It's Been A Long Time Coming!

Well my friends, I finally got to do a couple of Crossfit WODs. And let's just say.....I'm exhausted. Friday night, Phoenix had to work late. So I decided that I was not going to sit at home and wait for him. So I texted Mel, and decided to go for Friday's night class.

WOD:
3 rounds for time:
3 Power Cleans
3 Front Squats
3 Deadlifts
50 Double Unders

I knew going into this that it was not going to be the prettiest workout. Squats (especially Front squats) have been a weakness of mine. Power cleans and deadlifts I was not worried about. I ended up using 52# for the lifts. I know that I could have done more on the power cleans and deadlifts, but stupid front squats. I looked back, and 2 years ago I could do 100# on front squat, and now....half that. Kind of depressing. I had to substitute 2x for the double unders, but I finished in a decent time of 5:47. I didn't have to do any burpee penalties because I didn't let go of the bar. I was determined not to!

Saturday comes, and I am sore. It was a struggle to get out of bed. But I did. This workout was not fun. I did enjoy Friday's workout, but today. Ug. I really really did not like it at all. It wasn't that bad. I just came close to throwing up several times. And my legs were like jello.

WOD:
In 12 minutes with a partner (completing everything together with no separating out reps)
30 air squats
100m shuttle run
15 push ups
100m shuttle run

My partner and I were only able to complete 3 full sets.

Reading it, it isn't a difficult workout. I was having so many problems with the squats, and then combined with the extreme nausea....it just wasn't happening. :( I had to scale back the squats to 15 during my last set. I am sure that 98% of this was mental, but I just couldn't get it together.


After examining these past two workouts, I am left with conflicting emotions. I missed the training so much, but I feel like I am back at square one. True, I haven't been training in two years, but still is hard to see how much I have regressed. I hate feeling like the worst, and I am surrounded by all these women who are so much tinier than I am, and I feel like the fat kid back in elementary school. I have to keep reminding myself that I lost over 30 pounds over a year ago, and have kept every bit of that off. But I feel like I am at a crossroads. I want so much to come back, but I feel like I have no self confidence in myself. I truly hate not being good at something, and well....I am right back to where I started. And all my CF friends remember how good I used to be, and where I am now is no where near where I was back then. I feel that when I start coming back there will be added pressure on me to preform to where I was, not where I am now. I am just so conflicted. I want to go, but absolutely hate scaling back reps and weight because it makes me feel not good enough. Again, I know this is all mental, but it is hard to get through those emotions. And on top of everything else I have going on, it just seems like too much and I don't know what to do or where to go. :(

Hang, Squat, Press, GO!

WOD for 7-28-2009

Every minute on the minute for 20 minutes:
3 Hang power cleans
3 Front squats
3 Push-press

Ok, so I modified this a little bit. I didn't have a good way to do the "every minute on the minute" as there wasn't a clock near me, nor do I have a timer that would go off every minute. So, I told myself that I will just do 20 rounds. I used the 45# bar. I would do 2 rounds, and then take a few seconds break, and then do 2 more rounds. After the 10th round, I was like, man, am I tired....I really wanted to stop when I got to round 15. But I didn't. I kept thinking about Carrie, Lindsey and Sandy yelling at me to keep going and that I had to finish so I didn't let them down. After the 12th round, some guy comes up to me and was like how many more sets do you have? I told him 8. He looked at me like I was from another planet. Hehe...

Diet for yesterday:
Breakfast: 2 pieces of bacon, 1 scoop scrambled eggs (I hate scrambled eggs!), 6 almonds, 1/2c yogurt (sorry, I love yogurt!)
Lunch: Chicken fajitas! MMM...doctor's lounge food is really yummy! (No sour cream or cheese on my fajitas though)
Dinner: Spicy lime chicken breast cooked in olive oil, 8 almonds, 2 sticks of celery

On another note...I swore I would never watch this show, but since nothing else was really on, I watched it. The show is "More to Love". I don't plan on watching this show on a regular basis. But watching it makes me so thankful for CrossFit. There was 20 girls who were overweight. Granted, not all of them were obese. A couple of them, just needed to lose a few pounds around the middle, and they would be all set. As I am sitting here and listening to these women, I am amazed at how happy they are that they are "big and beautiful". Now, I am all about loving yourself and being happy. But are you *REALLY* happy when you are 300 pounds? Then there were some girls that were like "I've never had a date" and "I just want someone to love me for me". They were pretty much all complaining that people judge them on the way they look, and that they should have to change.....and how "big girls" need love too. Watching these obese (excuse me, curvy and voluptuous women) made me want to throw up my nice healthy (and quite tasty) dinner up.

And the guy is a bigger guy himself. He was saying that "life is too short to worry about dieting and watching calories". I don't know how exactly I feel about this statement. Life can be long and fulfilling. Yes, sometimes it starts to get frustrating when everyone is eating ice cream all the time, but they are obese and don't care what they eat. I do care. But I also don't take everything to the extreme. If I want ice cream, I will have a SMALL portion. Not the whole carton.

Not sure where this rambling is going. I know that I will never be a size 2. And I realize that I have problem areas that I am working on. I do know that eating well and working out will give you results. Seeing those women makes me want to work that much harder so I don't become one of them. Thankfully, I have got great friends and family that would NEVER let me get that far! So, Thank You guys for not allowing me to become a 488 pound person that can not fit into a CT scanner! (True story that happened at work today, might have to send him to the zoo)

Come Take The Pain From Me

WOD for 5-31-2009

"Anthony"

AMRAP in 15 minutes:
100m run
9 box jumps
6 burpees
3 power cleans
1 front squat

In honor of the amazing Ant at our gym, the workout today was Anthony. Fun stuff. I enjoyed this workout actually. The runs felt good. Box jumps..eh...did little box jumps for the fist 3 rounds, and by the 4th round, my legs were so tired, so I switched to box steps. Burpees...yuck...still doing my modified burpees. I kept telling myself...it's only 6 at a time.. just 6. (They still suck though! Even though it was just 6!). Power cleans...I used 53#. I could have done more weight on the Power Cleans, but after the last power clean, we had to do a front squat. I know that my front squat form isn't the best, so I chose to go lighter on the weight and really work on my front squat form.

I finished 6 full rounds and then a 100m run. I was technically 3 seconds from finishing the 100m run when Sam called time, but I finished out the run, and counted it.

After the workout, I did 3 rounds of 15 glute ham sit ups and back extensions with Carrie and Sandy.

Diet for yesterday:
Breakfast: granola, 9 almonds, strawberries, 3 slices of turkey bacon
Lunch: 4 lime chicken strips cooked in olive oil, 5 baby carrots, 1 passionfruit tea from Fat Straws with Mango Stars, 9 almonds
Dinner: 3 slices of turkey, Salad with mixed veggies, sunflower seeds
Total Water Intake: 1.5L

Currently Listening to: "Bullet With Your Name" by Scars of Life

If You Only Knew

WOD for 5-13-2009

Front Squat
3-3-3

Met Con:
5 Rounds of:
10 Pistols
10 Ball Slam to Box Jump (holding the ball)

Was not in the proper midset for Crossfit yesterday. Hence my horrible performance. Lifting weights in 90% mental. And I didn't have the mindset. Front Squat, form was crap. Lets just be honest. I knew at 95# that when I went up to 100#, it wasn't going to be good. I should have listened to that internal voice and stopped, but no, I am stubborn, and did 100#. My back rounded, and it just wasn't good. I did get 3 at 100#, but it was the worst form anyone has ever seen.

Working sets were:
90-95-100

The MetCon....pistols were done using a green band. Ball Slams, used the 10# ball, and the small box. Couldn't see the box, so I did box steps. Again, the mental aspect of Crossfit wasn't there. Time was slow, enough said

Time: 10:28

Here is what I am wondering, is it better to go to CrossFit and have a bad day, or just not go at all? I missed the day before due to a friend having a personal crisis, and needing to be there for a friend. So, that is an added stress in my life, and being woken up all during the night by my friend's cell phone going off. I am wondering if I did more harm than good? I can honestly not think of one positive thing that I did in the workout yesterday. It was just a bad day all around.

Diet For Yesterday:
Breakfast: 1/2c oatmeal, 3 pieces of bacon, 6 almonds, 5 strawberries
Lunch: turkey burger minus the bun, (actually it was more like turkey wrapped in lettuce), 9 peanuts, blackberries, 1/2 chocolate chip cookie
Dinner: Salad, 7 almonds, sun flower seeds, and 2 bites of ice cream (told you it was a bad day)
Total Water Intake: 2L

Currently Listening to: "If You Only Knew" by Shinedown

Am I Sweating, Or Are These On My Face?

WOD for 4-9-2009

WOD #1 with Linda
600m run (warmup)
Tabata Pull ups, shuttle runs, and Glute Ham Sit Ups

WOD #2
21-15-9
Deadlift
Front squat
Burpees

The first workout was fun. I am really starting to like tabatas. I usually approach it with the attitude, "It's just 20 seconds!" But it never fails that around oh, the 3rd one, I am like 5 more? Seriously? The 20 seconds keep getting longer, and the 10 seconds rest keeps getting shorter. Oh well. Like I said, fun stuff! I didn't keep track of my numbers. I was just doing as many as I could. Glute Ham Sit Ups are getting easier. Major props to Linda for doing it in the weight vest. I will get there one day!

The second WOD...wow...this was a beating! When Sam was saying that the workout should take about 15 minutes and no longer than 20...I started getting worried. The deadlift was supposed to be bodyweight and the front squat was supposed to be 75% of bodyweight. I obviously scaled back. Deadlifts were done at 125# and front squat was done at 55#.

This was a tough, yet fun, workout. During the set of 21, I felt like I was going to throw up. And during the set of 15, it seemed like a really good idea! During the set of 9 front squats...man, I started to crack. I could feel the tears coming. Sam helped push me through the front squats, and Dee helped me with the burpees. When I finished...I just sat on the floor and cried. Dee came over and put her arms around me, and I just cried. That feeling is so hard to explain. I gave it everything that I had. This workout wore me out. It was one of the best beat downs I have had. Thanks Koy for the encouragement with the deadlifts. I wonder how my form is when I do many reps in a row, and with you telling me that it was looking good, it helped me get through them. And as many times as Koy and Sam tell me, I have problems with the high elbows on front squats....grr......Sam, I really did appreciate your help with that last set of 9. It was tough, but your coaching really helped me.

You guys are one of the reasons that I keep coming to CFDC day after day. There are still things that I struggle with, but with the excellent coaching and support that I get from my friends, I know that I can do this. And any WOD you put in front of me, I am going to complete to the best of my abilities.

Time for the WOD: 16:46

Diet for yesterday:
Breakfast: egg white omelet, bacon, 1/2 c pineapple
Lunch: Salad, with baked chicken & mandrin oranges
Dinner: 2.5 slices of turkey bacon and a handful of almonds (did not feel like cooking or eating after the WOD, but I ate something)
Snack: blackberries, strawberries, turkey bacon, almonds

Currently Listening to: "One Foot Wrong" by Pink

You're Up and You're Down

WOD for 4-1-2009

WOD #1 with Mel
800m run
max pull ups x 3 rounds
3 rounds of:
10 Glute Ham Sit ups
10 Back Extensions

WOD #2
Front Squat
2-2-2-2-2

Turkish Get-Up
Heavy Single


The first work out went well. My pull ups are improving. The first two rounds I used the green band, and the third round I used the blue band. First round I got 17 without stopping. Second round I got 14. The third round...the blue band is harder than the green for sure. I was able to get 8. Mel helped me a bunch by reminding me to make sure that I push my head through. This should really help when I can finally get the Kip down. I am finally able to do glute ham sit ups! I may be slower at them, but I am getting the range of motion down.

The second workout...fun!!!! I was excited to get to try to get a new front squat PR. Heavy work sets were:
65-75-85-90-05-100

Ok, so I did one more set than was required...but I got greedy!! Thanks KOY for the help with my elbows. Flexibility is an issue, but when I was able to get them higher, the easier the front squat was. The turkish get up was...interesting. My right side is stronger than my left. I was able to get up to 30#, and I got up with the 26# KB but when I was going back down to the ground, my arm gave out.

Diet for yesterday:
Breakfast: oatmeal, bacon, orange
Lunch: Salad with Mediterranean chicken
Dinner: Almond crusted chicken (new recipe...was amazing!!), 1/2c green beans
Snack: Cashews, strawberries
Total Water Intake: 2.5L

Currently Listening to: "Hot N Cold" by Kate Perry

It Could Be Something In The Air

WOD for 3-30-2009

WOD #1 with Mel
800m run
Tabata Mash Up (Box Jumps & Wall Ball)
800m run

WOD #2:
Push Jerk
1-1-1-1-1

Tabata Mash-Up
Front Squat, 45 pounds
Ring Push-Ups

So, week one of 2 of days with Mel. I must admit, that when she told me this, I was nervous.....because if you know me, I hate running. And I had to do 2 800m? Granted, yeah, we did 4 400's last week, but for some reason this just seemed scarier! For the box jumps I used the big box, and did step ups. Averaged about 9 for each 20 second interval. Wall balls...such a different story. I began having sciatica (inflammation of the sciatic nerve) over the weekend. I finally got on a Medrol dose pack today, and by the time it was time for the workout, I was feeling better, but didn't want to aggrevate it. Ok, so back to the Wall Balls...I did 4 rounds with the 10# and 4 rounds with the 6#. The only reason I dropped to the 6# was I went too far foward and started to feel that sharp pain go down my thigh. Figured it was better to drop in weight than to stop. (Oh, and if my doctors found out that I was working out with sciatica, they would totally kick my butt.....but what can I say? I am addicted to CrossFit!!!)

WOD #2:
I have been looking forward to doing this for sooo long! I was eager to find my one rep max. Lindsey, Sandy and I warmed up with the 15# bar, and we were our own rack for a while! Lindsey and I eventually moved to a real rack with the guys! The one reps looked like this:
65-75-95-105 (f)-105!

That last one 105 looked UGLY! But I did it. Actually it wasn't that bad, I just needed to get a better Dip-Drive. The Tabata Mash Up was not fun at all! Those 8 rounds were never going to end, or so I thought....We did the weight as Rx'd...45# for the Front squat. We started off on parallete push ups, but after the first round, we went to knee push ups. That was hard! For the front squats, I got 5, (wrists were hurting after this but the weight wasn't that bad...)and for the push ups...my number for the parallete was 6, with the knee push ups my lowest was 8 and my highest was 11....push ups are getting better. And once my back gets back to 100%...everything will be great!

On an overall note....the 6PM class is amazing! Everyone there brings such intensity Even if we are not the best, we still get out there and give it everything we have. We leave everything we have there! Like the title says....It could be something in the air! This is a wonderful group of people, and I am so happy to be a part of it!


Diet for yesterday:
Breakfast: 2 slices of turkey bacon, 1/2c pineapple
Lunch: didn't eat
Dinner: 4 baked chicken strips, 5 almonds
Snack: grapes and peanuts
Total Water Intake: 1.5L
*Note about the diet and to why it wasn't very good...when my body doesn't feel well, I have no appetite, and I don't like forcing myself to eat. Water intake could have been better.

Currently Listening to: "Something in the Water" by The Jealous Girlfriends