 1745? 1830? As you can see, CFOT has expanded quite a bit.... compare this schedule to the one of just a year ago and that's sort of a no brainer. But Jerry threw out the team challenge today as a way to encourage a little friendly competition.
To be honest though, I really didn't care about the team competition. I'll be frank, I'm competitive, but sometimes in the last few months that's gotten me in a little hot water, so I've really tried to dial that back a bit. I've really tried to keep in mind that where you are on the white board in relation to others really doesn't matter. You need to work on your weaknesses and your strengths and basically f' everybody else. It's great to have other people to push you, but beating them or being slower than them isn't the important part.
But, I really still wanted to get my workout in, so off to the box I went. The gig was set up so that there were five exercises and five minutes to do as many of those exercises as you wanted to. You didn't have to do them all, but seeing as how many of them were arm intensive, at some point you really wanted to give your arms a break! So the five exercises to choose from were power snatch, push press, pull-ups, rowing, and box jumps. Hmmm... which ones do you think I chose? :)
Here's how my numbers broke down
Power snatch- 51
Push press- 202
Pull-ups 63
Box jumps-35
Rowing-0
Ha! Notice how the row was mysteriously empty? Ha! I hate rowing. Jerry had a formula for how he scored this but I don't know exactly what it was. All I know is that our team had the highest average for push presses. :P I guess it's a good thing that today is a back squat day and I don't have to use my arms.... :P
To be honest though, I really didn't care about the team competition. I'll be frank, I'm competitive, but sometimes in the last few months that's gotten me in a little hot water, so I've really tried to dial that back a bit. I've really tried to keep in mind that where you are on the white board in relation to others really doesn't matter. You need to work on your weaknesses and your strengths and basically f' everybody else. It's great to have other people to push you, but beating them or being slower than them isn't the important part.
But, I really still wanted to get my workout in, so off to the box I went. The gig was set up so that there were five exercises and five minutes to do as many of those exercises as you wanted to. You didn't have to do them all, but seeing as how many of them were arm intensive, at some point you really wanted to give your arms a break! So the five exercises to choose from were power snatch, push press, pull-ups, rowing, and box jumps. Hmmm... which ones do you think I chose? :)
Here's how my numbers broke down
Power snatch- 51
Push press- 202
Pull-ups 63
Box jumps-35
Rowing-0
Ha! Notice how the row was mysteriously empty? Ha! I hate rowing. Jerry had a formula for how he scored this but I don't know exactly what it was. All I know is that our team had the highest average for push presses. :P I guess it's a good thing that today is a back squat day and I don't have to use my arms.... :P
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Saturday's Disaster
After punching out such a big PR on Friday, I was really stoked about things in the box. I've been traveling so much lately though that I've only been in on average 4 days a week. My goal is to keep my average at about 5 days a week. So yesterday, I decided to get up and hit the WOD at CFOT. Let me just assure you, that I really, really, REALLY regret that decission, goal or no. I'll tell you the WOD, you take a wild guess as to how good I felt afterwards.
Run 800 M
30 Power cleans
30 Pull-ups
30 Burpees
Run 800 M
20 Power Cleans
20 Pull-ups
20 Burpees
Run 800 M
10 Power cleans
10 Pull-ups
10 Burpees
Women's weight- 85lb
Men's weight- 135lb
Time: 44:10
I swear to God, I had nothing in the tank for this workout, and I admitted that to Jerry as he passed by me about halfway through the workout. My legs were complete mush, and I had little-no energy for this WOD. But as with some WODS, you get points just for finishing. So yay me. :P
Run 800 M
30 Power cleans
30 Pull-ups
30 Burpees
Run 800 M
20 Power Cleans
20 Pull-ups
20 Burpees
Run 800 M
10 Power cleans
10 Pull-ups
10 Burpees
Women's weight- 85lb
Men's weight- 135lb
Time: 44:10
I swear to God, I had nothing in the tank for this workout, and I admitted that to Jerry as he passed by me about halfway through the workout. My legs were complete mush, and I had little-no energy for this WOD. But as with some WODS, you get points just for finishing. So yay me. :P
Catchin' up... Friday's WOD
Hmmmmm... so where to begin? I know I've been a blog slacker for a few days and my sincere apologies. I have been spending a lot of time at work, at CFOT and in my kitchen. I took Thursday as a rest day but was back at CFOT for a heck of a WOD on Friday. We all know that I love overhead work so I was happy to learn that Friday was an overhead squat day! :) Yay for overhead squats. Friday was overhead squats X5. My 1 rep max overhead squat is 150. So I was thinking that a good OHS goal for me would be around 120-125. Well I got in and started working and actually felt pretty good. So I ramped up fast. And before I knew it, I had already put down 120X5.
So, I put up 125X5 and then started to debate about what my next move should be. I thought about 130X5, but sort of figured what the hey. So I threw on 135 and gave that a whirl. The rest of the day played out a little something like this...
OHS Work
I really debated about how to jump... luckily for me, Jerry was there to give me some encouragement... :P
So, I put up 125X5 and then started to debate about what my next move should be. I thought about 130X5, but sort of figured what the hey. So I threw on 135 and gave that a whirl. The rest of the day played out a little something like this...
OHS Work
I really debated about how to jump... luckily for me, Jerry was there to give me some encouragement... :P
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Blog slacker...
I know I've been a blog slacker for the last two days or so, but I've been busy with work and getting this new lifestyle in check. I will def update soon... as soon as I'm done washing all my new veggies and fruits and cooking a delicious steak! :) Yummmers! :)
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