Crossfit Day 110

January 30, Monday

Workout – After 4 days off from CF, I’m feeling tired & lazy again. I hate it when I’m away for so long, but at the same time, I need a break away from CF sometimes. It’s a no win situation!

WOD – Every minute, do the following: 10 Box Jumps (20”), 10 Hand Release Push Ups.

We started w/ Back Squats 5-4-3-2-1. I was able to do 85-95-105-115-125. I went for 135lb but it was just too much for me. I got to the bottom of the squat & I was not able to get myself back up. Instead of dropping the bar behind me, I rolled my head forward & had the bar slide in front of me. That was such an idiotic thing for me to do! I could have really hurt myself. Thank goodness nothing bad happened to me, but I know I scared quite a few ppl in the gym, especially T! Oops, I will think faster next time. I don’t think I was thinking properly at the moment. I’ve learned my lesson & I’m lucky I didn’t really hurt myself. For the WOD, we were only supposed to do 5 Hand Release Push Ups, but for CF Games Standard, it was to do 10, so I did 10. It got progressively harder & I got slower, but I’m glad I still tried to push myself further. We ended w/ 2 minute Side Planks per side. Those are always fun (not)!

Crossfit Day 107 | Nutrition Challenge Day 8

January 23, Monday
Workout – Today’s WOD looks simple enough. I’m a bit glad because I didn’t feel like a really hard WOD today. But I expect it to get progressively harder the next day. haha

WOD – 8 minute AMRAP 2-4-6-8…increasing rep scheme of Right Arm DB Thrusters (15lb), Left Arm DB Thrusters (15lb), Hand-Release Push Ups For Total Reps. My Results: 14 Full Rounds + 2 Right Arm Thrusters.

We practiced Overhead Squats first. We were suppose to do 3x10 OHS, but I was only able to do 5 reps w/ the 22lb bar. The rest of the time, I had to downgrade to the PVC pipe because it was causing too much strain on my arms. I was proud I was even able to do 5 reps at 22lb! The WOD wasn’t too bad at all. It just got a little tiring when we had to add more reps to each round, but I think I did fairly well. I probably could have used a 20lb db, but I didn’t want to overdo my right arm. We did 3x20 GHD Hip Extensions afterwards.

Crossfit Day 78, Nutrition Challenge Day 29

November 7, Monday
Workout – I’m feeling unmotivated today. I seriously think I’ve been away from CF way too long that I don’t even really care to go back. I think (hope) it’s just mood swings. I’ve been pretty good about cooking over the weekend so I’ll have food for the work week, but again, the weekends are absolute killers for me. I hate sitting there & watching others eat while I munch on nuts or bananas. It’s such torture. I shouldn’t even go w/ them, but sometimes I have no choice. This Nutrition Challenge is driving me bonkers. It’s the 5th week now & I think I’m nearing my breaking point, but I’m trying to keep strong & continue w/o cheating.

WOD – 12 minute AMRAP – 9 Kettlebell Swings (35lb), 12 Hand-Release Push-Ups, 15 Box Jumps (20") for Time. My Results: 6 sets + 9|12|4 box jumps.

Back Squats 5 sets of 3 reps starting at 80% 1RM. I was able to do: 78-93-103-113-123lb today. It was not my best (135lb) but I didn’t feel like I could handle anymore today. The cold weather is making me take forever to warm up so my body is still cold. If it were warmer, I think I would have been able to do 135lb again. I’m still happy w/ my back squats though. My goal for the 12 minute AMRAP was to do at least 6 sets, which I was able to do. The 1st set took me 1:30 minutes, so I estimated my time will only increase as I fatigue, so 6 sets would be a good goal. I wish I could have finished the 7th set, but I got as close as I can. The hand-release push-ups take a lot out of me. The kb swings & box jumps went smoothly. I practice a few kipping pull ups afterwards. I can do 2 in a row, but I’m hoping I can continue to get a few more in a row w/ more practice. I finished w/ 60 GHD Sit-ups.

Crossfit Day 73, Nutrition Challenge Day 17

Wall Balls - must be over the 10ft line.
I made it! Yippee!

 
Workout – Today’s WOD is for R’s dog, Jayda, that passed away over the weekend. It’s so sad. He left her in the backyard while he was running errands. She must have slipped out the door & ran into the street, where she got hit by a car. It’s such a tragedy. She was such a beautiful dog.

October 26, Wednesday

WOD – “Jayda” – 3 Rounds 300m Run, 33 Wall Balls (8), 33 Farmer’s Lunge (36), 33 Hand Release Push Ups (knees) for Time. My Results: 24:21 minutes.

I think I did fairly well in today’s WOD. The run was easy. The wall balls are always a struggle for me, but I made sure I didn’t tire myself out, so I would rest after every 4 or so reps. I used an 8lb ball because I really didn’t want to aggravate my right shoulder/arm anymore than it already is. I had to use 36lbs for the Famer’s Lunge because the 20lb dumbbells were all taken. I think I could have gone up in weight. The hand release push ups were done on my knees, again, I didn’t want to aggravate my arms too much. I finished fairly ahead of the pack. I think I finished 3rd or so in the large group tonight. But, I’m sure others were doing higher weight for wall balls & farmer’s lunges as well as doing real hand release push ups compared to myself. I know I’m doing the best I can for my ability right now. We finished w/ 2 min Hollow Hold, which gets really intense. Your abs & head gets really tired. I did 1 min straight, but the rest were done in 10-15 second intervals.

Crossfit Day 62, Nutrition Challenge Day 1

October 10, Monday
Workout – Today is Day 1 of the Nutrition Challenge. We are not to eat any grains, rice, pasta, quinoa, oats, peanuts, corn, wheat & the like. I’m feeling a big of a headache right now. I’ve eaten no meat today. I’ve only eaten veggies, fruits & nuts. I feel full but I think that’s because of that time of the month, which keeps me from not realizing when I’m hungry. I think the headache is a good indicator that I might still be hungry. I feel tired too so it might be due to my period along w/ being hungry. I won’t be able to tell for at least another 2 days because of my period. Oh this stinks.

WOD – Rich’s BDay WOD – Complete the following 20 intervals of 46 seconds of work followed by 14 seconds of rest -

Air Squats
Hand Stand Push Box Push Ups
Air Squats
Pull Ups (red/purple)
Air Squats
Hand Release Push ups
Air Squats
Abmat Sit Ups
Air Squats
Box Jumps (20")
Double Unders
Hand Stand Push Ups Box Push Ups
Double Unders
Pull Ups (red/purple)
Double Unders
Hand Release Push ups
Double Unders
Abmat Sit Ups
Double Unders
Box Jumps (20")

My Results: 460 Repetitions.

Oh what a WOD it was today. I didn’t think it would be too bad, but boy was I wrong. The air squats went pretty well. I did at least 30+ every time. When I finally got to the box jumps, I let out a grunt & Ron (the trainer) laughed because after doing over 150 Air Squats, I had found my legs my legs didn’t want to cooperate on the box jumps! Then it was onto the Double unders. I only did 10 reps for the first set because I had my sneakers on. Once I took them off, I was able to get at ~30 reps. And I’m much better at it now. I think I was able to do 20 consecutively, although it does tire me out. The 2nd half was definitely more difficult & I was getting really tired. By the time I was done, I just crumbled to the floor & laid there to catch my breath.

Crossfit Day 52

September 23, Friday
Workout – I’m still feeling unmotivated & tired today. I’ll force myself to go to CF, but I know I always feel 100x better once I’m done w/ my WOD, so it’s always worth the effort.

WOD – 30 minute AMRAP – 300m run, Max Rep Toes to Bar, 300m run, Max Rep Hand Release Push-Ups, 300m run, 50 Double Unders.

My Results:	1st Round	2nd Round	3rd Round	Totals
Toes to Bar	4	4	3	11
Hand Release Push-Ups	40	22	22	84
Double Unders	50	50	9	109
Run	900m	900m	900m	2700m

It was drizzling outside, but we still went out to do our run. My sneakers were getting soaked from the rain & the floor inside the gym was getting damp. I still have to take my sneakers off when doing double unders because it’s so much easier to do that way. I also put a vball knee pad over my right arm so the double unders don’t whip lash my arm anymore. It helped tremendously. I am still working on my toes to bar. They are difficult for me because I get tired from hanging on the bar for too long. I was able to do at least 2 in a row (w/ my toes completely touching the bar) while the others were really, really near the bar, but didn’t touch, so that’s still an improvement for me. The HRPU were okay. We weren’t allowed to do them on our knees so I tried my hardest to keep my back in plank position, but when you’re tired, it’s pretty darn hard to do that. I figured I can do more HRPU compared to Toes to Bar so I took my time w/ the HRPU. By the time I was done w/ them & off on my 300m run, my arms were so sore that I could barely move them on my run. The double unders went ok for me. I think I’m getting better at them. The WOD was long but it went by faster than I though. For the last run, I wanted to get back inside to at least start my last set of double unders, so I sprinted that last 300m. I passed Desiree & Maureen & got a moving on my double unders. That was kind of exciting. The last of my energy was completely drained by that, but it still felt great. I do have to admit the WOD was pretty exhausting.

Crossfit Day 31

August 22, Monday
Workout – I had a really bad headache the entire day today. It wasn’t a big one but just a small nagging one. I thought maybe it was because I was hungry, so I would eat & eat, but that didn’t help. I really didn’t feel like going into CF today, but I went regardless. Once I started doing the warm-up my headache went away.

WOD – (same as Day 4 on 7/11) 12 minute AMRAP – 9 Kettlebell Swings (35lb), 12 Hand-Release Push-Ups, 15 Box Jumps (20”). My Results: 6 sets + 9 KB swings + 12 HRP + 6 Box Jumps.

We started off w/ 3-3-3-3-3 Back Squats. I was able to do 93lb a few weeks ago, so I was confident I could go up in weight. I did the exercise w/ Desiree. We started w/ 45-65-75-95-105. Yay! I can now do 105lb!!! My next goal is to do 115lb (my body weight). I can’t wait.

Our WOD was a repeat from 7/11, which was the 1st day of the unlimited month of CF for me. I was able to up my weight on the KB swings from 23lb to 35lb & increase the box jump from 18” to 20” this time. And I was able to do a few more repetitions than my 1st go at this AMRAP. My back is stronger now so the KB swings were going pretty smoothly. I am doing my HRP on my knees because I want to keep my body in the plank form as much as possible. I’ll work my way up to a real push-up as I progress. The box jumps are pretty easy for me. I think I may have to increase the height of that soon. Overall, it was a good WOD. My headache did go away while I was at CF, but once I got home, it came back. I think it’s due to lack of sleep since I was out & about all weekend. I really need to catch up on sleep.

Crossfit Day 28

August 17, Wednesday
Workout –My upper body is tight, & my legs are super tired today. The “Ben Gay” tired feeling. I think I’ve maxed myself out w/ yesterday’s WOD. I hope today is a bit easier. I’m afraid to look on the website because I don’t want to get nervous just yet.

WOD – “Isabel” 30 Snatches (135/95 32lb) for Time. My Results: 4:13 minutes. Finisher – Hand Release Push Ups (on knees). My Results: 48 HRP total.

Form Practice for Snatch/Power Snatch. I tried to use 42lb first, but I just couldn’t get the bar over my head. My weak shoulders are the culprit. I will have to keep practicing to gain strength & flexibility. I went down to 32lb & I was able to do the Snatches, but it was still challenging to me. I didn’t think it would take me over 4 minutes to finish, but by the end, I was sweating! For the Finisher – start w/ 10 hand release push ups, rest 10 seconds, repeat hand release push ups resting 10 seconds after each set of 10. Continue until you fail to more than 5 in a row. (i.e. 10HRP, 10 sec rest, 8HRP, 10 sec rest, 6HRP, 10 sec rest, 5HRP, 10 sec rest, 4HRP Fail). Your goad is to get 10 in a row, once you start declining, continue to take your 10 second rest, & then go for as many in a row as you can. Once you fall under 3 in a row, you are done. The number is not accurate because for the first 17 or so, I did regular push-ups. Then I realized I didn’t do the hand-release. I was already fatiguing at that time, so I continued onward w/ HRP. At least this time I was trying to keep the plank position the entire time, which makes them much more difficult.

Crossfit Day 19

rudie2shoes vs walking lunges

Winner: walking lunges

August 2, Tuesday
Workout – Practice back squats by doing 10-8-6-4-2. I was doing this w/ Danielle & Carolina. We started off w/ 53lb for 10 reps, then 63lb for 8 reps, then 73lb for 6 reps, 83lb for 4 reps, & finally 93lb for 2 reps. I was surprised that I was able to do 93lb back squats! How awesome is that. Tim said next time we’ll work on doing 103lb, then 113lb. I’m like, that’s crazy, that’s my entire body weight! But I think w/ a little more practice, I can do it. 93lb back squat was pretty tough & heavy but I was able to do it. My legs felt wobbly afterwards, but who cares, I did 93lb!

WOD –50-35-20 Reps Overhead Walking Lunge (each step is 1 – 10lb), Box Jumps (20”), Hand Release Push Ups for Time. My Results: 17:05 minutes.

We started outside in the hot sun w/ a 10lb plate over our heads doing walking lunges on the hard concrete. Our knees should touch the ground. Halfway through the first set (of 50) my legs were feeling the burn of the lunges. There were ~8 of us outside, & I kept feeling some guy creeping up besides me. I just kept going & I was able to finish fairly quickly. Then it was off to the box jumps. I tried one & oh my goodness, my thighs were feeling like Jell-O after all the lunges. I took a small rest at the bottom of the box & just did slow & steady for the 50 box jumps. It was definitely a cardio challenge, but I didn’t go insanely fast nor did I go really slowly, so I was able to finish, & then move onto the hand release push ups. I just zone out when I do them, & focus on the wall or the timer & just keep pushing myself to finish. In my head, I tell myself, “ok, I’m halfway through, only 25 more to go” to keep myself motivated. Another trainer was there to encourage us as well, so that helped me want to do better. I was surprised I was the first one to finish the first 50, so I was outside by myself doing the next 35 walking lunges. In my head, I tried to trick myself into thinking we only had to do 35, but I have to admit, they were rough & my knees took a beating afterwards. Tim came out to encourage me since I was the only person outside. 2 of the other guys came out while I was almost done & they were saying I was doing a good job & that I was killing the workout. That was a boost of motivation for me. I finished & was on the box jumps again. I took a breather before beginning & again, my thighs were Jell-O again. I took my time & did it at a good pace & kept at it. Zoned out once again for the hand release push ups. Then back outside for my last 20 walking lunges. I was really ahead of everyone at this point, but I still wanted to get a good time just for myself. The last 20 lunges sucked big time & my knees were feeling every touch of the concrete. Last 20 box jumps were motivated by the trainer telling me to keep going. On the floor for the last 20 hand release push ups & again, I tried to zone out. Another girl who was way behind me was encouraging me to keep going, which was really nice. I think I looked like I was dying on the floor while doing the hand release push ups. Haha I couldn’t believe I was the first to finish the WOD! Whoo-hoo! It’s my first time finishing first for any of the WODs. I was ecstatic about it because I don’t think it’ll happen again, so I’ll take what I can get. It’s such an amazing feeling, but I definitely won’t let it go to my head. We did 2x30 GHD sit-ups afterwards & they were a killer. I was out of breath when I was done w/ them. I do feel like my endurance has increase in the past few weeks & I do feel better & livelier after the WODs. My body is taking a beating from Crossfit, but I think my body likes the beatings.

Crossfit Day 17

July 29, Friday
Workout – I feel pretty good today. They were still doing Benchmark WODs, so I did another WOD that Pat (the trainer) made up. It sounded pretty intense but I figured it was either that or practice something else, so I did the WOD.

WOD –1000m row, 40 Hand-Release Push-Ups, 60 Jump Squats, 30 Kettlebell Swings (35lb), 400m run for Time. My Results: 15:00 minutes.

I did the row in a little over 5 minutes, which was faster than I thought I’d do. I thought I would be extremely tired from it since we did the 500m row on Wednesday & I was huffing & puffing. But I also did that after the “Helen” WOD which was really exhausting. The hand-release push-ups weren’t too bad. This was the first time I did the jump squats. They do take a lot out of you since you have to end the squat w/ a jump, but I took little breaks in between & was able to finish them. I had more control of the kettlebell swing this time around & I was able to do them more consistently. And finally the 400m run. I’m at my most tired & I have to go outside to do the run. It was hot & humid outside & it started to rain when I was halfway through the run. The rain actually revived me & kept me going. Afterwards, I practiced toes to bars. I think I’m getting better at it, but I still need more work getting my toes completely to the top of the bar. It was a hard WOD, but I’m glad I’m continually challenging myself. I don’t think my body will ever get use to this, but I think that’s the whole point of Crossfit.

Crossfit Day 14

July 26, Tuesday
Workout – I feel better today after a good night of rest. I’m more alert & awake during the day. But, once I got to Crossfit, I was sluggish & yawning the whole time when I was doing my stretches. I think I should have eaten something before going to work out. We started out going over the mechanics of the Clean. We start off mid-shin like we do w/ Dead Lifts, then we slowly straighten our knees a little so that we are mid-thigh, in a Hang position. There, we jump & shrug our arms up, pull up w/ our arms & get arms/elbows underneath the bar in the Clean position. The bar is now resting on your shoulders & you go into a squat. Then, you straighten your legs to finish. This move is very tiring. I was able to use only the 33lb bar. I didn’t want to hurt myself but pushing myself too much. We did 3-3-3-3-3 (5 sets of 3 at the highest weight we feel challenged by).

WOD – 7 Rounds for Time – 5 Hang Power Cleans (33lb), 15 Hand-Release Push Ups. My Results: 7:32 minutes.

I tested out doing 44lb w/ the Hang Power Clean but it was too much for me. I had no control of the bar or myself when I tried it, so I stayed w/ the 33lb bar. I will work my way up eventually. I thought the Hand-Release Push Ups were really going to take a toll on me, but I was able to get through them w/ no issues. I was all the way in the back so I only focused on the wall or closed my eyes while I did the push-ups. I was pretty fast w/ the WOD. I was the 2nd person to finish (after a guy), but I also used the least amount of weight on my Hang Power Cleans. I think I will try 44lbs next. We did 3x20 GHD Sit-ups afterwards. Those were a killer & made me super light-headed & tired.

Month 1 - Crossfit Day 4 after 10 days off

July 11, Monday
Workout – Crossfit class (45 min) – It’s been 10 days since I took the 3 day Fundamentals class, so I was really nervous going into a regular class. To be honest, I felt like throwing up thinking about the class, but I sucked it up & headed to the class. There were about 7 ppl in class. We did our own warm-up on the side while the previous class finished their WOD. Then we got to do 3-3-3-3-3 Back Squats. We kept adding weight to the bar until we feel challenged by it while doing the back squats. I ended up w/ 74lbs which is more than I had expected to be able to do, so that was great. We did 5 sets of 3. We learned to do GHD sit-ups. GHD is the machine we use (Glutes-Hamstring Developer). We have our legs in & bent when we lay down, but we straighten our legs as we shoot upright. This will work out our hip flexors. I didn’t really feel it in my hip flexors, more on my knees, which didn’t feel right, but as I did more, the pressure on my knees lessened. I also asked a gym at the gym on how to do pull-ups w/ the bands & doing the kipping motion. I couldn’t do the kipping motion using the bands. The band kept shooting my leg all over the place, but I was able to just stand on the band & do regular pull-ups.

WOD – 12 minute AMRAP (as many reps are possible) – 9 Kettlebell (26lb), 12 Hand-Release Push-Ups (on knees), 15 Box Jumps (18”). My Results: 6 sets + 9 Kettlebell + 5 Hand-Release Push-Ups.

This workout was actually doable for me. The hand-release push-ups were awkward since you have to get down to the floor, & then release your hand before you push up again. My arms are still pretty weak, but I will continue to work on it. My right shoulder issues from volleyball seem to have subsided ever since I started Crossfit. I think I’m strengthening my shoulders so the pain is no longer present. I hope I never feel the shoulder pains again. I would lay on my right arm to sleep & I’d have pain. I would just leave the arm out & it was in pain. Now I haven’t felt the pain in over 2 weeks which is great. The kettlebell & box jumps are decently easy but still challenging. I felt pretty good after the work-out & it has helped to make going to the gym less nerve-racking. There were 2 other ladies in the class that were newbies (they took the 1 mth fundamentals course) so I wasn’t alone. I told the trainer that I'll try to come in 4 days a week. We'll see how I do.