to hell with the big ones!

Tuesday was 1-hand kettlebell swings. 10-ladder (up and down) for time and weight.   For the "Gettin' Stonger" crew we were to go as heavy as we can, still maintain form and finishing within 20 minutes.  
We haven't done this in a while, but last time we did I used the 16kg, and finished in 8 1/2 minutes or so.  This time, I was going for the 20kg.  I did ok on the way up, looking at it, after the fact, I think I could have pushed a bit more on the upside.  By the time I was going down, not so much.  by the 8th on the way down, my back was starting to lock up, so it was a chore to get through both hands.    Overall, I did ok....not spectacular.  I finished in 13:35.

Wednesday, we did a bit of a mishmash.  2 rounds of a heavy stations which included:
Pull-to-inverted hang - or in my case, jump to inverted hang, I got in 5 of these each round.
Box jumps (20") - I was able to get in about 10 of these each round.

Front Squats (95#) - not sure how I did on these, I know round 2, I definitely did better than round 1
Burpees - ummm...hate them.  3 maybe 4
Power Cleans (95#) - again, not sure what I got. I know round 2, I wanted to get to 40, so the last one, was off-kilter and a bit of a messy clean, but I counted it.
round 1 my total score was32, round 2, I got to 40
After that we did  max rep pullups, dead hang.  I started off in one red band, got in about 3.  Second round I did the static hold and slowly lower thing, so that one is harder to quantify.

Saturday we did Lynne:As prescribed: 5 rounds for max reps of bodyweight bench press/ pullups.
UGH! All I'm gonna say.  For all the work I'm putting in, I just appear to keep sliding on down.
Bench - I did 135# got in 5, 5,5,5, 4.  less reps than last time I did this, and that was less than the time before.  Can ya see the downward spiral??  this is just showing me proof positive that if I'm not getting weaker overall, my big 3 are going down.
Pullups - these I did ok on.  If I hadn't I could very easily have turned into a sniveling mess again.  BUT, these were pretty good.  I used 2 minis, kipping, and got in - 9, 13, 12, 9, 10.  I really want 20 - but I'll take those, they were higher than last time, and with smaller bands.

Tonight - kinda sucked.  Again, brought home the fact that my major lifts are swirling in the toilet.  Not only are they weaker, but form is going to hell to boot.  Not sure what the heck that's all about, but it's uber-annoying.
We did3-5 reps of Back squat & overhead press, 3-5 times.
Back squat - 165, 175, 185  what was wrong with these? I barely made depth, knees were wonky, hips coming up before the chest.  Basically most of it.  Were they huge and dramatically bad, probably not, but definitely not up to par.
OH press - 95, 105 x4, 105  Yep, failed at 105 for 5.  Again, not sure what the heck is going on...but these kinda felt marginal at best.

Perhaps it's time to bag the big 3 for a while and focus on Oly lifts, or pullups or.....something...anything else.    Much as I try not to let this downward ride in the toilet bother me, it does......not much else to say about it.

Thanksgiving punishment...

It's been a strange week.  I'm not certain if things are getting better, or not, but my mood definitely has, so that's something!  Strength isn't quite there yet, but I'm hoping it will come back.  If it doesn't then I'd best have a much smaller ass soon, or the whiney Ellen may come back!!
Let's see, here's the last week or so:
Wednesday:
Turkish getups 1-1-1 followed by Overhead lunges 10-10-10
These were by no means my best lifts of all time! I started the TGU's with a 50 lb barbell, this was ok, although my shoulder was feeling very unstable - probably a bit toasted from "Barbell Hell".  Next round I went to 60 lbs.  Started with the left arm, got up - was a bit wonky, but was able to hold it all in. On the way down, not so much....I failed at the half way point.  Started at the top again, and came down ok. Right arm went off without a problem.  Last round I decided my goal was to get in a good one at 60 lbs.  This time I was able to stabilize a bit better and it came off ok!  Still 10 lbs below my TGU PR, but with the arm stability issues, I was ok with that.
Onto overhead lunges.  Somehow I ended up pairing up with Michael - ZOWIE!  He loads the barbell up with 95 lbs.  I give him a look like he's nuts, but of course he talks me into it.  I'm so freaking gullible!!   I gave it the old college try, and was able to get in 3 lunges with 95lbs overhead.  Actually pretty darn good for a girl if ya ask me!!  Of course on my third one I stumbed, and then I did give my crazy look.  At that point we did the smart thing and changed the weight to 75lbs.  Finished these off ok.  Next round I went up to 85 lbs.  It's freaking heavy, and it wasn't exactly pretty, but I did it.  Last round, we went to one armed overhead lunges at 55lbs.  I got through these, but they were "not so good".  To say I was toast by this time would be the understatement of the millenium!

Thursday was a 2 hour mish-mash of all around fun things.  The first hour was spent working overhead presses/push press/push jerk.  Press till you can't press anymore, then push till ya can't push any more, then jerk it away! I pressed 95, then 105.  Tried the 115, didn't go so well, so push pressed that then push jerked 135.  No PR's, but with all the overhead the last couple of days, I was quite content with that.  The 2nd hour we played with strongman stuff: Car pushin', tire flippin, and sandbag carryin'.  We worked in teams and mixed it all up.  It was hard, but fun!

After the gorge fest that was Thanksgiving, I decided at the last minute, that yes, I would like to workout - contrary to my plan of taking Friday off!! Friday's workout was a stations.  A new stations.
3 rounds x 1 minute stations of:
- Feet-to-sky  - This was an ab-killer, but I was able to get in alot of these.  First round I got in 24, then my goal was to beat that in the subsequent rounds, which, I was actually able to do - I think I hit 25 round 2, and 28 round 3.
- Front squats (65 lbs) - I did ok on these too.  My goal for each round was to hit at least 40 for a count, and I made that each time.
- Pullups  - I did these kipping in a single red band. These were a bit slower....My goal each round was to get to at least 50.  Goal: achieved.
- Ring dips - these were using a blue band assist.  Goal each round was to get to 60 - I think I got there each time, but I'm not 100% certain of that.
- KB swings (16 kg) - These were the toppers, like the feet to sky, I got in about 25 each time.
My scores each round were - 84, 86, 87 for a total of 257.   I actually feel pretty good about this one, I did something I've never done with stations before....I actually increased each round.  That is quite shocking.


Saturday:
3-5s of Squats, Bench press, Power cleans.
I didn't feel bad, but I think my muscles were a bit fatigued after this whole week.  I tried not to go for broke because I just didn't foresee good things.
Squats - I did sets of 5 at 155, 175, and 185.  I still have the wonky knee issue which is driving me BATTY!
Bench Press - I started at 115 for 5, no problemo.  At this point I decided to push it a bit, I know I was able to do 145 for 4 about 6 months ago....so I went with 135.  I got in 4, failed on the 5th.  Third round, my goal was 3 at 145.  one.  I got in one stinking bench press - that is it.  I could only get one in at 10 lbs lower than my PR.  SCARY! 
Power cleans  - we got in 2 rounds of sets of 5.  Round 1, I started with 95lbs, not certain how my cleans were gonna be.  Apparently they were good!!  Round 2, up to 105.  Again, no big critiques, so I must be getting the hang of these, at least at the lower weights.

Monday - "Heavy Fran" 15-, 12-, and 9-rep rounds of: 95# Thrusters, and weighted pullups for time.
My "weighted" pullups were doing them dead hang in a red and mini.  The "additional weight" would be the 5 lbs I gained from the Thanksgiving weekend.  The thrusters were hard, but were by far the quickest and easiest part of this workout.  Round one I did 10, then 5.  Round 2,  I did 7, then 5, round 3, 5 then 4.  On the pullups, round 1, I got in the first 3, then they came one or two at a time...very slowly. Round 2 and 3 were 2 in the beginning then one at a time....again, VERY slowly.  I didn't want to get halfway up and just keep pulling, I wanted to actually get over the bar, or at least close to over.  I could have used stronger bands, but I really need to get a pullup.  I figure this is the only way to work them - hard! No matter how long it takes.   I finished in 15:53.  Not exactly a stellar time, especially considering at least 10-12 minutes of it was spent on the pullup bar.  Oh well.  I did them, and I'm ok with that!



15:56

Grab yo'self a barbell sista!

After all the recent frustrations, we have a plan - it may not go anywhere, or do anything, but I feel like I'm at least trying.  Shockingly, everything seems to always come down to food these days.  Now we are going with 5 "feeding opportunities" a day.....and upping the calories.  All I can say is Good Lord!! it's alot of food. Although, it was rather humorous this morning as I was walking into work, having eaten breakfast already, but still carrying 4 or 5 tupperware containers with food in them, I spotted the person next to me, carrying their one little containeer of salad.  It felt so disproportionately wrong, it was darn near laughable.  However, I'm game.  Theoretically it makes sense, so we will see what the outcome is later.  Suffice it to say, I have tabled my frustrations for now.

Yesterday was a new one:
Back Squat - 3/3/3, Bench Press 3/3/3, Pullups 3/3/3 least resistance or for weight.
I will say, I think my confidence on Squat and Bench is a bit shot, so I probably didn't go quite as heavy as I should have.  Mentally though, I needed to successfully get 3 in for all rounds.
Squats - I started at 175, no problem, although my knees were still a bit on the wonky side.
next round 195, still ok, not fabulous, but ok.  Last round 215, the good news? I didn't fail, but they weren't exactly pretty.
Bench Press - I started at 125, no problem, next round 135, apparently better looking than the 125, last round 145.  Well, I only got in two.  DRATS!  I wanted 3, but it just wasn't going to happen.  Not tonight.
Pullups - this is were things got a bit more interesting.  All pullups were deadhang.  First round I used 1 red and 1 mini - no problem (it's only 3 after all!), round 2, I went with a single red.  I got in 2 and 7/8 (this is according to Jonathan - so almost there, but not quite..) Last round I did two minis.  The three pullups were not an issue (I'm not certain which is stonger, 2 minis or one red).  Then I got a bit cocky and decided to try one mini.  Big time failure!!  It's amazing that one tiny little band can make that big of a difference.  Overall, I felt pretty good about the pullups, so despite the bench failure, the night ended on an up note.

Tonight was  "Barbell Hell"!!
Tabata intervals applied in turn to: Push jerks, Cleans, SDLHP, Floor Press, and Deadlifts.  With a one minute rest between exercises.
I was debating on where to start on this.  I think if it had been anything but Tabata I would have tried the 95lbs.  Because that whole Tabata thing was thrown in there, it put a new level of hell into the whole workout.  So I did everything at 85#, except for the Deadlift, which was a joyous 185.  Here's my night:
Deadlift -Holy moly, the 185 felt heavy to begin with - perhaps I should have done some Deadlift warmups before starting......  hmmm - ya think??  I started off the first round getting 7 or 8 ...after that though,  I slowed down - way down - at some point I determined my goal was 4 for each 20 second interval.  My final Deadlift score was 34.  A tad bit more than 4 per round.....sorta. 
Floor Press - The hard part was getting the bar up.  But round one, I cranked through, getting in 12 or 14.  After that I slowly deteriorated.   By the end, getting in 3 was a struggle.  My final score was 39.  Not quite 5 per round on average.
Clean:  These were full on squat cleans, none of that wussy power clean stuff, pull the bar up, land in a full squat and stand up.  First round I got in 3, after that it was 2 per.  Although there was one clean that I forgot the stand up part on...WHOOPS! Funny what exhaustion will do to your brain!! End score was 17.
Push Jerks: At this point, I was suckin' wind.  My body was pretty depleted, but had to keep going....I started off, round 1, pretty good- I got in 5.  It was hit or miss after that, some round I got in 5, but one round, I know I got a measly 1 in.  Final score - 31.  Not quite 4 per round on average.
SDLHP : Doing these at the end was rather miserable, I must admit.  My arms did not want to pull them up at all, I knew that - the hips did their work, but I had a bit of a block on my right arm, that just said no.  They weren't terrible, but they hit about mid chest.  Jonathan told me to go higher, so I tried and in the end got about 1/2 of them really high.  End score 35.

So - in comparison to last time:
Deadlift:  last time  35 at 140#, this time 34 at 185# - YAY! about the same, much heavier!
Floor Press: last time: 60 at 70#, this time 39 at 85# - hmm?? not really sure how that relates, I think it's ok..
Cleans: last time: 37 at 70# power cleans, this time 17 at 85# full on squat cleans.  17 is fine - full squat cleans are a billion times harder and take alot longer!
Push Jerks: last time 60 @70#, this time 31 at 85#, ok - this was kind of a dramatic difference. 15 lbs should not have cut the reps in half - the difference - I started with Push Jerks last time, so I was totally fresh, not in the delirium I was in tonight (may be BS, but I'm going with it!).
SDLHP - last tiem 51 at 70#, this time 35 at 85#   those are some big 15 pounds, all I'm gonna say.


Not terrible.  Considering that from the cleans on, I felt all the food I've been stuffing myself with, and continued on without vomiting, I'd say downright good!

UGGHH, ARGHHH, and a whole lotta expletives!

I'm not sure what to think these days.    I am having a terrible month mentally.  I am feeling extremely down and frustrated, and I am just not sure what to do.  I think every other time I've been frustrated, I've been able to come up with a plan to get through it, sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't, but just having a strategy has helped.  This time, I just don't know what to do.  Everything is either staying right where it is or getting worse.  Zero improvement since January.  Ok, I'll give ya the 8 or 9 lbs on the deadlift, but that is about it.  I don't know if I've repressed frustration for 11 months and it's all hitting me, or if when I actually looked up my last PR's got to me mentally, or if it's that I am stagnating while everyone around me is going gangbusters.  Either way, I just don't know what to do. I hate the fact that when one of my friends gets a PR, one of the emotions I feel is jealousy.....that ain't right, and it's not who I want to be.  In everything else I've done, I've always hit a point and ended up wallowing in mediocrity.  Maybe that's my fear....with no improvement, I will end up in the usual state of mediocrity, and I don't want to be there.  This is something I want to be successful at, be it the weight loss aspect or the performance.  If I can't have one, I want the other, and I don't feel like I'm getting enough of either right now.  
I'm only adding this, so that when I look back in a month, two, a year, etc. I know my mental state.  I know it's not helping anything,  I just need to find a way out of this rut, pull myself up by the bootstraps and move on.    That being said, here's the last couple of days:

Friday: Bench press 10-8-6-4-2  
10-115, 8-120, 6-125, 4-130, 2-140.   Tried 145 for 2, only got 1.  Tried 155 to match the PR, failure.  Did a set of negatives.  Not much to say here - unimpressive.

Monday: - 3 front squats - 115/145/165x2
                  3 shoulder presses  95/105/110
I thought I did ok these until I saw what I did last time, where I got 1 at 175 on the front squats and 2 at 110.  This was back in April.  That was a bit depressing.

Tuesday: "Heavy Helen"  
200 meter run
15 Kettlebell swings (24 kg)
9 weighted pullups (25 lbs)
3 rounds for time 
Huh.  Looking at this just now, I did it wrong and have been doing it wrong.  I swear it was 15/12/9 of the Kettlebell swings and pullups - which is how I did it.  I did the pullups in a red and mini band, dead hang.  Most got over the bar, mostly.  I finished it, doing it my way - in 15:30 - a full 6 minutes more than last time, but last time I was kipping the pullups.

Today:
Power cleans from the hang: 3-3-3    85/95/100
Power cleans from the floor: 3-3-3    100/110/115
Full oly cleans: 3-3-3     95/105/115
About the same as last time. I think the hang cleans may have been 5 lbs heavier.   Nothing fabulous.   Yes, I know form wise they look better....that's about all I can say. 

Turning tides??

 Here are the highlights of the last week - in amongst the various bench, deadlift, and squats at various weights for 3-5 reps.  I think I may be slowly coming out of my almost yearlong PR rut.  I could be wrong, but there have been some little improvements.
For instance we did:
Overhead Press - 1/1/1, Push Press 3/3/3, Push Jerk 5/5/5
Overhead Press - 110, 115, 120 ,  no change in max weight

Push Press - 125, 135, 145x2, there was anincrease on this one, 145 is a weight that I had failed on before, so although I only got in 2, I'm good with it.
Push Jerk - 125, 130, 135,  I took these slower - primarily because I wasn't uber-confident with the jump under aspect, but I did them, and I think I could have gone heavier.....

Oly lift total - This is 3 attempts at a 1 rep max on both Snatch and Clean and Jerk.
The last several times we have done this one, I ended up not going for a max, but working on form.  This time, I actually did go for 1 rep max, and although in the end, both lifts were heinously ugly, I got them, and they counted, hideous as they were.
Snatch - 85/95/100 - Like I said, I got them, but they weren't exactly pretty.
Clean & Jerk - 95/115/125.  I can't figure out why the Jerk is the easy part.  In theory, if I can jerk 135 or 140 lbs - I should be able to easily clean it up.  So what is my issue? I can't figure that one out.  Either way - the 125 is a PR - despite it's ugliness.
So overall - I got an Oly lift total of 225 hideous though it was.

Tonight we did a heavy metcon....a new heavy metcon straight from the demented mind of Jonathan.
4 rounds x 1 minute stations of:
- Overhead lunges (65#) - I got in 7-10 of these each round.  My right leg likes these far more than my left.  The left leg took alot of enticing to do what it needed to do - especially in that first round.  It did not want to do what my brain told it to!
- Pull-to-inverted-hangs - These were Jump to inverted hang.  I only got in 3-4 each round.  As the rounds went on, they became harder to do, because I was semi-nauseous from drinking a protein drink too close to workout time! OY!
- Ring dips - I did these on the rings with the red bands.  I think I got in 7-9 each round.
- Kettlebell swings (24 kg)- These were the money makers!! It kind of scares me a bit, but these did not feel all that heavy.  It was a bit freaky.  I was doing about 20 each round.  Except for the 3rd round, that wasn't such a good one.

Overall, round 1 - 44, round 2 - 44,  round 3 plummet to 35, round 4 - 38.
for a total of 161.

Not bad - I see potential for things turning on an upward swing......YAY!

Yikes!! A full week - let's test the memory!

Ok - BAD ELLEN!
I've been failing miserably at this...so here's a short synopsis of the last week.

Tuesday - we did Power cleans, kind of a functional focus.  Working on weight until form breaks down.  I actually did fairly well on these 95/100/105/110...110 is where my form started to fall apart.  The cure, I fear, might be a future of 115 lb cleans.....
I stayed after to do Annie.  Well, I did get 10 double unders in a row, but my feet paid the price.  My time ended up at about 15:34.  Well above my best time.   The bad news, I'm taking jump rope off for a bit, my left foot does not like jump rope one bit.

Wednesday was Bench......and I have no clue how I did.  It was unremarkable, as my bench has been lately  We followed that by 3 rounds of The Chief. (3 Power cleans, 6 Pushups, 9 Squats - as many rounds as possible in 3 minutes)  I ended up getting in 4/3/3, and I think there may have been some extra cleans in there, but I'm not positive.  I have this fond regard for the Chief...and I'm not sure why - the Chief kicks your butt something fierce! 

Friday- We did the ZAP workout - Zombie Attack Preparedness.  It was a mixed bag of fun done stations style.  Taking a sledgehammer to a Zombie's head (AKA sledgehammering a tire), whacking the head of a Zombie with a baseball bat (AKA hitting a punching bag with the bat), Swinging and kicking the head of a Zombie (kip and kick from the pullup bars), jumping on things to get away (AKA box jumps), and crawling through sewers to escape (AKA crawling under weight benches).  All the while kicking and screaming at the zombie attackers! Unconventional, yes.  A HOOTENANIE!  ABSOLUTELY!  It was a low key, fun time!

Saturday....was.  A full moon, hormonal typhoon came running through my system - the likes of which have been seen rarely.   We did backsquats.  Lots and lots of backsquat.  The storm erupted just after failing at 225 for the 2nd time.  225.....that is 10 lbs below my PR, and I couldn't get it.  That is when the whollop came....No PR's on anything in months......many, many months.  Then the WTF feeling of miser descended....why was I working so hard, changing my diet, being very good about everything...and my butt is still here, and to make matters worse, I seem to be getting weaker!! The haystack blew, and a mess ensued. It was ugly.....I cannot lie.    By Sunday, I was sick of the pity party, so I started telling myself to put up or shut up. 

Monday - a new day, and I really hoped I could master the emotional side with the mental side!  I went in with a new mindset. Did it work?? Yes and no.  Yes, I was able to workout without busting into an emotional hissy fit.  No, it didn't really help me do any better when lifting.
We did Bench Press - I did 5x115/ 125/ 130  then  3x 135, 2 x 140 fail on 2rd  twice (I may have only gotten one in on the last set, I don't remember for sure). Then we did one and a halfs. This was a new thing on bench. I started at 95 lbs. That was a tad bit on the light side, so the next two sets were at 115. The good news - despite the numbers above - up until I wrote them down, I was doing bad barbell math, so thought I was having issues with 130 lbs.  A good 25 lbs below my PR, and I still didn't fall victim to the full moon tears that seem to be striking women everywhere.  So, when I realized my bad barbell math, I was downright...not happy - but relieved that I don't suck as bad as I thought!

Tonight- we did  Heavy CrossFit Stations #2 - Three rounds
- Pull-to-inverted hang - In my case, it's Jump to inverted hang.  Round 1, I got in 6, round 2 - 4, round 3 -5
- Box jumps (20") - These were ok - I'm slow on the 20" box - I ended up getting in about 10-12 per round
- Weighted Pullups (25) - HA! Gotta be able to do a pullup before I add weight!  So these were dead hang in a red and a mini band. Well - I got a couple all the way over - but not as many as I would have liked.  As far as the ones that I counted, it was 3-4 each round.
- Thrusters (95#)  - I'm just gonna say it - these were kinda sucky after everything else!! I should be used to these by now....but they were kinda difficult.  Go figure!  I got in 7 or 8 of these each round. 
- KB Swings (24 kg)  - these were the money makers.  This is where I made up for lost time. I got in 14 or 15 each time. ...and don't be fooled this sucker is heavy!  I think it's 53 lbs to be exact!

Total score round 1 - 46, round 2 - 42, round 3 - 44 for a total of 132.  Not bad for a total ass-kicker of a workout! It was good - but difficult!

Squatting and lifting and getting up again...

On Tuesday we did a warm up with Mini-Cindy, so the night took off with 10 minutes of 5 pullups, 10 pushups and 15 squats.  I managed to run through this, and don't think I did too-too shabby.  Not a world record by any means, but I did get in a total of 6 full rounds plus the pullups and 7 pushups of the 7th round. PHEW! That's a warmup that'll bust your ass! We then moved onto practice of the Handstand push up and Pistols.  We did a couple rounds - for the HSPU's final round we were to go to a level that was challenging but do-able for 5.  I went a big Green and blue.    In retrospect, I probably should have gone with double blues.  It's strange though, I was green and green last time we HSPU's - of course, we had tireflips and front squats thrown in...so I guess that isn't really the same thing.

Wednesday we did Back Squats - 5/5/5/5/5.  I don't know that I really even want to write down the scores.  My squats are off... I'll just leave it at that.  Of course, I'm not leaving it at that.....
I have to record, even my sad days.  I did 145/165/175/175/165   I just couldn't get them looking good.  My knees were all akimbo, but I think I was doing better at not relaxing at the bottom.  Just not the best squat day overall.

Thursday -Turkish Get-up for weight.  My Turkish Get-up Mo-jo has got up and run!  I thought this was going to be my 75lb barbell night.  Alas, the evil demons that destroy balance were all at play.  I started with the 45 lb barbell.  Then 65.  Then I tried the 75....and my wrists wouldn't hold it steady.  It wasn't necessarily the TGU part that gave me a rough time - it was the bar balancing.  So, I went to the cannonball balancing overhead for the last one.  It was the 32kg kettlebell, and I did that no problem..  Although the boys tried to talk me into the 80lb KB...I must admit, I may have been able to do it, but just looking at that sucker got into my head - there was no way in hell.  I had brief, flashing images of a face devastated by a kettlebell bigger than my head.   So, I wussed.

Saturday was Deadlifts.  Sets of 5.  I did  185/215/235/255/285...Holy crap - I just did 285 for 5?? Okay -lets try for 310 for 3.  BAHAHAHAHA! That was a bit ambitious - actually, I think I just had nothing in me.  I didn't even get it up for one.  Ah well, I think next time it will be there, as long as I don't do 5 at a ridiculously heavy weight just prior.

Tonight was back squats 5/5/5, front squats 3/3/3.  Back squats I did 165, 185, 195.  Apparently, my knee buckling wasn't really apparent until the 195 - so that's an improvement over last time.  Front squats - I totally sandbagged the first round at 95lbs.  I then faced the fact that I was indeed not pulling my weight...so I went to 145.   ....and 155 I got in two, then failed the third....went back and got it, but it was ugly.  Front squat = Not so good.

I have adjusted my goals though.  Rather than a number - my goal before the next competition is:
Squat - 1.5 times bodyweight
Benchpress - bodyweight
Deadlift - 2 times bodyweight.


Currently my squat is about 1-1/8 bodyweight, bench- 3/4 bodyweight, and Deadlift 1.5 x bodyweight.  So, I'm kind of almost there, just need the weights to go up a bit and the other weight to go down.

lift, and press, and squat and hoist...

Thursday 5,000 lbs floor-to-overhead - I debated on this one whether to completely toss aside the time element and increase the level of difficulty by doing full squat cleans and overhead presses.  My initial thought was at 85 lbs - but in reality, I was pretty sure there was no way I was getting in 59 strict presses at 85 lbs.    Then I thought maybe I would go the 65 lbs route, but I did a couple full squat cleans, and I was not feeling the squat clean love.  After all the debate in my head,  I ended up doing 50 power clean & jerks at 100 lbs.  Time was not spectular, but not terrible.  I finished in 12:31 - about a minute longer than when I did 59 at 85 lbs.

Friday was squats/box squats for Gettin' stronger.  I haven't a clue what I did.  I lifted, and it was heavy, somehow, for some reason, that's about all I remember.  I think I ended with 5 reps at 185, but I can't really tell ya for sure!  Because I had just taken a week off, I decided to stay so that I could get a weeks worth of workouts in about 36 hours.  The regular workout was one straight from the twisted mind of our dear coach, Jonathan.  This Crossfit beauty was:
200 m run
25 pullups
50 kb swings (16 kg)
25 dips
50 lunges
25 knees-to-elbows
50 situps
25 Wallball shots (16 lbs)
50 box jumps (16")
Everyone starts with the run, from there, it can be done in any order.  We started with the run, or in my case, the wog.  After that it was box jumps, 50 box jumps is a plethora of them, in case you didn't realize it....  After box jumps  I went to sit ups.  I figured it would be a decent place to catch my breath.  After the situps it's all kind of a blur - I know at one point I was thinking I would do all the 50's, then I looked, and the dawning realization came to me.  This was a bad idea.  There is alot of really hard stuff in the 25 category! So I mixed it up.  Not sure what order I did them, I know I started with box jumps, and ended with the Kettlebell swings.  The middle is a blur... My end time was 22:something.  When I went to write it up, I had the initial thought that "oh goodie, the only thing modified was my pullups"...Ummm -no.  I forgot the blue banded dips, the KTE's which were nothing but jump, and of course the pullups which are perpetually a blue mark for me.

Saturday was 2 hours of Bench - sets of 5.  I started big, although, I should have been able to do it no problem, my bench was a bit on the weak side. I started at 135 - only got in 4, then went down, to 115, 120, 125, 130.  Afterwards we did some narrow grip benching - which is odd. I ended at 115, which seemed to be about the right weight for me.  I'm not sure why my bench feels perpetually off, but it's been a really long time - probably close to a year since I've felt a really good bench press day.

Tonight was Deadlift - 5/4/3/2/1    Deadlifts felt heavy tonight.  Shocking, I know.   I started at 225 for 5, then 245 for 4, 265 for 3, then I went to 275 for 2, and my head popped in.  The little game my brain plays with me at 275....I couldn't do it, I would get it off the floor, then feel the slightest hint of my back rounding, and down the weight goes.  I ended up throwing on a weight belt and lifted it no problem.  It was ridiculous!!  However, I think I may have to belt up at the 270/275 weight for a while, until I get over this mental block.  I belted in, and did 1 rep at 300.  Not easy, but really, not that difficult.  Like I said the 275 mental block is ridiculous, and I know it.   I really need to work the DL's a bit harder if I'm going to be using a belt.  In my head, I should be able to do 350 right now if I really tried.  I really want 400 by the next time I compete.  If little tiny Heena can do it, so can I!!-

whoops - never posted...

It dawned on me after Wednesday's workout that since the competition, I don't think I've been putting my all into things quite as much as I should be.  I don't think I've necessarily been sandbagging, I think I've simply let alot of things get in my head.  The back strain, and whole slew of other mental BS that is my issue that I need to get over.
However, I had not quite come to this conclusion when we did Wednesday's workout, and it suffered in large part due to the mental crap...and possibly it was also just a bad lift day.  The push part of this is Bench press - 3 rounds of 3 reps for weight.  I did 135 / 145x1 /140x2 - pure suckage when you consider my 1 rep max is 155.  LAME!!   Deadlift, I did 225/255/275.  275 is the weight that mentally says "Bite me!" ...but I got 3 in.  Again - with a 1 rep PR of 308 - these should be higher.  I think that's what struck me on my way home - I feel like I've stopped "going for it". 

Thurs - Stations # 2, which is Pullups, Wallball (16#), Slamball (16#), Sit ups and Box jumps.   3 rounds, 1 minute at each station.  Pullups I did in one blue band, with all the band set up, it was just going to be easiest, and I think it equates about the same as red+mini.  I did test though to be sure I could do a dead hang in it before the workout - rules is rules don't ya know!  I knew I scored pretty high last time, at 275, so I was gonna have to push it.
Round 1- 100  - what?  I have never scored 100 in a round before....ever.  This was something new...
Round 2 - 102 - again, 100??....AND I  went up in round 2?? I think this is another first!
Round 3 - 91 - ok - this time, I held true to my usual form.  But 91 ain't shabby!!
My total score was 293...7 measly reps away from 300.  DRATS! That would have been beautiful! But I think I did pretty darn good anyway!  Nice improvement, and I did go for it on this one.  Of course, I wouldn't have come close without the situps.....The situps took me there.

Today - a new one.  It's like a bright shiny new toy! Only this one wasn't so fun.  It was an ass-kicker through and through.   8 tire flips / 6 Handstand pushups / 4 front squats (125#), now here's the real kicker - 5 rounds for time, 20 minute cutoff. It was me and Jonathan.  I wanted to use the upside-down-rubber-band contraption (using green and green), we tried it - CRAP! I could not kick up into the handstand without assistance (I need to work on that, in a big way!!)  So I went first, using the girl tire (the big girl tire, not the little girl tire).  Ironically, the tireflips were the easiest part - they winded the hell out of me, and I will have bruises from the 40 flips..but in this whole thing - they were the easiest and least painful!  Let me just say this about handstand pushups after doing 8 tireflips - if it's possible to catch your breath upside down, I haven't figured out how to do it.  Short of breath, upside down, trying to breath and do a handstand pushup - just an ugly combination.    I ended up getting through them all - but they weren't pretty, I thought I was gonna collapse at several junctures, and my range of motion was rather pathetic - especially at the end.  From the handstand pushups - we go to the front squats.  125 should be heavy - but it's pretty far from my PR, so it shouldn't be too much of an issue. What I did not take into consideration was the toll the tire flips took on my legs and the HSPU's took on my arms.  To say the front squats were painful would not be an exaggeration.  Legs, really didn't want to squat, and arms, really did not want to go up.  The sad part, we were only doing 4 of them, but it felt like 14.  I swear I almost dropped the bar several time, in the last round, there's not doubt, it was sliding off the sweat.  In the end, I DID actually complete all 5 rounds under the time limit - barely under, but it was under. My final time was 19:56.  Despite it's misery, I have to admit, I really like the heavy metcons, I think they are doing their magic, if I just let them, and get out of my head.
Oh one other thing took me by surprise, so I just have to comment on it!  I was reading all my various usual stops...on one of them, the writer has been doing Crossfit for 2 years, and just did her first snatches with a barbell.  I found that very odd, but it makes me uber-glad that my gym doesn't fear the barbell, sheesh how boring to do all of these with KB's and dumbbells all the time!! I would hate that!

back in the saddle

Saturday was a FANTASTIC day!! We did one of the all time funnest workouts ever, yes, that would be  the redneck fantasy workout of  Yoke walkin' car pushin' & tire flippin'!!  Pure fun! After playin' around a bit, and testing each one out, we did the course for time!  Before going into how I did, let me mention a couple things: 1. The yolk walkin' course is longer and 2. Although you can't see it, there is definitely more of an uphill on the car pushin', and I believe it might be a hair bit longer.
Believe me or not about the uphill and distance, fact of the matter is, I as well as everyone else, added a good 2 minutes to our previous times. Yoke walkin' I did with a 24kg kettlebell attached to each side.  Although the distance was longer, I think my time for that was still ok, probably a little over a minute.  Then came the car pushin'.  From the post to the last cone - first direction - not so bad, a bit long, but not terrible.   Then the other direction. This is where the shoe drops, and those very large hills, invisible to the naked eye, come out to play.  Car pushin' is where I spent the vast majority of my time.  I actually had to push the opposite way, with my butt on the car  for a while. OY! It really was a sleeper hill - you don't know it's there until it jumps out and grabs ya!  Tire flippin', I did the girl tire -2 up 2 back - not a huge issue.  Total time was 5:04.  Yep, just checked, at the old place, I finished in 3:02 - that is definitely a full 2 minutes added, not to mention, that I only had to do 2 tire flips each way this time instead of 3.  I'm telling ya - the level of difficulty was much higher on the car push!!  Either way - this workout still rocks!! 

Monday - Heavy Helen.  I LOVE this version of Helen. The weighty girls are so much better!
Heavy Helen is 200m run, 15 KB swings 24kg, and 9 pullups weighted (ok, for me in the bands, go figure!!)  3 rounds for time.  I did this using a mini and a red, probably should have gone a bit lighter, I just wasn't certain about my strength with the tail end of this cold and not having done pullups in a week.  The run was ok....my heel/plantar fascitis (my diagnosis) thingy was hurting a bit so I was running like a lopsided fool.  But I did it, then I powered through the swings - on these, I went to my happy place, so that I could just get through 15.  Then came the pullups. I did them in sets of 3 or 4.   I ended up finishing in 9:25, taking a minute off my last time.  So this was good - but I think I need to take some of the bands off for the pullups next time.

Today was Powercleans.  The uber frustrating powercleans.  I started slow on these, because form is always an issue.  I concentrated pretty hard on the "keep  your arms straight" part, trying to avoid the whole "you're pulling too early" thing that I usually hear.  I started at 75 - and heck if I didn't get a "pretty good"...huh?  really?? ok - so that was a light weight.  Next 95 lbs.  What did you say?? Do I need to clean my ears out? because that sure didn't sound like "too early"....Holy moly, what is this wave coming over me?? This fabulousness that says "by George, I think she's got it!!"???  I knew that feeling for a fleeting moment tonight.  Then we added weight, and I jumped right into 115.   Apparently my first one was ok - but it was heavier than I anticipated, and I acknowledged that weight.  That's when the weight beat me.  It got in my head and after several attempts, I managed to knock out 2 more really messy ugly ones.  Next round - went back down to 100 - these were good.  Then back up slowly - 105, I got in one decent one, the next two, I did some weird landing.  I think I need to start working these at 105 now.....since that seems to be where I lose form.   On the plus side, all of the 95 lbs Thrusters, Cleans and everything else I've been doing seem to have helped the form overall.  So that's good!!

workin' with some ripped hands!

Deadlifts - 3/3/3/3/3 
With my newly ripped, but not all the way callous, I wasn't sure what my grip would do.  I wrapped my hand to be safe though.  I started light, because the deadlifts were feeling heavy, but I did have  the intention of going up quick.  I started at 225, which was heavy, but fine.  Then 245, ok...still heavy, but ok.  265 - this one hurt the paws, and felt heavy.  Next round I went with 275.  I got in 1.  Partly because of my hands, but another part of me has a bit of a block on the 275 number.  275 is the number I was going for (I think) when I pulled my back muscle. Last round, I strapped on a weight belt, for that mental crutch, and sure enough - pulled the 275 three times. 

Saturday - Fight Gone Bad.  This was the real one, the charity event,  the full monty!  FGB is  5 stations, 3 rounds, 1 minute each, and 1 minute between rounds.  Stations are wall ball(14#), SDLHP (55#), Box Jump (20"), Push Press (55#), row.  We went to Foothills Crossfit, across town.  It was relatively early in the morning, but not bad.  There were about 25 people or so who showed up.  It was going to be a good day.    Off the bat, we had a quick training on the rower, none of us had really used one.  Then off to the warmup from hell - it was alot of running and weird running type things.  Just before the warmup, I did something to my right calf, not sure if it was a charlie horse, or a big knot - but it wasn't quite happy.  I wasn't going to let that get in the way.  We paired up, and Patty went first.  She did awesome, but let the box jump get to her.  I so wanted to help her get up the there, but I just didn't know how.  After that first attempt, my main job was to get her mind off of it.  When she had completed all three rounds, it was my turn.   I was going to start at wallball, so I could just progress down the line, but that station had already been taken.  Next option - I decided to start with the row, since that takes longest to get into - I could be prepared as time started.  That was the plan.
I started with rowing -took off like a banshee, and it felt good, I felt strong, and holy moly, I was rowing away the calories.  Of course, I was good for a minute MAX! When time was called, I was done. I had hit 20 on the row! YAY!   Next came wallball, I thought I would have no issue with these, since I'm used to using the 16 lb ball, and I think I usually get in about 15-20 per round.  I was wrong.   The main issue was 1. getting out of the rowing machine!! It was a contraption that locks you in...and it's not the easiest to get out of   2. To get to the wall ball position, you had to run to the other side of the gym.  By the time you got to the wallball station a good 20-30 seconds had passed.  So, I didn't get much time in to work the wall balls - I did manage to get 12 in.  Next stop, SDLHP - I got in 20, I did them in two sets of 10.  By this time, I was out of breath....sucking wind.  Then onto box jumps.   It takes alot of energy to jump on a 20" box....I got in 8. Not great.  Push press, again, I did in two sets of 10, for a score of 20.   Rest - 1 minute is a very, very short time. 
Round 2 - Rowing only lasted about 45 seconds, so I got in 15, a sad 8 on the wallball, 17 on the high pull, 6 for the box jump, and 20 on the push press.  The scores were going on a downhill slide! 
round 3 - Rowing lasted about 30 seconds, I got in 10, SDLHP - 18, Box jump  7, Push press - 17.  My final tally was 210, which is not bad. I'll take it.

Gunning for greatness!

Oh what a week so far!  After the Celiac confirmation, I went to the nutritionist, and while the whole background, and info on Celiac was interesting, I just didn't really agree with the plan that she wanted me to take.  Don't you think common sense would say, if you have what basically amounts to a food allergy, and in many cases if you have one food allergy you have others....that you would need to change how you eat in order to figure out how different things affect you?  I was kind of taken aback that she didn't really want me to do anything but add in more dairy and "pseudo" grains (that's my term for the "gluten free" bread, pasta, etc...)  Just strange.  So, because what she initially said and what she told me to do, just didn't really jive in my mind, I'm going with my own plan, basically going paleo for a while, then I'll test the waters with dairy, legumes, etc.  Monday, really marked the beginning of my "take it all out" plan.  I gotta say, I have yet to be hungry...I feel like I'm constantly eating all day...but I did throw in an extra berry snack at about 11am, so that is probably why.  Ironically, I feel like I've been eating a ton, and the scale seems to have become unglued...in a positive way - I'm not hedging any bets yet though!

Monday we did Bench Press - 5/5/5/5/5
The really good news, is that these were not nearly as wonky as they were last time.   I did 125, 135, set 3 was supposed to be the "eye popping" round....so I went 145 - got in 4, then 1.  At that point I went down to 140, then 135 for the last set.  The good thing, is that I actually did 5 of all the weights that I set out to do, rather than getting stuck at 3.  YAY!

Tuesday - The Ass-Kicker - AKA -The Chief - 3 Power Cleans 95lbs/6 push ups/9 squats - as many rounds as possible for 3 minutes - 1 minute rest.  Do this for 5 times.
I know The Chief is hard, but I do not remember like this......
Going into it, I knew to beat the16 rounds that I did last time, I would have to kick butt.  I went in with the goal of doing 1 round every 45 seconds.  If I did that, it would be 4 rounds each time for a total of 20. I knew it would be difficult...in fact, I know Jimmie, Z and Jonathan didn't get in that many, so it was gonna be a feat if I did it! 
round 1 -I did it - I kept an eye on the clock and got in 4 rounds in the 3 minutes....but jumpin' jehosephat, this is going to be one heck of a pace to keep up!
round 2 - Not quite......3 rounds plus cleans and push ups.  I think this round, I may have been able to finish the whole 4th round, but the collar popped off the bar, and I took the time to put it back on.  That accounts for this round only - despite the collar popping off in other rounds, I think that excuse may only be valid this round.
round 3 - 3 rounds, plus the squats from the last round.  It was about this round that the squats were painful.  Very painful.
round 4 -3 rounds plus 1 clean.  Zowie - my thighs!! ...actually I think it was about this round that Jonathan started telling me to go lower in the pushups too - I swear my belly was touching on each of them!! (Now that being said, I think I also stick my belly out when I'm doing pushups.....go figure!)
round 4 - 3 rounds plus 1 clean.  I forgot I only had to do 2 cleans...and just started anew.
My total - 17  plus 2 power cleans - that is 1 full round and 1 power clean better than last time.  Not quite the 20 I was gunning for, but 17 is still a butt-load!  I was complete and total toast.  This kicked my butt harder and further than it's been kicked in a long time!   Thinking about it -this one is a creeper - other workouts, you are doing alot of reps, but you know it.  This one, it's one 3, 6, or 9 - and really you are striving for 4 rounds in 3 minutes.  But you are doing this 5 times - that's where the sneakiness comes into play.  Until well after the fact you don't realize that you just cleaned 95 lbs 53 times...you just did 102 pushups, and 153 squats.  Looking at it that way - I see the pain!

Tonight - Death by Pullups  - 1 pullup the first minute, 2 the next, and so on.
I did it with two red bands, kipping.  The first round I got through either 12 or 13, then 10.  Round two, I got to round 9, then did 5 in the 10 round.  My callouses ripped, and I'm just not tough enough to keep going, when I'm ripped and bleeding.  I may be a crossfit girl, but I'm still a girl - so I'm ok with that part!  Overall though, a pretty good week.

I also found out that I am apparently iron deficient, so, I'm now taking iron pills, which are pretty nasty - kind of like swallowing little metal pieces.  BUT, if I'm low on iron, maybe that is why I've been stuck for so long in my lifts...perhaps this will be the boost to bring me to where I should be - much stronger!!  Who knows what's on the horizon.....

Buffing that Kettlebell!

Ah, Kettlebell Hell, how I hate to say, I love ya so!   This workout is magnificent in it's pure torture. When it comes around you are filled with anticipation, yet with a sinking dread in your heart.   
 "Kettlebell Hell"
Innocent sounding Tabata Intervals of:
- Front squat
- Double clean-and-jerk
- Alternating floor press
- Bent-over rows
All with a 16 kg Kettlebell.   20 seconds on, 10 seconds off for 8 rounds.   Doesn't sound so bad.....that is the evil, insidious nature of this one.  This time I wasn't sure if I was going to stay with the 16kg or go up to the 20kg.  I went to the "Gettin' Stronger" class,....which normally takes you out of your weight comfort zone, so I just didn't know.  My mental struggle?  The 16kg, I know I did ALOT the last time I did this, so I would have to kick it into major gear to beat those numbers....However...the 20kg - is freakin' heavy! No, I wouldn't have to get high numbers if I went with the 20kg, that's ok, but can I really maintain for all 8 rounds?  End decision - I used the 16kg, and I even managed to beat the last numbers I got in all categories.  I'm not certain of the exact numbers, but here is how  I believe they played out.  Total for 8 rounds:

Front Squats - last time -47  this time - 50

Clean and Jerks -last time -25 this time 27 or 28

Upright Rows -last time 49 - this time - 52 (?)

Floor Presses - last time 60 this time 64

Overall, I may not know  the exact numbers, but my grand total went up by 12, I believe it was....something like that.

Yesterday - 30 muscleups for time.  This sounds totally awful - but if you are unable to do a pullup, I guarantee there's no muscleup!  We tried all the different variations - to no avail.  All girls ended up doing the knee assisted practice.  Ironically we all kind of did them together...helping each other as needed.  Timewise I finished in 9:57 or so.  I'm not holding my breath that these are going to come to fruition anytime in my imminent future....





Today was "unilateral leg work"  AKA - standing on one leg and doing stuff.  We started with good mornings, then went to one legged deadlifts (funkiness!!) then onto pistols, aka one legged squats.   I have come to the conclusion that although my balance is better than it once was, I am still not exactly poetry in motion.....  It gets kind of interesting when you try to do a pistol, and you have that ol' "relax at the bottom of the squat" habit that I seem to have.  End result - not so good.  All in all so far it's been a good, tough week.  I feel like my extremities are tight and muscular (that would be arms and legs).  They may be, they may not be, but they are giving me the impression of buffhood.   However, my middle still qualifies as soft and mushy!!  

Barbells, barbells everywhere!!

Turkish Getups on Thursday. YAY!!! Much to Patty's chagrin, this is one of my favs. There's nothing cooler than a heavy barbell TGU!  All day, I visualized it - I was gonna do a 75 lb barbell TGU! It was gonna happen and it was gonna be pretty!  Before started, we embarked on a conversation weighing the difficulty levels of the TGU - kettlebell versus barbell.  I went with my beloved barbell.  I started light, at 45, then 55.  The at 65, the unthinkable happened,  I could not do the get up part of the TGU with the 65 lb barbell. What evil, dastardly plot is this???  I tried again -it just wasn't going to happen.  Off to Plan B - I threw the barbell aside and decided to try the 24kg kettlebell (aka 53 lbs).  It is completely different. Easier? perhaps. Harder? maybe.  Just different, amazingly different for basically the same move using just a different utensil.   For the last round, I stayed with the KB - obviously the barbell wasn't giving me the love that I had envisioned earlier in the day!  This time I did the 28kg, or 62 lb - it went ok - not fantastic, I failed at the very end of my last one. I am not sure which is harder, but, I must say - the KB is a heck of a lot scarier than the barbell TGU.  When you get to kettlebells that heavy - you're looking at a monster cannonball that can come down and smash into your face.  The good thing though, is that gives you a bit more incentive to hold that puppy high in the air! Overall, not quite what I had hoped, but I threw in some unexpected variety to mix it up, and was fairly successful at it.



Saturday we did Lynne - 5 rounds for max reps of bodyweight bench press, and pullups.  I wasn't sure how well I would do on these. 1. It was 7am.  2. I took a walk with the Captain the night before.....the walk was a bit long.  
For the bench, I did the same weight I've been doing with Lynne, 135.  Pullups, one red, one mini, kipping.  I cannot remember exactly what I did - I think the Bench averaged to 6 or 7 per round, and the pullups about 10.  I am doing some strange moves when it comes to my bench - my left shoulder is not staying on the bench and it's making me go all wonky.    I'm not certain what is causing that, but it's wrong, I know it - I can feel it.  However, I did end up doing better on this than I did last time, which shocked the heck outta me.



Today -High-intensity Stations
5 rounds of 1 minute each of:
Thrusters (95/65#)
Power cleans (95/65#)
Pull-to-Inverted Hang
YAY!! Only 65 lbs!!!  I can't tell you the last time I only did 65 lbs on something.  I was actually kind of looking forward to this one.  Although, in the pit of my stomach, I kind of had a sinking feeling that I would have to do this at 95 lbs.  I was hoping 65, but had a tiny inkling that 95 was going to be my fate.  Well, when it came down to it - it was a "95 is the Getting Stronger weight, but if you need to work on your metcon...."  CRAP! It was up to me.  Most people would think that would be a good thing...I'm not most people.  In general, I like knowing there's just no choice in the matter.  In reality, my options were to do the 65#'s - but I better do a heck of alot of them - or do the 95#, and see what that brings.  I went with the 95#'s.  Not sure if it was the easy way to go or not.  Here's kind of how it went.
Round 1 - Pull to inverted hang - I jumped and got 5 of them, then the power cleans, probably 7 or 8, and the remainder were Thrusters - to get to a final score of 17.
Round 2 - Michael wanted to switch rings - ok sure. I did one.......then tried about 3 more that ended up being knees to elbows. OK, one it is.  Powercleans, I wailed through - I believe I got in 9 or 10.  Then struggled through 5 or 6 thrusters for a total of 16.
Round 3 - Again -1 jump to inverted hang.  Yep,  one.  The rest I did about the same as round 2.  I scored this one at 15, but I forgot to add in my single JTIH...so in reality it was 16.  Not that it really matters.
Round 4 - I changed the box under the high rings.  This helped. I actually got in 3 of the pull-to-inverted-hangs.  The cleans brought me up to 11, so 8 of 'em.....and then 5 thrusters for a total of 16.
Round 5 - I got in 4 pull to inverted hang, 8 cleans (brought me to 12), and 5 thrusters.  Overall score - 81 or 82. Not spectacular - I should have been able to hit 90.  I agree with Patty - I gotta figure out how to dig a little deeper. 
However, today was definitely a sweat inducing doozy!!  It actually felt good to sweat that much...I think I'm nuts!!   

Wow...apparently I've been sandbaggin'!

Yesterday was a very interesting day.  It started bright and early with a 730am workout. OY!  The workout was a new one. 
3 rounds for time of:
- 12 pullups
- 12 jump squats (35#)
- 12 ring dips
- 16 kb swings (24 kg)
 Pullups were kipping in a red band and a mini band, Ring dips were using a blue band.  In retrospect, I probably should have gone with a lighter band on the dips...in fact, Jonathan pretty much said as much.  I went with the blue because I had recollections of doing multiple dips with a red band and getting through it - barely and half assed.  So I went with the blue, thinking full range of motion - but it was modified too much - I'll admit it.  I finished in 12:10 I believe.

Upon arriving home, my phone rang - it was the Doctor's office, wanting to know if I could come in early...HELL YES!  Less time to think about this whole procedure thingy and let my nerves take hold.  I took a quick shower and we headed to Louisville, for my, now 10am appointment.  I'm not sure what I was expecting, but I don't think it was quite the surgical looking room that I got.  Then as I sat there, I was hooked up to blood pressure moniters, heart rate moniter, EKG, an IV, and oxygen (which actually kind of smells bad!).  It was very surreal.  As they injected the drugs - the "conscious sedation" drugs (which apparently means that I was awake and helpful during the whole procedure, but have zero recollectioin of the whole thing.), the said I should start feeling dizzy in about 30 seconds.  I laughed, and remember stating "30 seconds??  I'm feelin' that now"  End of memory.  Next thing I knew I was in the recovery room, Sean was there, and I was hiccuping like mad.  We got home and I slept....ALOT.  Other than a sleepy afternoon - no repercussions.  End result - nothing conclusive- not enough damage to make a call without the biopsy results.  So, another 7-10 days before we know the truth. The good thing is that at least I can take the gluten and crap out of my diet -  I no longer have the excuse that kicks the door open.  Gluten was my gateway drug to pizza and ice cream - now it's gone....whether for good or not, we'll just have to see.

Today we did Diane - 21/15/ 9 reps of Deadlifts - 155#, and Handstand pushups.
Deadlifts were no problem - I did the 21 in a set of 15, and 6, the 15 set I did in 10 and 5, and the 9 set was unbroken.  The handstand pushups were bar assisted. Not sure how I broke these up.  But, again, I was told we need to make 'em harder.  oh yay.... Not sure what that means other than trying to really do them...ZOIKS!  I finished in 9:19? ish....something like that.  Overall not bad, just not sure what Diane will bring next time she comes around in the handstand pushup department!!

So, 2 thing in two days that I went too light on - guess I have some sandbagger in me too!

My new buddy.

Apparently the 95 lb barbell is my new best friend.....I seem not to be able to actually do a workout with anything lighter these days.   Yesterday, we did push press, Sumo Deadllift High pull, and clean practice.  Then did one round of "Heavy" Fight gone bad, which means: Double unders, wall ball(16#), SDLHP (95#), box jumps (20"), and Push press (95#).  Heavy FBG is heavy!!   The thrusters were horribly heavy.  The pushpresses, not so bad.  Actually, I think I got in more push presses than anything, that was the last thing I did, but the one I didn't rest on.  For the one round I got in 65 reps.  Not stellar, but I guess it wasn't awful.

Today was "Franiel" or for me at least, heavy Franiel.  What pray tell is this silly thing called Franiel?  Basically Fran with more reps and running. Regular Franiel was 3 rounds of 400m run, 15 Thrusters (65#), 15 pullups.   Heavy Franiel is 3 rounds of 200m run, 12 Thrusters (95#), 12 pullups (weighted, or for me, dead hang- no kip allowed.).  Naturally, I like heavy things better than running, so I opted for the heavy version.  The running actually wasn't terrible - but that was because it was only 1 lap.  The thrusters, were a bit wretched, but still not horribly horrible.  I managed to break them up by doing 8 then 4 for all three rounds.  Then we get to the part that took 982 years, or a good 2/3 of my time.  The pullups.
The freaking pullups.  Don't you think those bastards would be a tiny bit easier????? Nope.  I did them in a big blue and a red.  They were slow as molasses.  3 here, 2 there, 1 most of the time.  They were definitely dead hang, because I made sure I lifted my feet each time before I set up, and I have to jump a bit to reach the bar anyway.  Seriously, a year and a half later, wouldn't you think I would be a tad bit better at these??  Today they are my number one frustration...but I'm not going to let them get the best of me.  However, just a forewarning - history will show, when people come in, new to the gym and kick booty on their pullups, as in, they are FAR superior to me, I tend to get really pissy about them.
So forewarned is forearmed..........

The Bear and a bit of Push/Pull

The Bear:


The big question is - is there a more miserable, heinous workout than the Bear??  I think not.  The bear brings you to your knees and makes you want to weep like a baby.  What exactly is the bear, you may ask??
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WOP9J7QPwI

It's a power clean, front squat to overhead press or Thruster, down to your back, then a back squat to overhead press.  Doesn't really sound too bad.  Here's the kicker...you do 7 reps of that whole series and at no point, can you set the weight on the ground.  Then do this for 5 rounds.    The first 3-4 reps of each round were actually not bad.  However, once you hit that rep...the last 3-4 are the most painful things ever.  You really do want to quit, but you quash that thought, and keep going....pushing through the pain and misery.  When done with the last rep, you toss the bar on the ground and want to curl up like a bug and just weep.....
Instead...what do you do?? Get up and do it again...relive the pain and misery.... over and over..
But as horrible as it was, I did survive, with a mere bear claw bruise on my chest, a lump on the back of my neck from resting the bar, and a big bruise on my thigh.  No permanent damage.  YAY!
I did this at 95/95/95/85/85.  

Today was Push/Pull  - 3/3/3 Bench and Deadlift.   I was not going to go heavy on the deadlift, it hasn't been a week yet since my bizarro back muscle pull, and I didn't want to aggravate it before it had healed.  So, bench press, I did 135/145/150x2.   Deadlift I did 205/225/245, working on maintaining form.  Not bad - I want my bench to come up....I really want 175 by the end of the year....350 on the DL....and we'll say 275 squat.  Those are my 3 month goals...a bit lofty? Perhaps.  I know I'm not gonna get it unless I clean up the diet, which starts Tuesday.  Oddly enough, Tuesday can't come quick enough. I'm ready to get back on that horse and stay there.  I've learned and experienced the difference.  Have I mentioned how much I hate the fact that food has that much power over your well-being??

ouch, ouch, fun, fun!!

Renegade Rows - 7 sets of 10, 3 count.    Sometimes, its a bit of a curse being a bit on the stronger side.  I looked at what I did previously on this, and basically muttered several not so nice words under my breath.  I had to do at least as well.  I did 20 lb, 25 lb, 12 kg kettlebell, 30 lb, I tried the 16kg kettlebell - failed miserably, it was actually rather humorous, then went and finished off with the 25 lb dumbbells.  After that, I did the remaining sets at 35 lbs.  In the end, it was the exact same weights as last time, just different order.

Deadlift - 15 sets of 3.  The main point of this was go as high as you can while still maintaining good form.  I started at 215, 225, 235, 245, 265 - did this one for 2 rounds, then went to 270, did that for 1 round, 2nd round...I did 2.  Why did I only do 2??  Well, I can't remember clearly exactly what happened, if it occurred on the up part or the down part of the lift. I think, I felt myself rounding over, and tried to fix it by pulling back....and that's when it happened.  One of the funkiest sensations ever.  I felt my back muscle pull......it wasn't painful, but it was bizarre.  That was it, I wasn't going to finish the last one of that set.  I needed to move around and make sure I didn't do anything really bad.  Nope, wiggling and moving was fine..I could foresee some back pain in my future though.    I dropped the weight and did the remainder at 235.  Afterwards we went to play in the park, messing around on the playground- the playgrounds are much better than the ones I grew up with!!  It was a fun, fun time!

I took Monday off - turns out, I probably did pull or strain my back muscles - Melissa said the mid back section was a bit of a knotted mess (not exactly her term...).    She worked miracles and today all is good - a tiny bit of stiffness, but about 95% back to feeling normal.
Today we did Functional focus - tire flippin' Yoke walkin, car pushin'.
What pray tell is Yoke walking?  Check out the pic of Patty up above. Yep, it's carrying around a bunch of hanging weight on your back.  The final "timed event" was Yoke walking, tire flipping (3 up, 3 back), and pushing Patty's jeep up and back.  I used the 24 kg kettlebells (53 lbs each), the 60 lb bar, and the chains which I think were around 15 lbs each.  So, I think my total weight was somewhere around 200 lbs. The hard part was the weights on the chains making you walk around like a drunken sailor.  After that, came 6 tire flips with the girl tire, then pushing Patty's car.  Pushing her car on the slight uphill grade made your thighs burn.  The downhill, was not so bad.  I finished with a time of 3:02...and some major oogly legs.

A Fine week!

Annie: 50/40/30/20/10   Double Unders, Situps.
I had more fun doing Annie than I think I ever have.   Me, Tricia, Melissa and Cheri with her Kettlebells were all in a race against each other, which, with Double unders can be a bit comical.  None of us are experts at the silly things, we can string together as may as 6 or 7, but in most cases it's 2 maybe 3.   We all finished within about 30 seconds of each other....Melissa was the big winner, finishing at 13:42.  I finished
13:49, which took a full minute off of my last time, so I was happy with that.  Strangely enough, I had a harder time with the situps than I think I have ever had.  Perhaps it has to do with residual lunge pain from my Saturday Lunges......hmmm???

Overhead Press/Front Squat 3/3/3 -My press is right where my bench is.  Stuck....perpetually stuck.  I did the first round at 105, second round I went a bit aggressive and tried 115 - Ummmm..nope, nothin!  Not a chance in hell. So much for wishful thinking!  Last round I went down to 110 and got 2.  Kind of sad.  Front Squats on the other hand, I did first round at 135, second at 155, and last round I went a bit more aggressive, at 175.  I only got 1 in. Not stellar, but the 175 was a PR.  My previous was 2 at 165, so at least that's something.

Heavy Helen: 200m run, 15 KB swings 24 kg, 9 pullups weighted.  I've never been a Helen fan, so this was a good change.  I would much rather go heavy with the weights and reduce the running.  It's just a running thing - hate it with a red hot passion.  The Kettlebells were heavy - much heavier than the 16 kg that I'm used to, but still not bad - I didn't break them up at all.  They weren't quite as high or pretty, but it's really the first time I've used the "boy weight" Kettlebell, for more than a swing or two.    Pullups were not weighted. They can't be weighted until I can actually do one.  So, I was in a red band and a mini, and kipping.  I ended up finishing in 10:27, I believe it was.  I think I'm a Heavy Helen fan - but she would be better without the running, just gotta say.    Afterwards we did Handstand practice - not handstand pushups, just doing the handstand.  It was uber fun. I have to admit, the most intimidating part is actually getting into the handstand position from standing.  A gymnast, I am not.  However, today, unlike last week, I was able to squelch any reservations and just do it.   My positioning was off, and I never came close to the wall, so I was kind of free-standing - with a bit of help to stay balanced.  Cheri R kicked butt!!!  She did not want to do this.....was in near panic mode, close to tears, shaking, giggling hysterically, to the point, I was afraid she was about to hightail it the hell outta there.   She didn't - and she actually overcame her fear and did it.  Of course once she did that, she was enamored, and wants to keep working them.  Way to go Cheri !! That was AWESOME!!

I FINALLY have my appointment for the Endoscopy, to find out once and for all, whether I have Celiac or not.  It's not until Sept. 8, but it's on the books.  The annoying part, is that I have keep eating gluten food until then, so breads, pasta, etc. are all good.  Well, tell me something is good, anything, and for me it's a free-for all.  I'm just ready to go back to eating the way I've determined I need to.....no bread/pasta etc...UGH! I guess it's only 10 days away.

Yes, the glutes have been activated!

Strangeness.....Tomorrow I have my preliminary appointment with the GI doctor.  Basically to see if they think I need to have the endoscopy or not to get the Celiac diagnosis.  At this point, I just want the yes or no, so I can get back to eating the way I need to.   Hopefully soon!

Saturday, Poppa Joe, Patty and I decided we were going to head to the park and do our own workout.  Jonathan was out of town, but we were going to do it anyway, after all, we are addicted aren't we??
So, silly us, we decide to go, and come up with a plan.  100m lunges, 21 pushups, 21 situps, decrease the pushups and situps by 3 each round, until you get through 6.  Poppa Joe was going to run the hill, while Patty and I lunged away.  Great idea, right?  Well, we aren't quite good enough to figure out exactly what 100m is, so I estimated it at 50 lunges.  25 each leg.  After round one, Patty and I looked at each other, and said, how about 40.  After round 2, we looked at each other and said...how about 30?  I guess the plus side is, that we didn't go down from 30.  The workout wasn't bad while we were doing it, but let me tell you - I am feeling every single one of those 210 lunges today!! Jonathan was talking about gluteal activation or some such thing, I'll tell ya what, my glutes are activated something fierce!  Of course, it's disappointing to look back and not see the firm round ghetto booty that I feel like I should have after something like that, but someday it will be there.  Maybe when I'm 60.

Today, we did the "Dirty Dozen" YAY!!   I was really disappointed when this first came  up, and I couldn't do it.  It's a doozie!  Here's what it is, and the play by play.  Keep in mind, it sound deceptively simple - 12 of each exercise, for time.
1.  Pull to inverted hang.  I started with these, because I figured once I got tired, the element of danger increases exponentially. I'm not fast, and in reality, they are a jump to inverted hang.  So, not exactly the full core workout for me that they are supposed to be, but someday, I'll get to the pull rather than jump part of it.  These were slow and methodical.
2. Power cleans - 95# - The first one or two were way off, I don't know what the heck I was doing, but it  sure wasn't a good power clean - then Jonathan said something like "stomp". Oh yeah - I forgot the stomp!! The last 10 were much better.
3. Thrusters - 95#.  These sucked.  With my butt and thighs still sore, these were not happy things for me, but I wanted to get through them as fast as I could because the 95 lbs was feeling uber-heavy.  I did them in two sets of 6.  Simply painful.
4. Handstand pushups - These were with Foot assist on the bar.  I did them 6/4/2.  Not sure why I know that....I just do.
5. Pullups to chest - I kipped these in 2 red bands.  I don't know that all of them were to chest - but J said at least the first 4 were.  Wonder if I'll ever get an unassisted pullup....??  That just seems to be a pipe dream.
6. Wallball 16# - These were fine -the only odd thing was the ball.  The weight in it was off center, and it was softer and cushier than I'm used to, so it was going all over the place, my throws were highly inaccurate, and I missed the catch more often than normal.
7. Ring dips - These were assisted with the red band.  I can't lie - I kind of sucked at these.  I was tired enough, I should probably have used the blue band to make sure I got the full range of motion. I was not getting my arms anywhere close to locked out at the top.  I think I was most disappointed in the way I did these more than anything - they were just ugly.
8. SDLHP 95# - Strangely enough, these feel really weird with 95#.  I got through them, 2 sets of 6.
9. Push Jerks 95# - These were the easiest of the barbell lifts.  Again, I did these with 2 sets of 6.
10. Burpees - blech.  Full range with the pushup. Well, I wasn't breaking any land-speed records with these, but I got through 'em.
11. KB Snatches - 16kg - I am super glad I saved these for the end.  These were actually the easiest thing we did, and it was nice to have a slider at the end.  WOO HOO, all those KB snatches we've been warming up with were good for something!!
12. Deck squats 12kg - Ok, I've only tried deck squats once before today, and that was close to a year ago, unsuccessfully.  Deck squats are these funky things where you hold a kettlebell, and act like a pill bug.  Basically curl into a ball, roll on your back, then extend your arm with the kettlebell and pop onto  your feet.  The key that I learned was momentum.  Once you get them, they are actually quite fun!

So this whole mess took me 27:40 to complete. Not exactly speedy, but first time through, and not having done much metcon recently, I'll take it.


-

BAWK, BAWK, BAWK!!!

Monday was a Functional Focus type day, we worked on Box Jumps and Tire flips. I started with the 16" box - no problem, but I did NOT have on my bouncy shoes!! Then the 20" box, ok, again not too bad. Third round - Holy CRAPOLA! My mission was to try the 24" box - the big, whomping, huge box - you know the one - it goes all the way up to your hips. A very high surface for a lead-footed mid-westerner to pounce on! First jump, I walked up - jumped on the 20" to be sure I could do it, then strolled on up to the 24" and jumped. I actually landed it - yep. me. jumped onto a two foot box!! Woo-Hoo! Oh, wait, I have to do 4 more?? In order to land these, I did a weird mini-hop before the big leap....I did it 3 more times...then balked. Not once, not twice, but over and over and over. To put it one way, I "pulled a Patty". Although, I must say, the way Patty knocked out the 20" box like it was nothing, that phrase needs to change, she doesn't "pull Patty's" anymore!! In the end, I let that box get so far into my head, that I had to go back and do the 20" box again, before I could do it again...but, at least I did it. Next, we went out back to play with the tires. First round was 2 flips each way on the girl tire. I tried to make it look as easy as the boys do, which in retrospect, may have been a bit of an error in judgement. Next two rounds were on the boy tire - the big kahuna. 3 up, 3 back. I did it - but that is one heavy sucker. Usually, after tire flippin', everyone else gets these big glorious bruises all over their arms and thighs. I have never gotten them...until now. I must say - they look rather silly. One bruise on each arm - in the exact same spot. It looks goofy.

Tuesday - 3/3/3 Power cleans from hang, Power cleans from floor, Full Oly Squat cleans.

Yay - cleans - that's sarcasm in case you didn't guess. Cleans are a bit of my nemesis - if the weight gets close to a respectable level, I just pull the thing with my arms - I lose the vast majority of hip drive. I can't figure it out. We started with power cleans from the hang. If I'm doing all of my math correctly, I started at 85, 90 95. For the first time in.... I can't tell you how long, I didn't hear the "too soon" "pulling too soon" . I don't think I knew how to react to that. So, I continued on up for the power cleans from the floor. 100/105/110 - still nothing...perhaps a bit too soon - but not like I have been doing. Hmmm.....well, now let's move on to the full squat clean....115, for the first time, I heard it - "you're pulling too soon". I knew it, I felt it. But I got one good one in. So we move on - and here is where I believe I made my mistake. I got greedy. Rather than moving up 5 lbs at a time, as I had been doing - I moved up 10. I went to 125. I did one sloppy one. Then it happened again....I suddenly got in my head and couldn't even do a single thing! I tried to do that same clean about 6 more times, but aborted each one. It was ridiculous. I ended up having to go to Cheri's bar - which had 95 lbs on it, to get in some good ones, before I could start round 3 - which was back down to 115. UGH! Why can't I do cleans without getting uber-frustrated?? Cripes, the worst is, that I know in my head, rationally, I am strong enough that I should be doing at least 150 lbs. Freakin' cleans!! They're as annoying as pullups!

Wednesday - Heavy Fran - 95# Thrusters/Pullups - 15, 12, 9. Well, after the last two days, I needed something to kick into gear. I think this was it, although while doing Heavy Fran, I didn't think I was doing that well. Turns out I completed this in 10:02, taking 3 minutes off my previous time. Who knew?? The thrusters felt heavy and messy. I did the pullups with a red band and a mini - last time I used 2 reds. Next time, sounds like I'm down to a single red band. ZOIKS! Overall, I was happy with this, especially considering I hadn't done many met-cons in the last 6 weeks, while getting ready for the competition.

Thursday - Bench Press - 5/5/5/5/5. I have decided - I need to go heavier, earlier. I did this one, 115/125/135/145/135. When I did the 145 - I only got in 2 or 3 (can't remember for sure). I suddenly have this goal of getting to 200 sometime in the ......semi-near....future - which means, I have a long way to go!!

Now -looking back, what the heck happened to me this week?? Seemingly out of the blue, I suddenly couldn't control the normal reservations and fears that I have - but can usually squelch, and carry on. I think it was a combination of things. Hormones?? perhaps, I am a woman after all. Lack of sleep?? good possibility, the family's in town, so I'm not getting my usual amount of beauty sleep. Now, comes the part that I really hate to admit....but I am becoming convinced alot of it is food. UGHH! Did I really say that out loud??? Here's the thing, the last couple of weeks, while getting ready for the competition, and trying to duck under that terrible thing called "the heavyweight division", I have been eating super-uber-healthy. Probably better than I ever have in my life. Of course, then the family comes in town, and the looming possibility of a definitive celiac diagnosis...and my diet loosens a bit. First of all, I can't take the gluten out of my diet completely until I get the diagnosis - otherwise the test can be incorrect. I hadn't been eating alot of gluten, and I probably need to get a bit more in my system for the test. So, my diet changed a bit -not horribly, but definitely not what it was. Much as I hate to admit it, I felt it. Overall, I just have seem off, mentally, emotionally, and even a bit physically. Ironically, I think I'm looking forward to getting the diagnosis part over with, so I can just do what I need/want to do. Much as I have been kind of fighting the whole 30 day paleo thing that's all over the place, after the last week or two, I may try it, because I am becoming convinced that what you eat makes a difference in how you feel. The one thing I really can agree with, is that you don't know how something makes you feel, until you take it out, and live without it for a while. I guess, I'll have to wait and see, hopefully in the next week or two, I'll know for sure about this whole thing.

The Big Day!!

The culmination of the past several weeks took place yesterday. It was my first Powerlifting meet. Something I never thought I would do - not in 100 billion years! I have never been an athlete, or even really athletically inclined. ....and yet, at age 42, I find myself in my first powerlifting competition, and actually winning my first trophy.

I've been living the last several weeks in denial that this was really gonna happen. Silly, I know, especially since I was doing the training for it, but it's just a game I play in my mind - and most of the time it works fairly well.

Yesterday, morning, I got up, showered, got dressed, then made myself a spinach, egg and feta scramble, then packed up some jerky and blueberries. A pretty typical morning....although, today, Patty picks me up. For the most part I was calm about the upcoming shenanigans, well, at least calm, until we got there. While we were waiting for this whole thing to start, Jonathan took Patty out, to distract her......I sat for about 5 minutes, then suddenly had to move, the nervous energy had popped into gear and I just couldn't sit there. Walked around a bit - then looked into the audience - there was the family. Mom, Dad, Paul, Mary, Mike, Sean......everyone. I went up to talk them, then suddenly, the whole thing overwhelmed me - nerves, the fact that they were all there to see me...(?), I just don't really know what all popped up, but it manifested itself in tears. Yep - there I was - tough girl. Standing in my ridiculous singlet, getting ready to lift a whole lotta weigh, and I was suddenly weeping. Sometimes, it sucks being a girl - and even worse, a girl that weeps when her stress level hits a certain point.....OY! Talk about feeling like a complete boob! (and of course that makes it even worse...so it's just an ugly, vicious circle!)

Finally, it's time to start. The squats were starting. Patty went first. Unfortunately the first round or so, I wasn't exactly what you would call uber-supportive of my fellow first timers - this was primarily because I was afraid if I said anything, the tears would start again (once they start - there is a certain timeframe that speaking is off limits if you ever want them to stop). Patty walked right up there and just rocked it, the Melissa nailed hers, and JC got his. My turn. Amazingly, once you get up there, it wasn't bad. It was far easier to tune out the whole world watching than I ever would have thought it would be. I did my first squat - 215. Apparently the depth was very borderline - possibly even, not quite quite there, but they gave it to me anyway. Second time up, I did 225. This time was better, although, I almost got redlighted again - this time the judge warned me to wait to rack until he said rack. DUH! Last round I went with 235, my current PR. This time, I hit my depth and actually waited for the judge to say rack. I realized I did this, and kind of wanted to give him the ol' high 5 - because I actually remembered. I wanted to - but I didn't actually do it, instead, I leaned over, with a big old shit-eatin' grin on may face and said "Woo-Hoo, I remembered to wait!!" I think this was about the point that I finally started to relax and actually enjoy myself.

Bench Press came next. We warmed up a bit, not as much as usual, and my highest warmup weight was 95. My starting weight was 140. I wasn't 100% sure on this one. I knew I shouldn't have any problem with it, but I didn't really feel warmed up by the time I got up there, and I just wasn't sure how long the pause would be. Silly me. Once I got up there - the 140 wasn't a problem. The pause was nice and short, much shorter than we'd been practicing. It actually felt good. Next round we went with 155, which again is my current PR, should be able to match it - and I did. Not too bad! It must have looked pretty strong, because when having to give the weight for round 3 - we upped the ante. Went to 165. BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! What was I thinking?? Actually, I think that was the problem, on round 3, I thought about the weight. That pretty much set off a chain reaction. My set up didn't feel quite right, then I brought the weight down - tried to bring it up - moved it maybe an inch - if that.....and nothing. It didn't drop back down, but it sure didn't go up! Drats! That's ok - at least I matched the PR, and I was going for 10 lbs more, which on bench is the equivalent of about 50 on anything else.

Deadlifts came up next, and these were the the most fun. I'm not certain why - but it was definitely a good time! When I got up there forthe first round, they called for another bar - and proceeded to put on the big gold plates. ZOIKS! That's only for super heavy things - the gold ones weigh 100 lbs each!! For some reason, I just didn't think I was gold plate worthy - apparently I was wrong. I started at 265, which was no problem. Second round 285 - again, it was pretty darn easy - shockingly so, for what really is alot of weight. Then round 3. As we were up trying to decide on the weight for this one, we were looking at the sheet and one of the judges recommended 140kg. - I looked at the sheet, and thought it said that equated to about 315 - but I wasn't sure. 315- would have been a big PR but I had that number in my head. Because the weight was 300 or more, I grabbed the weight belt. As it was time for me to put it on, we were suddenly notified that the person who was supposed to go ahead of me wasn't going to do a last lift. Jinkies, I better hurry!! I grabbed the assistance of Jonathan - I thought we were going with the first hole - nope - he said let's go with #2. Ummm..ok - is it ok if I can't breathe?? I walked up to the bar, and my eyes must have been bulging as much as my belly on either side of the belt. The judge looked at me and just said - take in all your air before you start....so I did. I don't know if it was the belt, the need to take the belt off, the awareness of the blub hanging over and under the belt, or just the need to breathe, but that was the easiest 300 I've ever lifted!! After I set the bar down, I went running over to Jonathan hands high in the air, running through my head was "I can't speak, get this thing offa me!!" Jonathan high 5's me, then realizes what I am really trying to say, and proceeds to help me get out of the belted contraption. This was actually, a very funny moment - at least I think so. As it turns out, 140 kg - is actually only 308 - so 3 lbs over my previous PR, and not the 315 that I thought it was, but that's ok.

In the end, and overall - this was a great experience - despite the stress and tears in the beginning. It's something I never thought I would ever do - and yet, I did it, and did it pretty well, I think, for a first timer. A big thanks for the help and encouragement to Jonathan, Patty and the whole DEFY! gang....and to my family, it turns out it was pretty cool having everyone there! Have I mentioned that I have a pretty darn great family?? The whole experience was good enough that I would consider doing it again - although next time, I will NOT be in the heavyweight division, if it kills me I will be outta there!