Monday, December 29, 2008

Max Front Squats 3-3-3-3-3 plus some more Funishment

If you are looking for more info on the Front Squat X 3-3-3-3-3-3 STOP reading this post and go read this one... ------> http://katiesmindlessramblings.blogspot.com/2009/07/what-in-front-squat.html


Ok, seriously... I have gained back five pounds of all that fat that I lost and it feels gwoss. I really needed to hit up CF today... so hit up CF today I did. But since I'm off for a blessed for more days, I decided to sleep in and hit the 9am class. Apparently a few other people had that same idea and there was actually a pretty big crowd today at 9.

Although we hit max fronts X 3 about a week ago, Jerry brought 'em up again today. I have admitted that my glutes and hams are weak and are in dire need of some work... but seeing squats come up again today gave me a bit of a groan, but they need work, so work them I did. Unfortunately, our extra work today also involved burpees, but again... need to work them, so I did.

Last week when we hit the front squats, I topped at 140. I couldn't get 145 up and I think that's because I spent too much time on the lower weights. I think the key for me is to work up smarter and faster. I need to make more aggressive jumps so I don't burn out on lighter weights. So today, I decided to try being more aggressive. I worked in with Stacey and Rashed and after 2 sets with 35, I jumped to 85 and dove in. So, my sets today looked like this

85 X 3
105 X 3
115 X 3
125 X 3
135 X 3
145 X 3 (PR)

Last time I tried to put up 145 and failed twice. I didn't even get 1 rep up! So 145 is a new PR for me, and I'll take that after only working out here and there over the last few weeks and eating waaaaaaay too much crap and drinking too much. It felt good to hit that one today. Good to work the glutes and hammies. After that Jerry left some finishing work for us. I really wanted to do the extra work as some more funishment for all the really bad things I've been doing lately. The extra work looked like this.

Metcon ninja
7 RFT
11 Wall ball
11 Pull-ups
11 Burpes

or

Express ninja
7 RFT
11 Pull-ups
11 Burpees

Now, let me tell you that I hit burpees and push-ups pretty hard while I was home. I mean, I did 49 in lucky 7's, then 50 burpees in Funishment, plus 50 push-ups too. I'm just about push-upped and burpeed out. So I wasn't thrilled to see them in the line-up today, but I was glad to see chins because I've left a lot to be desired on the pull-up bar lately. It was good to get back to doing some more. And yes, I do still need to work the push-ups and the burpees so it was good to do them too, but man. Ugh, I hate those things. I did the express ninja (after the squats I didn't trust myself to do wall ball) but I didn't remember to grab a stopwatch.

To be honest, I just needed to do the extra work. I wasn't so concerned about the time, but more concerned with putting the work in. I finally got paid (yes being paid once a month totally sucks!) and I'm going to hit the grocery store. I strict zoned for about a week about three weeks ago, and I'm going to try to get back on it seriously after the holidays are over. Being at home it was so hard to eat well.... my parents house is just not stocked for it. But after looking at the scale the last few days... ugh... I really need to get away from the junk. Hopefully it won't take me too long to get back in the habit... but for now... I'm going to nap... since I can... mwah mwah mwah! :)

Sunday, December 28, 2008

Saturday's workout: Funishment

Ok, so seriously, this whole me feeling fat and lethargic thing needs to stop... that means that holiday cookies and all sorts of good tasty stuff needs to go away... like now... because lord knows I do not have the will power to deny the cookies.... damnit! Now because I have no willpower and because I cannot turn down cookies, I decided I needed a funishment workout... literally I needed to kick my own ass.

So, I went back through CFOT's blog and looked for a workout that looked like a significant enough ass kicker to be deemed a funishment workout... I found one from a few sundays ago and modified it a smidgen, but it worked pretty well for me. Funishment looks a little something something like this...

Funishment
For time
25 pull ups (pull up grips were retardo so I subbed strict presses with 20lb dumbells)
50 clean and jerks (65lbs done from the hang since I had to be careful not to drop)
50 burpees
50 abmats (done on incline ab bench)
50 box jumps (subbed 50 air squats)
50 push-ups
25 pull ups (subbed strict presses with 25 lb dumbbells)

This time, since I knew I needed more room, I went to the Gold's Gym that just opened not to long ago by my house. It's a nice gym, lots of AWBM (angry white boy music)and more space than the Y. The only problem with said Globo Gym... a one time workout fee? $12... WTF mate? In central PA? Are you joking? I'm not in DC here... c'mon... my old gym charged $6. Too bad they are currently closed for renovations. They also didn't care if I used chalk or ocassionally dropped a weight... oops... my bad dog! Seriously, I was really annoyed with Gold's, but I needed a space for my Funishment. So, I was pretty much stuck. But anyhoo, I looked around for what I needed and got myself pretty much situationated.

I did the strict presses, which felt really heavy because, AGAIN, I had neglected to warm up properly. I'm not sure what it is, but in the globo gyms I totally spaz on warming up. Anyhoo, the stricts felt very heavy, but my arms were also a smidge sore from doing the burpees the day before. Cleans felt good, although not as fast as I would have liked, especially since I wasn't pulling from the floor. When we did this before, Jerry made us pull from the floor. Well, with no one but me for form faults, and my feel of just accidentally dropping the weight, I decided to hang clean instead. I was able to connect all the clean and jerks. I didn't have to pause on my shoulders for any of them which was really nice. I was able to keep going mostly in sets of 5 and then 3/4 at the very tail end. For 50 reps, I thought that was a pretty steady set.

I know I rested way too much on those cleans though... but without everyone else around it was certainly a lot harder to push myself. Burpees, eh, what can I say? Push ups, still a nemesis. Therefore, burpees, still a nemesis. The dude who was working out at the same time as me started looking at me a little funny when I started doing burpees, but what can I say? I guess jumping from a push-up into a squat and then clapping overhead does look a little funny.

Sit-ups and squats went ok. I was bothered by my squat form again though. I hate lifting in shoes. Seriously. It's amazing how much that affects me now. I've gotten so used to being flat on the Jiu Jitsu mats that shoes drive me nuts. It actually hurt my knees a lot. I felt like they were tracking different. Annoying... very...

Push-ups alone took me like 10 minutes, but I gritted through them and refused to cut standard. Chest to the deck and I really focused on keepin the core tight. I have a bad habit of letting my lower back sag on the way up. Tight core is key.

The last set of stricts was ridiculous. My arms were F-R-I-E-D. That 20lbs was retardo heavy. I'm glad I did not go 25. Yikes.

Total time 33:55 Over 4 minutes slower than before, and that's with faster mods... yikes... guaranteed... same exact workout as last time when I did it in 29:05 probably would have been well over 40 minutes..... I'm losing ground these days... time to step it up. The new year is coming... time to get back on track. 5 days a week plus strict zoning. It's seriously go time. Time to start being a CrossFit ninja!

Friday's workout: Lucky 7's

So, in case you were worried that I have been lazy over the holidays this week, I just want to tell you to rest your weary soul, because I have not been. I know you were probably really worried, and you were all atwitter... yup... don't worry. I've worked out this week. :P

I don't know about anyone else, but lately I have been feeling especially fat and sluggish. I was determined, and I mean DETERMINED to get some workouts in this week. After all the food that's been put in front of me... good lord I needed some CF time. So on Thursday my sis and I headed out to the new YMCA that's been built near our house. The free weight room was really small. I was thinking about doing Angie since that was Thursday's WOD, but I tried to do a pull-up on their pull-up bar and thought that 100 on that apparatus just was not going to happen. So, I started thinking about things I hadn't done in awhile, and what I could do in that limited space. So, I came up with Lucky 7's... here's how it goes...

7 RFT
7 front squats
7 snatches
7 burpees

Time: 21:00

Ok, I really wanted a good metcon burner and this little circuit seemed like it was going to be. I started with 95 lbs on the front squats and after three rounds had to drop down to 65. I was over ambitious for the day after Christmas, and I hadn't warmed up nearly enough for that. Snatches felt good with 25lbs, butI need to be very careful. I noticed I was starting to go too far back in the active shoulder position so I need to work on keeping my arm in line with my ear and not further back. In a metcon situation, it's very easy to aim for speed and forget that.

The front squats on this really sucked, but the burpees and snatches felt pretty good. I did noticed a huge difference though in wearing shoes. When the money is right, I really need to get a good pair of lifting shoes. Running shoes aim to correct your arches etc for running, not lifting and it definitely f's with my squat form. I really wanted to kick off my shoes but didn't want to get in trouble.

But anyhoo, this one is a good little smoker... I'm not happy about the front squat weight, but aside from that things felt ok. Globo gym is never an ideal place for a workout... no one to work with, or push you... being alone is wicked hard.... I really commend the people who do CF on their own all the time. It would drive me insane. As would what happened with the dudes in the corner.

Mind you, I know how much I can lift. I know I can throw around some serious weight. I hit my 140 clean and jerk the other week, THAT to me is a little crazy. But no no, these dudes were standing in the free weight room watching me walk back and forth between the front squats, snatches, and burpees. I do believe I heard something to the affect of "What is this chick doing. She's totally NUTS!" Ok, seriously? Lucky sevens is nuts? Thank god I didn't do something you know like, oh Murph, or Fran, or Cindy, or Angie... those are more on par with being nuts... idiots... complete idiots... good job guys, keep doing your bicep curls... idiots... cause bicep curls and shoulder shrugs are going to get you far... GOOD WORK... idiots...

I don't like being called crazy all the time... sort of makes me feel like the crazy cat lady and I know I'm not THAT bad... but seriously, if Lucky 7's is crazy... I'll take crazy over not having a neck because I've done too many shoulder shrugs any day of the week. Stupid globo gymers... ooooh something different than what we do... it must be crazy... if only they knew... morons...

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Merry Christmas... do Murph...

When Jerry sent out the email on Monday that said dress for a run tomorrow... I started to wonder what pain he had in store for us on Tuesday. Then, when I saw the next sentence, I knew exactly what he had in store. Bring body armor or wear a weight vest if you have it... my first thought? "Oh f*ck" I knew exactly what that meant. Murph is one of those things you know... I really wasn't feeling Murph, but I got up at 0445 to get to class to get started. I know how long Murph takes me. It's not pretty... and I knew if I didn't jump on the clock early, I'd never get it done.

I have weaknesses as an athlete. My hamstrings are weak, and I'm weak on bodyweight exercises, ie burpees, push-ups, and air squats. Seeing as how Murph has two of these things, it just doesn't bode well for me. But nonetheless, it's hard to ignore a hero workout. So, despite the fact that I didn't really want to, I went.

As I drove past TC Williams I noticed that their outdoor thermometer was reading 16 degrees. Yup, that's right 16. I wore running pants, a matching tank top, a breathable wicking layer, and then a fleece on top. I was determined not to freeze outside.

I stretched out and got ready to get on the clock. I was all alone but I needed to get going. I jumped on the clock around 0515 and hit the run. On lap one of our large building I didn't feel too bad. The cold hadn't really set in. On lap two, my eyes started to water, and I actually started to cry from the cold. Not intentionally, it just happened. My hands started to freeze, and so I tucked them inside my sleeves and gritted my teeth the best I could.

I got inside and started on the chins. I haven't done many chins lately, and they just don't feel as good as they used to. I don't know why, but they don't. So I was struggling to get comfy on a bar and rip out some chins, when Jerry says, aren't you going to partition? And I said partition? Last time you said we couldn't partition! He said I was crazy, he did to tell us we could... I think he's crazy... I don't think he let us in August, so regardless, I shot myself in the beginning because then I was slowed down by trying to do an equal number of pushups and squats to even myself up so then I could get to partitioning. Duh...

So, all in all, this workout blew big time. I slowed down by nearly 8 minutes. Yeah... that sucks. It took me 1:08. I just can't get this workout to go faster. It is frustrating that I can clean x amount of weight, and squat x amount of weight, but I can't do bodyweight stuff. I felt so icky. I know I'm complaining, I know I am.... cause seriously, at least I finished. But I really wasn't happy with this at all. I'm going to be sure to get to the globo gym over the next few days so that I can work on getting back into better shape than where I am now. I feel like I've slipped a lot and I don't like it. I also am going to get back on the Zone. I've been having some money/time issues, but it is way past high time for me to kick the crap I've been eating, and get back to Zoning. The pants are not fitting the same, and that tells me all I need to know.

Bad workouts, plus bad pant fit= Katie needs to kick her own ass.... yes, I will... as soon as I get paid... yar...

Monday, December 22, 2008

2 circuit smoker...

So today was one of those days where Jerry gives us two shorter circuits to smoke us. I haven't really hit metcon much lately, just because of when I've been in due to scheduling issues, so it was good to get some good metcon in. Our first little circuit was a doozy, and I was a little nervous about the weight once I saw it.

Circuit #1
15-12-9-6-3
Deadlifts (145lbs)
TGU (25lbs)

Total time: 15:30

I was worried about this weight because this is the weight that I hit on Diane (15-12-9) when I royally messed up my back. I woke up in extreme amounts of pain that next day... So when I saw 145 I sort of himmed and hawwed and was going to go below, but once I warmed up I felt ok. I know I rounded a little bit during the circuit but it wasn't nearly as bad as two Fridays ago. I was able to fly pretty quickly through the TGUs and actually felt pretty good about this one today. I didn't rest much. There was a little resting though... so overall this one wasn't too bad.

Then I took a gander at circuit #2. I was running low on time, but lately I haven't been doing the extra or feeling extra crazy, so I really wanted to finish both circuits today. So I dove into circuit #2 after a little bit of a breather.

Circuit #2
20 box jumps
40 ab mats

Total time:13:56

Talk about weak core muscles. Hokey pat! The box jumps were a little slow because of the deads and the front squats yesterday, as well as the jumping lunges... but the ab mats were what killed my time. Seriously. I sucked up the place on the ab mats. I really need to start doing more extra work and get down the ab mat at the end for some quick finishers. Wow... my core muscles are getting weeeeeeeeeak. It may be all the holiday eating too... I'm just sayin'...I'll own it. :P Ah... Jerry assured us tomorrow will be a doozy. I'm wondering if it's going to be the 12 days of Christmas... oh god if it is... I will be hurting tomorrow....

Max front squats 3-3-3-3-3

It seems that Sunday's are becoming a strength day, and I for one am a ok with that. I love strength days and I'm ok with that. Last week when we were doing hang squat cleans I hit 140 but got stuck trying to get up with 145. So, I wasn't really sure where this one was going to lead, it's been a awhile since we've done much front squating, and I own my weakness which is my legs. Particularly my hamstrings and gluteus maximus. :P So, I was hoping to get 135 and I did. So then I was really hoping to get 140, which I did. So then I was really hoping to get 145, which I did not. It seems that 145 is my sticking point right now. My hamstrings and core just aren't strong enough. Always something to work on isn't there? My rounds looked like this.

65 X 3
85 X 3
105 X 3
115 X 3
125 X 3
130 X 3
135 X 3
140 X 3
145 (F)
145 (F)

140 was a PR, so I was happy with that, but man, it would have been nice to hit 145. Curses... maybe next time... maybe next time... :)

Oh! But I almost forgot about the finisher! Ah yes... the finisher...

5 RFT
10 KB high pull (50lbs)
10 jumping lunges
10 push ups

Jumping lunges after max front squats? I swear Jerry is a masochist at times.... I still love 'im though... :)

Friday, December 19, 2008

The bubonic plague strikes again..

I've been struck by the bubonic plague again... curses... I didn't make CF this morning cause I felt like a big steaming pile of poo. Thankfully though there are no boils... thank God for small favors, cause man THAT could be awkward... try explaining that to people... oi... hopefully I'll be up and running by sunday... I need to CF. Otherwise that Grace time is going to plummet!