CFJax.com - 7.30.09

I'm going to shake off my sense of failure from yesterday's workout and hit this hard today:)!!

Warm-Up:
2 x 400m sprints (1@ 8.5mph, 1@ 7.5mph)
20 Ring Rows
10 Ring Dips
10 KTC's
10, 20# KB Swings
10 strict push-ups (work on perfect form) - (8/2)

CFJax.com 7.30.09 -
Ring Rows:
2 x 5 (+ 3 deadhang pull-ups w/slight initial raise)

Three rounds for time of:
20 Box Jumps, 16"
15 Ring Dips
10 HSPU progressions (toes on bench)

Time: 9:10
--Round 1: 3:03
--Round 2: 3:06
--Round 3: 3:01

Surprisingly, the box jumps were the easiest of the three for me on this! The HSPU's were tough, especially with sweaty hands:). I'm TIRED... and happy for a couple of rest days! :)

5K or CFJax.com (7.30.09)

(Image from wikipedia.org)

Well, the official WOD as posted on CF.com is 10K. But no way am I attempting that... maybe one day, but that day is NOT today:).

I'll either do a 5K this afternoon (if the weather isn't miserable) or I'll do the following WOD from CFJax.com.

Either way, I'm doing a 5K this week. So if I wimp out today, it's on for tomorrow. I hate to run, HATE IT, but I've got to start incorporating it in more, b/c I know I'm neglecting that aspect of my overall fitness.

Warm-Up:
2 x 400m sprints
20 Ring Rows
10 Ring Dips
10 KTC's
10, 20# KB Swings
10 strict push-ups (work on perfect form)

CFJax.com 7.30.09 -
Ring Rows:
5 x 5

Three rounds for time of:
20 Box Jumps, 16"
15 Ring Dips
10 HSPU progressions (toes on bench)

Time:
--Round 1:
--Round 2:
--Round 3:

---------------------------

Warm-Up:
250 single unders
20 Ring Rows
10 Ring dips
10 HSPU progressions (toes on bench)

WOD (Puppies):
5K

Time: 31:50 (@ 3.0 miles)

This was a disaster:(... I did the 5K to get it over with and I did it inside on a treadmill (which for me is MUCH harder). I ended up having to walk a good portion of this and I REALLY wanted to beat my previous time. I'm so bummed about this!!!

Clean & Jerk Ladder

Warm-Up:
250 jump ropes
20 Ring Rows
10 Ring Dips
10 KTC's
10 HSPU progressions (toes on bench)

Clean & Jerk Ladder (Puppies):
With a continuously running clock do one 45 pound Clean and Jerk the first minute, two 45 pound Clean and Jerks the second minute, three 45 pound Clean and Jerks the third minute... continuing as long as you are able.

Use as many sets each minute as needed.

Minutes: 10 minutes + 7 c&j's

I cut my warm-up short tonight b/c I didn't get started on this workout until 8PM. I love this kind of workout because it is so misleading.

I start out with 1 c&j in the first minute, then 2, and you're like "oh yeah, I can do this all night." And then the minutes just keep on ticking by and you have NO recovery time before the next set:).

Even knowing this going in, I always get a false sense of confidence in the early minutes.

**EDIT - I just realized that this workout should have been SQUAT clean & jerks... I'll have to remember that next time I do this. I probably only would have gotten to minute 5 with squat clean & jerks.**

"Cindy"

Picture taken from "Power Athletes Magazine" in an article on getting that first pull-up.

Warm-Up:
5 min. jump rope
20 Ring Rows
10 Ring Dips
20 ball sit-ups
10 HSPU progressions (toes on bench)

"Cindy" (Pack):
Complete as many rounds in 12 minutes as you can of:
5 Pull-ups/5 Ring Rows
10 Push-ups
15 Squats

Rounds: 10 + 5 Ring Rows

QUAD KILLER! I doubt I'll be able to walk tomorrow after this workout (and yesterdays). Ring rows were the strong part in this for me, push-ups got weak around round 6 and the squats hurt from the get-go:).

Wall Ball, Sit-ups, & BE's

Warm-Up:
2 x 400m sprints (1 @ 8mph, 1 @ 7.5mph)
20 Ring Rows
10 Ring Dips
10 KTC's
10 HSPU progressions (toes on bench)

WOD (Puppies):
Complete as many rounds as possible 20 minutes of:
10 Wallball shots, 4-5# ball
10 Sit-ups
10 Back extensions/**subbed Supermans

Rounds: 18 + 3 wall balls

Wall balls were the toughest on this for me. My legs just started getting really tired around round 6. I was on target with 1 round per minute until about round 12, then I started slowing down slightly. My goal going in was 15 rounds, so I'm pleased with this! :)

7/25 - 7/26 - Rest Days

Rest day today & tomorrow.

I ate beef last night and it was DELICIOUS! Adam wanted to marinate the steaks, so we did hamburgers instead. I used Son of Grok's BBQ sauce and it was delicious! I put it in the burger patties with 1 egg and then also on the side of my burger. Had cheese on it (but could have gone without), onions and fresh tomatoes from my mom's garden. YUM! I probably could have eaten two, but figured I should stick with one just to be safe:).

No pictures. Adam made fun of me last night b/c I take pictures of what I eat... okay, it's weird, but so what!

"Lynne"

Well, I want to scale up on this, but without a spotter, I'm afraid to try for max bench presses. I'll be scaling to "puppies" per the BrandX site. Maybe once the hubs gets home, I can ask him to spot me to see how heavy I can go on the benches.

Warm-Up:
250 single-unders (jump rope)
20 Ring Rows
10 HSPU progressions (toes on bench)
10 Ring Dips (2 bands)
10 KTC's

Lynne (Puppies):
Five rounds of -
Max push ups
Max pull ups or beginner pull ups (**Ring Rows**)

Total P/U: 59
Total R/R: 46
--Round 1: 18/9
--Round 2: 16/8.5
--Round 3: 14/10
--Round 4: 16/8
--Round 5: 11/11

This was a weird WOD... I'm not used to max effort workouts, I guess. My arms are so dead:).

We finally got our order of beef yesterday (20lbs.). It doesn't look like much, but I'm hoping this will last us at least a few months. Here are some pics of our meat!


























(Needless to say, the frozen pizza is not for me:)!)

"D.T."

Dinner tonight at a Japanese steakhouse with a group of friends... not sure what I can eat that's paleo there (& veggie). It's either lots of rice or fried vegetables. I think I'll go with the fried vegetables... ugh.

Warm-Up:
1 x 400m sprints (@ 7mph)
20 Ring Rows
10 KTC's
10 Ring Dips (2 bands)
10 HSPU progressions (toes on bench)

D.T. (puppies):
Three rounds for time of:
45# Deadlift, 12 reps
45# Hang power clean, 9 reps
45# Push jerk, 6 reps

Time: 3:26
--Round 1: 1:08
--Round 2: 1:13
--Round 3: 1:05

I feel like I must have been doing something wrong last time, either that, or I did something wrong this time. I should have gone up in weight, next time I will do 55#. PR on this by almost 4 minutes.


Wonderful read from Aaron at Potomac CrossFit. I need to work on being uncomfortable... especially outside of the fitness realm:).

CF Invictus + Thrusters

My metcon for today is taken from CF Invictus from 7.7.09. Looks like a fun one!

Stomach is still feeling a little iffy this morning. I did some research last night and it looks like this can take a few days to get the bacteria/enzymes all up and running again after not eating any kind of meat in a long time.

Warm-Up:
5 min. jump rope
20 Ring Rows
10 KTC's
20 ball sit-ups

Thrusters:
10-10-10

Loads: 55(6/4)-65(5/5)-45(10)

CF Invictus - 7.7.09
Three rounds for time of:
10 Handstand Push-Ups (toes on bench)
20 Ring Dips (**2 bands & scaled to 10**)
40 20 Squats

Time: 6:24
--Round 1: 1:43
--Round 2: 2:11
--Round 3: 2:30

Well, this was a complete disappointment. The warm-up pretty much took all my energy (and it was a SHORT one!). I just don't have much in the tank today due to the past few days of stomach upset and overall ickyness. The thrusters weren't too bad, I just had to split them up and I'm not happy about that.

The metcon had to be scaled back even further after the thrusters and even with that, I wasn't really pushing hard.

Definitely bummed about it, but there's always tomorrow and maybe my system will level out a little by then.

I'm giving this meat eating 2 weeks -- if I don't start feeling normal by then, I guess it's back to the soy crap for me!

Thrusters

Switching up the days a little here since my weekly dinner with Mom has been moved to Tuesday. I don't like to even think about doing a metcon on a full stomach, so I try to do lifting on Wednesday's (the night we typically have dinner). So lifting day is today and I'll be working THRUSTERS! My current goal focus is the 10, 65# thrusters. If I can do this tonight, I'm going to switch my focus to getting one handstand push-up.

Through all this, I'm continuing with my ring rows each day (except rest days) to get closer to that first dead hang pull-up. I want that goal more than anything, but I know it's probably going to be my hardest:).

Warm-Up:
5 min. jump rope
20 Ring Rows
10 HSPU (toes on bench)

Thrusters:
10-10-10

Loads:

Nope, not doing this tonight. Serious stomach distress all day today. Must be my body trying to adjust to the meat. And I thought I was home free! :)

I'll do this tomorrow plus some kind of metcon.

Pecan Crisp with Peaches & Blueberries

I made a really delicious dessert Saturday night b/c I was craving sweets and didn't want to make peach cobbler (with all that sugar/flour). Inspiration came from Mark's Daily Apple and I just tweaked it to what I had on hand.

Ingredients:
1 peach
5-10 blueberries (fresh is best, but frozen okay too, just don't thaw first)
1/2 cup pecans (chopped)
2 tbs. butter
Cinnamon & nutmeg
2 tsp. honey (optional, but delicious)

Preheat oven to 250 degrees and toast the pecans for about 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Heat 1 tbs. butter over med-low heat. Add in sliced peaches and coat in cinnamon & nutmeg to your preference. Cook for 10-15 minutes.

Add cooled pecans to food processor and pulse until finely ground. Slowly drizzle in 1 tbs. of cooled, melted butter while pulsing.

Add this crumb crust to the bottom of a small baking dish and push down to form a loose crust. Top with peaches & fresh/frozen blueberries and bake in a 350 degree oven for 5-10 minutes (just to warm everything up together).

I topped mine with 2 tsp. of honey and it really sweetened it up, but it could go without as well if you didn't want the sugar.

I imagine the crust would work well with any kind of nut (almonds, walnuts, etc.).

I think this is sort of paleo, except for the butter, right? :)

CF Jax.com 7.17.09

Warm-Up:
2 x 400m sprints
20 Ring Rows
10 KTC's
10, 20# KB Swings
10, 55# Thrusters

CFJax.com WOD from 7.17.09
With a continuously running clock, do 1 pull up/1 push up the 1st minute, 2 pull ups/2 push ups the 2nd minute and so on for 12 minutes. if you max out your reps prior to the 12 minutes, revert back to the 1/1 rep scheme and start over until you reach the 12 minute time-cap.

(**I'll be scaling this to Ring Rows**)

Post highest minute completed for score.

2 min rest

AMRAP in 10 mins of:
- bodyweight deadlift x 10 (**I'll be subbing 95#**)
- burpees x 5

Post bodyweight & total rounds completed for score

2 min rest

With a continuously running clock, do 1 abmat sit up/1 leg raise the 1st minute, 2 abmat sit ups/2 leg raises the 2nd minute and so on for 12 minutes. If you max out your reps prior to the 12 minutes, revert back to the 1/1 rep scheme and start over until you reach the 12 minute time-cap.

Post highest minute completed for score.

Ring Rows/Push-Ups: 10 rounds, then started over and completed 2 rounds (to make the full 12 minutes)

DL/Burpees: 4 rounds @ 7:30, then stopped b/c the weight was too heavy for that many reps. I could feel my form getting sloppy and I was afraid to continue.

Sit-ups/Leg Raises: 12 full rounds.. oh yeah! I figured this would be the cake-round... I should know better. This was a killer. My abs were so sore it was difficult doing those last 12 leg raises. I was gritting my teeth to get them done:)!

Food Update:
Had a chicken thigh for lunch today w/salad... I felt greasy (not sure this is the right way to describe it) after I ate it. Wasn't hungry around 4:30, when I usually am starving for a small snack before working out. I also wasn't able to have a small snack before bed last night. I'm hoping this is just my body adjusting to eating meat again. I don't want to lose my appetite. Not really hungry for dinner either...

I did it...

I ate meat last night. (!!!!!!)

It was a little hard right before the chicken was done. I cried and wasn't sure I could do it, but the hubby reminded me that we had already ordered half a hog, 20lbs. of beef, and bought a chest freezer:). So I pulled myself together, gave myself a pep talk:), and took a bite while I was carving it up.

It was really nice to sit down to a meal with the hubs and actually eat the same thing. That hasn't happened in SEVEN years.

And I'm feeling okay about it all this morning, I know the animal didn't suffer, in life or in death.

No digestive upset either, which is a relief! On to a paleo lifestyle! :)

Here's a picture of the cute little chicken, all dressed up:

Rest Days 7/18 - 7/19

Rest days this weekend. Adam and I took our 2 & 3 year old nieces to the zoo today. Nothing planned yet for tomorrow:).

Muscle-Ups (Puppies)

I'm so happy it's Friday! Adam was out of town yesterday, but he'll be home tonight. Today is a moving day at my office, so it's going to be lots of chaos. I'll be happy to get home and hit on something:).

Warm-Up:
2.5 min. jump rope (300 single-unders)
2.5 min. punching bag
20 Ring Rows
10 HSPU progressions (toes on bench)
5 (2 band) ring dips (not full ROM, though)

WOD:
For time -
20 squat muscle-ups

Time: 2:02

Filthy 50 - CFJax 7.13.09

Time to beat on this is 26:32 (from 4.23.09).

Warm-Up:
2 x 400m sprints (1 @ 8mph, 1 @ 7.5mph)
20 Ring Rows
10 HSPU progessions (toes on bench)

Filthy Fifty (35):
For time -
35 box jumps (16")
35 jumping pull-ups (on chair)
35 KB swings (20#)
35 walking lunges
35 ab mat sit-ups
35 push press (45#)
35 back extensions
35 wall ball shots (4-5#)
35 burpees
70 single jump ropes

Time: 19:47

Well, I certainly blew my previous time on this out of the water:)! I couldn't believe the time when I stopped the clock b/c I thought for sure I was doing burpees for what felt like at least 10 minutes.

I wasn't really feelin' it when I was warming up (hence the slow 400's), but once I got going, I had alot of aggression in me! Must be all the stress from work seeping into my workout. Whatever it was, I'm happy:).

OHS

Warm-Up:
Burgener warm-up
10 push-ups
20 Ring Rows
10, 20# DB Swings
10 Handstand hold attempts

Overhead Squats:
5-5-5-5-5 reps

Loads: 45-55-75(MAJOR FAIL!)-65(1/5 FAIL)-45

Okay, this was a bit less successful than I had planned. The 55's were strong, so I figured I would jump up to 75# to test myself. It was completely unsuccessful and I had to dump the weight on the first OHS. HUGE dent in my floor now which I'm really sad about (hope the hubby doesn't see it!). I went down to 65#'s and had to dump the weight on the 5th rep. I managed to almost catch the weight, but I might have dislodged my spine a bit and it still slammed down on the ground. The last set of 45# felt weak, but I think it was more my trepidation than anything else.

I really need to get mats for the basement and more ROOM!

Sit-ups & BE's

Warm-Up:
2 x 400m sprints (1@ 8mph, 1@ 9mph on treadmill)
20 Ring Rows
10 Push-ups Chest too sore from "Nate"
5 Ring dips (limited ROM w/ 2 bands)
10 HSPU progressions (toes on bench)

Five rounds for time of:
30 sit-ups
25 Back extensions

Time: 7:36
--Round 1: 1:20
--Round 2: 1:26
--Round 3: 1:38
--Round 4: 1:32
--Round 5: 1:40

WORKOUT #3 FROM THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN REGIONAL QUALIFIERS
For time:
From the ground to overhead anyhow.
3000lbs (I'll do 55#s for 55 reps, Clean & Jerk)

Time: 13:27

My back & stomach were BURNING around the fourth set. I love this workout, though. Simple and brutal.

The overhead lifting was considerably harder. I started out with a goal of 5 sets of 10, then 1 set of 5. HA! Not even close. I got the first set of 10, after that, it was sets of 4 or 5.

I got interrupted by the hubs at rep #37 b/c it was of immediate urgency that he ask me whether he could spray weed killer. I had to stop the clock and discuss this extremely important issue with him and then get fussed at about my attitude on being interrupted! UGH! He thinks it's stupid that I care about what time I get.... okay, rant over:).

"Nate"

Well, I guess I needed more time off than just one day... so I took FOUR days. I know... and it has been lazy central around here, except I did get alot of cleaning done and two cars washed, so it wasn't a total waste:).

I'm really happy to get back at it today. I always feel like my day is completely worthless if I don't work out.

Warm-Up:
2.5 min. jump rope (300 single unders)
20 Ring Rows
10 HSPU progressions (toes on bench)

"Nate" (Puppies):
Complete AMRAP in 12 min. of:
2 squat muscle-ups (tutorial here)
4 push-ups
8, 15# KB swings

Total Rounds: 14

Thrusters
1-1-1-1-1-1-1

Loads: 45-55-65-75-65-65-65

My goal going into "Nate" was 9 rounds, so I'm thrilled with the 14! The push-ups started getting tough around round 6. I definitely need to work on push-ups more. I saw my push-up strength improve during the burpee challenge, but I've slacked off since then.

The thrusters were tiring after the workout, but I'm thrilled with the 75#s!

Rest Day

Decided to take a rest day today and do "Nate" tomorrow. My body is just feeling sluggish and sore, so I'm going to take it easy today.

Front Squats & Sit-ups

Well, I've been doing ring rows for over 3 weeks now. I'm going to test out the pull-up strength tonight by trying to do a dead-hang and see how close I am. I can do one if I push a little off the ground with my feet, it's just that initial pull that I haven't quite got the strength for yet. So I'll try a few in the warm-up tonight.

Warm-up:
5 min. jog
20 Ring Rows
10 ball sit-ups
Attempt dead-hang pull-ups

Puppies:
21-15-9-3 rep rounds of:
45# Front squat
Sit-up

Time: 4:14:50
--21 reps: 1:27
--15 reps: 1:24
-- 9 reps: 0:56
-- 3 reps: 0:27

I probably should not have done this workout right after "The Chief" b/c my legs are smoked! The front squats got increasingly more difficult, but the weight I chose was definitely manageable.

The dead hang pull-up attempts were a bit of a bust, BUT I can see increased strength in the initial pull... I'm just not there yet. I'm definitely stronger once I get to the point where my arms are slightly bent. FRUSTRATING... but progress is progress. :)

Carnivorous update-- planned to have meat in the house tonight, but after seeing the price list of the farm I liked the best... it wasn't happening. Did some more research and found some more affordable grass-fed (& humanely treated animals) closer to home. Hopefully, tomorrow or at least the weekend. :)

The top choices now are:
Weather Top Farm
Ellett Valley Beef Co.

"The Chief"

Warm-Up:
4 min. punching bag
20 Ring Rows
10 KTC's
10, 20# DB Swings
20 ball sit-ups
10 HSPU progressions (Shins on bench)

"The Chief" (Puppies):
Max rounds in 3 minutes of:
45 pound Power cleans, 3 reps
6 Push-ups
9 Squats

Rest 1 minute. Repeat for a total of 5 cycles.

Post rounds completed for each of the 5 cycles.

--Round 1: 4
--Round 2: 3
--Round 3: 3 (+ 3 PCs & 6 push-ups)
--Round 4: 2 (+ 3 PCs & 6 push-ups - all but 6 push-ups were knees down)
--Round 5: 4 (all push-ups were knees down)

Felt very sick after this work-out (headache, nausea). Took about 15-20 minutes to recover. Round 4 was pathetic and I basically just gave up with 2:30 on the clock. The squats were actually the hardest thing for me, which is weird, b/c it's usually the push-ups.

Last time I did this was here. Improved on the push-ups, but the rounds were roughly the same. I've got to get faster/better at air squats.

CFJax.com - 7.2.09

So much for my vow to eat fewer carbs on the weekends. Yesterday was a lazy day and I didn't do a single thing. We planned to take my nieces to the zoo, but it rained all day long. I have to remember that if I don't do anything, I'm more tempted to snack throughout the day.

Warm-Up:
5 min. jump rope
20 Ring Rows
5 ring dips (band-assisted)
20 ball sit-ups

"Nancy" (scaled):
5 rounds for time of:
400m Run
45# Overhead Squats x 15

Time: 21:25
--Round 1: 3:46 (@ 8mph on treadmill)
--Round 2: 4:22 (@ 7.5mph)
--Round 3: 4:33 (@ 7.0mph)
--Round 4: 4:23 (@ 6.5mph)
--Round 5: 4:21 (@ 6.5mph)

Phew, really ran out of gas on the runs. I think this low carb diet is getting to me on the metcons. Hopefully it'll even out once my body gets used to it and/or I start getting healthier protein sources (i.e. meat).

I hit my stride with the OHS on the 3rd round. They finally started to feel somewhat normal and not as if I was teetering on the edge of falling with each rep:).

Rest Days 7/4 & 7/5

Rest day yesterday and today. Saturday was spent doing yard work; today was spent being a lazy butt.

Power Snatch & Push Jerks

Well, the WOD today is 75# Power Snatches for 75 reps. NOT quite there yet with the power snatches. I still need to try to get the form down, so that's what I'll be working on today.

Warm-Up:
2 x 400m sprints (1 @ 9mph, 1 @ 8mph)
10 Ring Rows
10 Push-ups
5 Handstand hold attempts
5 Ring dips (2 bands)

WOD:
Power snatch practice

then,

Push Jerks
3-3-3-3-3

Loads: 45-65-75-65(2)-45

The last rep of the second set of 65# was incomplete b/c I popped myself in the jaw with the bar. I felt like an idiot, but no permanent damage done except a red & sore chin:).

The snatches felt extremely awkward. I'm going to have to study some videos and try to work it out in pieces b/c it's just not clicking.

Now off to 4th of July festivities (they do fireworks on the 3rd)!

Happy 4th of July!!!

CFJax.com - 7.1.09

Off from work tomorrow because of the holiday! Pretty stoked about that:).

Thrusters are a HUGE goat of mine so I figured I should do them as much as possible.

Oh, and I picked up "Good Calories. Bad Calories" from the library yesterday. So far it's a great read! Lots of science and logic:).

Warm-Up:
5 min. jump rope
10 push-ups
10 ring rows
10 KTC's

CFJax.com WOD (scaled) - 7.1.09:
For time -
9 Thrusters, 45#
60 Jumping pull-ups
15 Thrusters, 45#
15 Jumping pull-ups
15 Ring Rows
21 Thrusters, 45#
15 Ring Rows

Time: 10:01

Didn't eat before this workout since I was able to do it earlier in the day (4PM). Felt good up until about the last 2 reps of the thrusters... phew, tough:).

CFT

Time to test my strength again:). It's heavy CFT day!

Warm-Up:
Burgener warm-up
10 ring rows
20 ball sit-ups
5 ring dips w/2 bands

CrossFit Total:
Back squat, 1 rep
Shoulder press, 1 rep
Deadlift, 1 rep

Loads: 285 (PR by 10#s!)
Back squat: 75F-65-65
Shoulder Press: 75F-65-75F
Deadlift: 125-135-145

Just could NOT get that 75# shoulder press no matter how hard I tried. I could push press it up, but not without any hip action:). Deadlifts felt good. The 145 was pushing it a little, I felt like my eyeballs might pop out:). That's normal, right?