Barbara....a brazen hussy!

I was finally able to face my obsession with Barbara, and I must admit, I kind of liked her. This was definitely a way wicked hard workout, but there is a sick part of my mind that is really starting to bond with the ass-kicking, pure pain workouts. It's a bit on the bizarre side, I'm not sure what is happening to me....

Barbara - 20 pullups, 30 pushups, 40 sit ups, 50 squats - 5 rounds for time. The good news, I actually finished, but with a caveat. In reality, I was in round 4 with just the situps and squats left when time was called. I opened my big mouth, and said something to the effect of "aw shucks, 5 more minutes and I could have finished" Low and behold, I was given the go ahead to finish it all up. Final time was 39:23 (I think that was the seconds amount, but I'm not positive).

Ok, I will readily admit - the pullups were lame, but jumping pullups usually are! However, I sure as heck can't do 20 deadhangs in a row, and can't really kip until I'm outta the bands - so, what else is there? We'll just keep workin' on these - they are coming along ok. Worked them Red band low bar.
Pushups were full on boy style. By the last couple rounds, I cranked out the first 10 then had to go in 5's.
Sit ups - regular style..
Squats - taking a leap from 15 in a row to 50 is kind of a big 'un. These felt like they took forever, and I have a hunch that these may cause me a bit of pain tomorrow.

I got through it, and I'm darn-tootin' glad I did!! Thanks to everyone cheering me on at the end, I know I wouldn't have finished as quickly without that.

Again, this is one I would rather do than Helen, and I was thinking about that little fact, and wondering about it. This is definitely more difficult, so it didn't make alot of sense. However, I did come to the conclusion that it's all about the breathing. Running, there is no rhyme or reason to how you should breath - yes, you try to keep a rhythm but it never really works. With Barbara, doing situps/pushups/squats - you know when to inhale and exhale - when you need to stop it's because of muscle exhaustion, not because "holy crap, I can't breathe!" I think that explains my total and complete hatred of running in a nutshell - for those who think I'm completely nuts!

Now, I'm just going to wait for the onset of pain....although I'm crossing my fingers in hope that it never really sets in. HA! We'll see....

Happy Birthday Jonathan!! Hope it was a good one and you had some ice cream!!

T-giving mish-mash and my latest frustration

Ok - I must confess, when I realized the Thanksgiving workout was not going to be posted, I definitely got a sense of dread - because not posting it, was an omen of pure evilness. Walking into the gym that morning, and looking at the whole workout, written on the board, then turning around and seeing the 8am group collapsed into heaps on the floor, didn't really do much to alleviate that dread. However, when it came down to it, this was an excellent pre-Thanksgiving gorge fest ass-wholloping!
Started off with "Micro Cindy", AKA 6 minutes of Cindy (5 Pullup/10pushup/15 squats). In general, I like Cindy, so 6 minutes is not so bad. Got in 4 rounds plus 2 pullups. Red Bands high bar.
Next - Fight gone bad - 2 rounds. I got 62 first round and 60, I think it was, the second round.
Then, Tabata Cleans - ok - In case you didn't know, I hate cleans with a blood red hot passion. They are just a strange movement. ...and doing them Tabata style...YUKKO! But, I managed to get 40 in - which averaged out to about 5 per round, which I was good with. Then came Tabata burpees. This was an ending created in hell. Burpees are hard enough, but ending with them, Tabata style?? OY VAY! I only got 20 in....but hey, that was still ending on 20 burpees. Overall, definitely one of the more difficult workouts, but I must say, and call me crazy if you will, I would rather do this than Helen!! Have I mentioned that I hate running lately? ...Hmm...is it me, or am I suddenly filled with alot of hatred? Ok - hate may be too strong of a word,but plain and simple, running and cleans kinda suck.

Bench Press is quickly taking the place of pullups as the most frustrating thing! At least I am feeling like I am making improvements in my pullups - I feel like I'm close to where I was in the Blue Bands when I dumped them - still have alot of work to do, but I definitely am feeling better about them. Bench Press on the other hand, I'm in a bit of a rut. Stuck and just not getting any better...it's 135-140 at 1 with pause, or 145-150 no pause. Today, I couldn't get past the 135, despite hitting 140 before. It was definitely a bit disappointing and frustrating. So, now that I've whined for a bit, I'll turn to the glory of the TGU's and bask in that for a bit longer. (In case you haven't guessed, I don't really like dwelling on the negative too long, sucks too much energy and life outta ya!)

Hatred and love are sooo close!

Oh, so much to say...I'll start with the bad......tonight, Helen. Hate her, she is an evil swine. Helen=200m run, 21 Kettlebell swings, 12 pull ups 3 rounds for time. BLECH! Have I mentioned lately that I really hate running?? It's one of those evil tasks devised to make you huff and puff until you think your lungs are going to explode. Sad that 1/4 of a mile makes me say that, but I'm hoping that this paints a vivid picture of my hatred of it. Will I do it? yes....but unless given a good reason, apparently I'll be bitching the whole way. I guess I'm a bit of a whiner at heart. Finished this one in....14:40. Quicker than last time, but a tad bit slower than the time before. Red bands, low bar.

Now, a bit happier - Diane on Monday. Deadlift 155/Handstand Pushup 21/15/9. Crud, I can't remember the time on it.....hmmm..no clue. I believe it was a tiny bit faster than last time. On the really positive side, my arm didn't go numb for a couple weeks from the HSPU's this time. Just a finger or two and it didn't last long. I was a tiny bit disappointed in the range of motion overall- got some with a decent range, but then some were kind of sad and pathetic. Again, breathing got in the way. Have you ever really tried to catch your breath while upside down, blood rushing to your brain?? It doesn't work quite as well. Next time, I'll have to concentrate on the range more, even if my time deteriorates in a big way.

Now...onto the good stuff. Turkish Getups for weight. I have to say, I LOVE this one. Tried it with the barbell, because I think that is the coolest looking thing on the planet. Did 35, 40, 45, 50 - not such a good 50, faltered quite a bit. Then tried the 50 one more time, and got it! I have to say, I am super duper-uber glad that I didn't attempt to go up and redid the 50 for success. I left yesterday, feeling super geeked about the whole thing, and in reality, I still am! First of all - it was a PR -ok, maybe only a PR by 1 measly pound, but it was with a barbell, and not the kettlebell this time - so added degree of difficulty, but extra element of coolness! I have come to the conclusion that this is my all time favorite lift..it's so complex, and takes such a combination of strength, coordination and balance that it's just awesome!....and awesome to watch someone do it (albeit a bit nerve racking!!). The bad thing was coming home to a house full of people, all geeked up about doing it, and they look at you with a blank face thinking "huh?? Turkish what?? what the hell are you talking about??" Ah well, had to dig up a video to show everyone tonight, because they all need to be as impressed with me as I am with myself right now...YAY ME! I can't wait for this one again - makes me feel all cool and coordinated!! I have to say - the feeling of accomplishment that I have had since doing this one is why I love doing this - even the miserable, evil ones, like Helen - they all make it possible!! TGU's are just awesome!!

Backsquats and...what the heck was I thinking?

Back squats on Thursday 5-5-5-5-5 for max weight. Going for the full "breaking the plane" on this one...UGH!....it may only be an extra inch or two down, but that extra inch or two makes the weight just that much heavier. So, because I wasn't sure how the extra dip down would affect the weight, and I had just come off a very mentally, and emotionally draining day at work, I started off low. It did still feel heavy! So first round 135, second 145. Then Jonathan looked at the board, saw what I had done last time, and burst out with a "what are you doing piddling around with the low stuff?" Ok, fine....so went up to 185, then 205 - which was super-duper heavy. One of those moments when, in retrospect, you knew you had the red bloated face trying to push that baby up (still not as bad as crazy Mary though!!). The 205, was done, but it definitely wasn't pretty - so backed down to 185 for the last rep.
Flash forward 24 hours....and the back muscle soreness begins to set in- not a big deal, pop a few advil and relax, no problemo. Waking up this morning, still a bit sore, but better, and the warmup stretches did alleviate any residual before starting the WOD.

Today, doing what, in my head thinking about it this morning, I'm thinking, oh this won't be so bad...heck, it may only take 10 minutes or so.
50/40/30/20/10 - jumping squat/push press 35 lb bar
HA! Again, what was going through my brain? First inkling that my initial thought was way off was when I hear something to the effect of "I have a bit of a diabolical mind when it comes to devising a workout" ...2nd hint was when Rich said he ended up laying on the floor at the end.....RUTROW!! This took me forever - 23 minutes or so. But, the last rounds, I did have to stop frequently because my back muscles were kind of pissed off and yelling at me to give 'em a break. If we ever do this one again, I'm thinking I should have a vast improvement on time, without the back muscles screaming at me. Overall, and several hours after the fact, I think I liked it.

Thanks everyone for humoring me on this bit of fun, and for coming to lunch afterwards. It was fun and awesome!

Dippety Fran ups

Fran - 21/15/9 65 lb Thrusters/Pullups for time. Not sure that I'm such a fan of Fran, for many reasons, 1. it's my middle name - never particularly cared for it. 2. This particular Fran is a tad bit evil.

I did full pop on the Thrusters, and red band high bar for pull ups (note: I did NOT say dead hang!!) For some odd reason, the Thrusters felt a bit off. Actually, that would probably be the understatement of the day, as I couldn't even remember if you started off with a squat or where. But I got through them, and the pull ups. I believe my time was 11:09 - something along those lines. I managed to knock a couple seconds off my last time.
Now, that being said, as I was driving into work this morning, I was thinking about Fran. I momentarily had the thought that I really wanted to get this one under 10 minutes. Then I paused, and remembered, that I had to stop to breath every once in awhile, because my form was leaving along with each breath. So.....here's the question - what's better, maintaining form throughout the entire workout, or kicking butt for a spectacular time?? My thought is form, which, for me, will always need a momentary pause or two for breathing purposes -because if I can't breath, I sure as heck cannot "keep my weight on my heels", or "hips before elbows", or "pull from the bellybutton".
Actually, I can't do anything close to a pulll up if I can't breath!!

Today, 7 rounds of 10 Sumo Deadlift High pulls, Ring dips. Did my dips on the bar, foot assisted. Cripes, 70 is ALOT!! Yes, I may be able to do a dip or two unassisted, but there is not a chance that I could have done this one with more than a millimeter range of motion without that foot assist. SDHP's were actually no problem. This one wasn't too too awful, but it was an awful lot of dippety-dos! I completed in 10 minutes and some odd seconds. Hmm...not really sure exactly what my time was, oddly enough this particular fact seems to have left my brain rather quickly!

We ended up with some extra time at the end, so decided to work on Turkish Get-ups!! YAY! However, after 70 dips, I wasn't sure how strong my arms were. Did the first one, with the 12 kg kettlebell, no problem. Then Luke stepped it up the second round and did it with a 65 lb barbell. HOLY CRAP! That was pretty AND impressive!! Rich tried it next, again, TGU's are really pretty with Barbells - they add a certain balance and symmetry to the move. I was up next, tried it with the 35 lb barbell. I must say, balancing the barbell in one hand adds a whole new element of difficulty. I'm very proud to say, I did it...it wasn't fast, it wasn't necessarily pretty....but holy moly!! I can do it. Now...I need to work on getting used to the balancing of the barbell, once I get that, the world is my oyster!! BAHAHAHAHA!!

Burping through Deadlifts

Deadlifts on Saturday, it was an interesting day all around. First off, warming up, I felt super-ultra-uber weak. When the warm up weight, of 185 feels heavy with a capital H.....you start thinking you're in trouble. Once we started the actual workout (7 sets of 1 for weight), it went a tad bit better. Started off 225, 245, 255 (this was a match to my previous PR), ok, lets try 265...got it! I think I actually stated, "I got my PR, so I'm done for the day"....who knew, next round when I tried for 270, my body would actually listened to my sarcasm!! Probably need to watch that next time! So, I tried 270 twice, failing both times, got it off the ground, but no way was I straightening up! Last round back down to 245. At this point, I'm very happy with 265, feeling pretty darn tootin' strong (not Hercules strong by any means, but overall, strong). Then we go to the powerlifting meet, and get hit with the reality - I'm not so strong at all. Holy moly these people were beyond strong. Even the crazy Mary chick who would bulge her eyes out and huff around like a bull in heat - she scared the living crap out of me, but she was impressive, along with everyone else. Overall, a good day, worth the time.

Death by Burpee on the other hand, I must say, was a lesson in misery. "Death by" workouts are start at 1 in one minute and each minute increase by one. Doesn't sound so difficult, and in reality, the first coupla minutes, it's not. The Burpee "death by" workout has a quick demise. You feel like you're doing really well, and then suddenly you hit 7 and it's wretched. The weird thing, is I started getting arch cramps - something that I haven't really had with Crossfit - I used to get them all the time, skiing, skating, almost anything else, but not this...until tonight. ...and I must say, cramps in the arches of your feet, hurt like a ....hmmm..not sure what, but something. Anyway, momentary pause, it goes away, but also puts you way behind in the Burpee count. In the end, I did a total of 61. Doesn't sound so bad, but criminy, it felt like a heck of alot more than just that -cripes, that's only 11 more than the Filthy 50. I must say, Despite the new guy "Z" was a burpee fiend, and kicked some wild turkey butt!!

Bench Press and those elusive pullups...

Yesterday - Bench press - 3-3-3-3-3 for weight.
Well, On the plus side, I finally hit my goal of 150! You would think I'd be jubilant, happy, but I'm just not as overjoyed as I should be. I think it's because the workout is sets of 3, and I only got 1. In fact, if I'm counting correctly, I only did a grand total of 8 bench presses the whole night. We were going without the pause - with the thinking, of let's get the PR, then work on the pause (at least that's my interpretation of it).
So first set, quick and easy 3 sets at 125.
Then I decided to try the Luke method - go big early, before fatigue sets in.
Next set 150 - I did 1 successfully - but it wasn't as successful as the count of one sounds. In reality, I didn't touch down all the way...so I kind of cheated a bit.
Next set - 150, only this time all the way. YAY!! I did it......but I only got 1.
So I hit the PR, next step, drop down 10 lbs and try the pause. Well, silly me, I think the heaviest I've done with the pause is 135...DUH! So, once again, I only managed to hoist the bar up once. Last set, screw it, let's do 140, set of 3 no pause. Yeah right. I did 2...then on the 3rd one, my right shoulder/arm hitched up and did not want to go. Not sure if computer arm has kicked in or what - it's been on and off for a coupla months, but it's never affected anything I do...I did feel it this catching this time. Very peculiar.

Strangely enough, the highlight of my night, was when I was playing with pullups afterwards. I strapped myself into the red bands, got into my dead hang, and pulled...up, up, up and holy CRAP!! I was over - as in, not my hallucinatory over the bar that I usually have...I was really up there. I actually think the sore muscles in my shoulder area (not really sure what the technical term is for those), from KBHell helped me in that last little "ooompff". It was shocking and amazing....and DAMN I felt good!

Today, at Lisa's request we did full Cindy. With a bit of the hangover happiness of my pullup feat from the night before still pumping through my veins, I decide to go for it! Red band, high bar!
HA! Ok - I think I got a grand total of 2 maybe 3 good pullups in all 9 rounds. The vast majority of them, I ended up eye level with the bar, and on a few, even below that.
So much for the pullup euforia!! Pushups and squats, as always, not a huge problem - tiring after a bit, but not terrible.
Big bonus of the night - Lisa asking how much weight I've lost - Good to know some of all of this work is showing!