Thursday, June 30, 2011

Crossfit Day 2 - Fundamentals Crash Course

June 29, Wednesday
Workout - 2nd day of 3-day Fundamentals Course (45 mins) – I don’t feel as sore today as I was yesterday since I had really good sleep last night. I’m ready for today’s new lesson. I’m beginning to get nervous before the start of the class. I feel a bit intimidated. I read on another Crossfit blog that everyone needs to check their egos at the door. I will try to take that in & hope others do as well. Almost time to go!

We started w/ Mobility stretches. Then we learned how to do Overhead Presses w/ the PVC pipe. We did it just standing straight. Then, we tried it w/ a push from our knees to help it up (Push Press). Then we split our legs (one in front, the other in back in a lunge position) & as we split, we push the bar up (Split Press). We each got to use the bar (girls used 22lbs). I did 5 Overhead Presses. They weren’t too bad. Then I tried 3 Push Presses. They seemed a lot easier. At this point, the bar was weighing me down & my arms were getting a bit tired. Then I tried the Split Press. My legs didn’t cooperate so I didn’t do it properly. Tried again & got it but my legs are wobbly from not being used to the movement along w/ the weight overhead. I did a few more & got the hang of it for now.

WOD – 300 m run, 12 Push Presses (using two 10lb hand weights), 15 box jumps (18” box both feet together) X 4 sets. My Time: 12:57 minutes.

So we were out & jogging around the parking lot. I was in front behind one guy. Started on the Push Presses. Not too bad. Then the box jumps. They do take a lot out of you after 15. Then out the door for run #2. I’m out of breath this time. There are more ppl in front of me, but that’s ok. My arms are getting more tired from the Push Presses. Then the box jumps. Again, 15 seems too long. Round 3 of the jog. Totally out of breath but trying to get it controlled & slow down my heart rate a bit. In my head, I’m halfway through, but the end still seems so far. At my station for the Push Presses & again, I’m out of breath. But I forge through them. Took a deep breath & started my box jumps. Thank goodness for all that jumping I’ve done for volleyball otherwise this might have posed a bigger challenge for me. Last round. I’m tired, but I have to finish & I don’t want to be last. I’m jogging behind a guy & I finish my final set of Push Presses. My arms are dead tired. The guy next to me starts his box jumps before me. I start mine but am trying to go at it faster, but still keeping my form. I finish before him. YAY! My time was 12:57 minutes. I think I was either the 3rd or 4th person to finish, somewhere in the middle. I want to improve on my time & not get so winded. I didn’t think 13 minutes would kick my butt so badly, but it did. My body is so sore! Let’s see what tomorrow will bring because I’m sure it will be another challenge.

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Crossfit Day 1 - Fundamentals Crash Course

June 28th, Tuesday
Workout - 1st day of 3-day Fundamentals Course (45 mins) – got there a little late due to getting lost & gps failing. Started w/ Mobility stretches to warm-up, then learned squats. Air Squats – regular squats w/ arm raised in front of you, Squats w/ a bar on your back, Squats w/ a bar in front of you & Overhead Squats using a bar overhead & your arms locked. I was able to do the first 3 okay, but the Overhead Squats w/ the lightweight PVC pipe was easy, when I used the bar, it was too heavy for me & my knees wanted to thrust forward. So I need to strengthen my arms & legs. We learned how to use the kettlebell. You basically thrust your hips to swing the kettlebell, not use your arms. We learned to do reverse lunges & push-ups (entire chest touches the ground). After learning the basics, we did our first WOD (Workout of the Day).

WOD 21-15-9 – Reverse lunges (2 for 1 each leg counts as ½) w/ 10lb ball weight overhead, kettlebell swing (10lb), push-ups. My Time: 9:01 minutes.

So we’d do 21 reps of all 3 exercises, then 15 reps, then 9 reps for a total of 45 reps for each exercise. Sounds easier than it really is. I was doing okay w/ the lunges but it got really tiring holding the weight overhead. The kettlebell is the easiest of the 3 exercises. Then the push-ups. I started doing full push-ups for the first set. My arms were nearly failing already. For the 2nd set, I was much slower. The weight overhead was really killing me, but I moved forward. I did knee push-ups since my arms were wiggly. The last set was tough, but I got through it. It took me 9:01 minutes. I was the 3rd to last person out of 7 ppl. (1 older woman had a modified workout so she finished really quickly so she doesn’t count). It was tough, very tough, but I got through it. My arms felt like putty afterwards, my knees were all brown w/ dirt from the push-ups I did. I hope I get stronger & faster as we progress. We were given notebooks to track our performance & I nearly couldn’t even write because my muscles were so exhausted. All in all, it was a good first day.