Painful...simply painful!

Wednesday, Shoulder Press 1-1-1, Push Press 3-3-3, Push Jerk 5-5-5.

I've been "greasing the groove" on the shoulder press the last couple of weeks, so I was really hoping I would get a PR. My concern was that I hadn't greased in a while - had slacked off a bit due to the workouts.  So went into this, not sure how I would do.  

Shoulder Press - round 1 - 110 - got it....round 2 - 115.........got it - YAY PR!!, not the prettiest lift, but still a PR.  Then, round 3, decided, what the hell, let's get greedy!  Went for 120.  Ummm...nope - the bar said "I don't think so Greedy Gus!".  Ah well, I got the 115. 

Push press - my previous PR was 1 at 140.  The push presses were feeling a bit off.   I started at 135 got those 3, but they were not pretty at all - I wasn't putting in enough of a hip drive so ended up pressing the last bit to overhead.  Round 2 - 137, this round, I was feeling the motion a bit more - didn't feel too bad, but I don't think they were great lookin' either.  Last set, 140 - got all three, so another PR, again, albeit not the prettiest one ever!

Push Jerk - I believe my PR on these was 145 - I think that was the one I tried to drop on my head, but I'm not certain.  I was not feeling the push jerk at all - possibly because I was tired, either that or just an all out bad coordination day.  I started at 115, went to 125 - which were downright ugly.  So I went all the way back down to 95.    So, I did 'em - not my best effort by any means.

Thursday: Kettlebell Hell: Tabata intervals (20 second work, 10 second rest, 8 times) applied to Front Squats, Clean and Jerks,  Rows, and alternating floor presses.  16kg per hand.  Score is total reps.

We have not done this one in a while.  I actually, momentarily considered moving to the 20kg kettlebell for these, since, I kind of feel like I've been too comfortable with the 16kg lately.(I got a taste of the 20kg during the 10 minute one handed clean and jerks, and have been pondering it alot lately) However, upon consideration, I decided this was the WRONG workout to make a change that drastic.  I figured, I could do most of it, even if the numbers were low, but I wasn't confident about the 2 handed clean and jerks.  So, 16kg it was!  Keep in mind throughout this whole thing you are holding 2 kettlebells - AKA 35 lbs per hand.

Front Squats - total for all 8 rounds was -47 

Clean and Jerks -total for 8 rounds was -25

Upright Rows - total for 8 rounds was -49

Floor Presses - total for 8 rounds was 60

I believe these numbers are correct, but I'm not 100% sure - I know my total was 181. Ironically,  the upright rows, actually seem easier alternating (which is how we have done them previously).  I'm not certain why this would be, but they definitely felt that way while doing them.  I will admit, there were some really weak ones in that count!  Floor Press, the start position was with both arms holding the weight up (increasing the level of difficulty).  I know I started in that position, and didn't set down the Kettlebells until round 3. So I'm confident the 1st two rounds were done correctly.  I think it was probably round 3 or 4 that I set the KB's down, and when I picked 'em up, didn't think about it, and started in the down position. 

....and it was about round 5 or 6 that Jonathan saw me screwing 'em up and corrected me.  I know I did 1, 2, or maybe even 3 rounds wrong.  So, my score probably for the floor presses is a bit deceiving.

All I can say is, that I was sure glad I went with the 16kg for KB Hell, once I found out today was...duh, duh, duh.......

"The Filthy Fifty"

To some extent, I was kind of disappointed....although I don't think that's really the right word......   Here's the thing, for me at least, half of the allure of the Filthy 50 is that it doesn't come up often, so when it does, it creates a buzz and excitement that makes everyone's heart fill with dread, yet anticipation.  People go out of their way to make sure they can do it.   That excitement wasn't there, I think because it's been requested for birthday's and whatnot so much, that it's not as "special" as it once was.   I dunno - that's just my thoughts/perspective, and I could be completely hallucinating.

Anyway - even if we have done it or a versions of it, it's still a total ass kicker. ....and at 730 am, it's just that much harder.  I was the only one signed up for 73am, so I ended up in a one on one. Let me just preface this by saying, no offense intended on this, but it's the met-cons that you kind of dread one on one's.  However, Jonathan did very well, pushed when I needed it, but also knew when I was on the verge of passing out.  So, if you're in that situation...don't fear, it'll be fine.  Here's the complete play by play:

1. 50 Knee to Elbow - I decided to start with these, because I know they take me a while.  I was really trying to work on not jumping. I know I did on a couple though.

2. 50 Double Unders - I actually dreamt about these last night.  I can't remember a whole lot about it, but I do know that when I was doing my DU's, I jumped up, and was twirling the rope speedily.  When I jumped, it was as if I was floating in the up position, and having to push my legs down, to tap the floor gently to get the DU's.  I got 21 in a row that way.  That must have been when my magical floating dust was blown away. Back to reality - I definitely did not live the dream.  I tried - but it just didn't happen.  These took a bit.

3. Wall Ball - I did 15, then 7, then 8, then the last 20 in 2 sets of 10.

4. Kettlebell swings - 12kg - YAY! only 12kg.  Did these nonstop - made  up for some lost time, but couldn't breathe when done.

5. Box Jumps 20" - SLOW!  I was completely out of breathe, so it took a while to get the gusto up to jump that high.  Bounciness is not in my genes...wait, I should say bounciness in the legs is not in my genes.  Ask any of my family members!  It takes quite the effort to get that high, and I land in a full squat position, making me have to stand upright.  Basically, my box jumps are the equivalent of 50 highjumps, and 50 squats (without the down part).

6. Push Press 35# - I did 25, 15, then the last 10.  Should have been able to get 'em all at once, but I was getting a bit tired (understatement!!)

7.  Back Extensions - Not sure how I broke these up, but I did them until my hamstrings cramped.  

8. Walking Lunges - note to self - do these earlier!! I can normally get in a good 20-25 without having to stop...not so much today.  These ended up being pretty slow, at least in my head, not nearly as fast as they have been in the past.

9. Jumping  Pullups - old habits!  I cannot do jumping pullups without pausing and making sure I have enough in me to get over the bar.....or at least semi close to getting over the bar.  Most of these were done as singles.  Jonathan would try to get me to do 2 at a time, but the second one would be absolutely pathetic.  Not sure what my issue is on these, but a LARGE amount of time was spent on them!  By the end of, I could not feel my arms much at all.

10. Burpees - Whoever created these monsters is the spawn of the devil!  All I'm gonna say.

There was a 50  minute time cutoff.  I got through everything but the last 13 of the burpees in that timeframe.  I finished those off, and for completion, my time was 52:11.    End result, I cut off about 2 minutes from the last time I actually completed this one, and I did it in the black.  HOWEVER....realistically, my burpee form sucked! So, I would say the black was actually gray. Would I have been able to do this without Jonathan pushing me??......yes, but it would have taken me another 20 minutes.  To say I was in Burpee Hell would be an apt description.  There were a couple times J would say 1-2-3 go, my brain would be with him, thinking "GO BODY GO! YOU CAN DO IT!"  My body, however, would go on strike.  It didn't move - sat there looking all stupid, telling my brain to "go screw itself, the body ain't moving until it's good and ready!"  Yes - my head was a completely separate entity than my body by the end...that is the power of this torture called burpee.  

Thanks Jonathan for pushing me and not letting me stop or pause forever!

The Bolder ladder...and some other stuff!

Well, apparently I didn't realize that I missed Friday!

Friday we did "Challenge Stations" - 3 rounds, 1 minute rest between rounds

- DB goblet squats (25 lbs)
- Pullups
- Split Jumps
- Sandbag cleans (50 lbs)
- Kettlebell swings (16 kg)
- Burpees

I did about 10-12 reps better on this one than I did last time.  The first 2 rounds, I feel like I cranked it - then dropped like a lead balloon on the last round.  I think I got 90 something first round 89 or so the second...and about 70  the last.  My total was 249 I believe.  Obviously, I've obliterated the memory of this one from my mind!  

This was also the weigh in for the end of the "diet challenge".   I did not drop an ounce of weight, but managed to eek out 1 mm of fat globules from my tricep and 7 from above my bellyl/hip.  So - that's ok, I guess.  I try really hard not to get down about the lack of weight loss itself, and the poundage that refuses to leave.  I try to keep focus on the positive, like the inches lost, etc.  But,  I have to admit, it gets to me a bit when I hear complaints about only losing  one or two pounds.  Right now, I've been stuck for so long, I would love to see those 1 or 2 pounds.  Yes, I have something funky going on with my thyroid meds right now, but it doesn't make it any easier, when I'm working just as hard as everyone else with no results - at least not on the scale.  Like I said, most of the time I can and do focus on the positive - the clothes, the compliments I've gotten, overall the way I feel, and the reality of what I would look like if I wasn't putting this effort into it now.  So anyone out there complaining that you only lost a pound or two a month - be grateful and proud. It's still an accomplishment, and you can't drop 20 without losing it one pound at a time.  

Yesterday, Memorial Day, Patty convinced me to do the Bolder Bouler - a 10 K run.  Me, who despises running with a blood red hot passion, promised to do this.  I try to never break my promises.  Although Sunday night I was wondering why.   What sane person would pay quite a bit of money, to get up at a totally uncivilized hour to run 10 K?? I mean really!!  It's crazy!  But I did it.  Up at 445am - yes - that is the 4 o'clock hour - completely nuts!  Catching a 6am bus to Boulder.   Now, the funny part, is that my wave didn't even start until 9am , but if I didn't go with Patty, I would have bailed.  No doubt about it!  Patty was going early because her niece was running in one of the early legs.  She was downright impressive!  She finished in 50 minutes - or something insane like that!  We decided to run 1K, walk 1K - alternatively.  I have to say, this was a really good way to go.  I actually did a pretty good job for once of not going all out and killing myself right away. Could I have run further??  Probably.  Patty agreed with me on this, but we decided to follow the plan to make sure we really finished still feeling relatively ok.    It was kind of funny - by the end of the 1 K walking - I was ready to run. I think I can take about 1K of repetitive motion - be it walking, running, ...anything...then I'm over it.  The ironic part is that I found this 10K easier than the 5K I walked for the Cherry Creek Sneak (and I cheated on that one!).  Isn't that bizarre - goes to show - I really do hate doing the same thing over and over and over...for miles on end.  So, end result - I'm happy I did it.  Thanks Patty for talking me into it!

Tonight was the one arm KB ladder - 16kg.   My day ended in a way, wicked bad way.  Frustrated, bitter and in tears at 545p.    Went to the 630pm.  It's amazing to me, how people, and sweat can turn things around.  Tonight there was Patty, Tricia, Jonathan, Luke and myself.   Everyone was in a great mood, and holy moly - I'm thankful I have something that can turn my mood around so easily, keep me from coming home every night, a bitter, angry, unhappy person.   So, good news, I knocked 30 seconds off my time. Finished in 8 minutes flat - even after doing 10K yesterday.   Maybe I should go to the 20kg Kettlebell next time - push things a bit out of my comfort zone.  That's usually a good thing isn't it?

Deadlifting a Turkish Whore!

Deadlift - Functional Focus:

This was interesting.  We did reverse deadlift, which I have never done before.  We didn't go super heavy just focused on form.  After a couple sets of these, we went onto regular deadlifts, but using the opposite stance that we normally do, which for me, would be Sumo stance.  Can't say that I like it much.  Which is ironic because Sumo is how I originally learned to deadlift.  I changed my stance once I hit about 225 or so, and have never looked back.   Well, this was a revisit to Sumo-land,  and just not so good.  Given the choice, I'll go regular stance, thank you!

Turkish Get-up 1-1-1/Front Squat 1-1-1:

I don't think we've done TGU's for weight in a while, so I was a bit curious about how I would do.  That, plus my shoulders have been a bit twingy and off since Lucifer's Lunges and the 45 dips that Friday.  Nothing major, just not 100%.  I started at 50 with the barbell. That was fine, my left shoulder seemed a bit weaker than usual, but not bad.  Went to 60, again, definitely harder with the left hand than with the right.  Last set, I went to 70, hoping to match my previous PR.  It was definitely more difficult - but got the left one. Did the right. Once I got to the top, the barbell was trying to twist and turn on me, as I was descending, so I ended up having to try to muscle it into position with my wrist and forearm - not an easy task!!  I ended up doing the whole thing - but my arm kind of collapsed as I going into the final lay back position.  It may not have ended pretty, but I'm still counting it.  As I was writing up my score, I realized that I hadn't hit 70 before - that had only been successful on one arm - so in reality - I had just hit a new PR! YAY ME!

Front Squats after TGU's. Not so good.  We were a bit rushed for time - since the TGU's took most of the hour.  I started light, I admit it.  125.  Not a problem.  Then, silly me, watched Z, who I had been matching on the weight thing all night, easily squat 165.  He's not a big guy, my thighs are twice the size of his, so 165 should, in theory be no problem.  Not to mention the fact that I have done it before.  Well - I think the 40 lb jump may have been a bit too much after the heavy TGUs.  I plopped down like a lump.  Last round, I went way back down - going with the thought that the important thing is to get it.  So - light at 135.  No problem. Not the most impressive night for Front Squats, but the TGU's were cool!

Kelly - 400m run/30 box jump 16"/30 WB 16# - 5 rounds - 30 minute cutoff.

Kelly is an evil whore.  All I'm gonna say.  This one is pure torture.

No excuses - no nothing.  I did the exact same as last time - didn't finish before the cutoff. I got in 3 rounds plus the run and Box Jumps.  30:50 - about a minute quicker.

Physical effects of this one: let's see  lower right back pain, by the box jumps of round 2 or so(the usual place I get it when running, still can't figure out why), round 3 major foot cramps in the arches of my feet (if you've had this pain before, you know it's terrible.) I haven't had it much with CF, but it struck today!  Lack of oxygen - to the point the hair follicles on my head were all tingly and goose bumpy.  I think that's about it.   I have a sad, sad stamina.  I've never had much tolerance for lack of oxygen, but I should have a better lung capacity by now....at least I think I should!  UGH! Frustrating!  The rest of it, just comes with the territory.  So - yes, better than last time, but not really anything to brag about,

Bruised and battered!

Friday was a new  one.

Single-arm Kettlebell Clean and Jerks - Max reps 10 minutes 20KG

Upon first glance,  I thought we had done this one before - a long long long time ago.  I was wrong - that one was snatches.  So this was a new experience.  I've also never really worked with the big KB - the big 20KG.  I have the 16KB down fairly well, but this was the big boy.  The big bomber!  ....and it was an 8am workout to boot!
After trying it once or twice, J recommended pacing at a rate of 6 per minute - 1 every 10 seconds.   This is the beginner rate that I should shoot for since I was working with an untested weight.   This worked fantastic!! I will have to remember it in the future.  I did the first couple rounds with the every 10 second pace.  One minute left arm, one minute right arm.  After those first couple, I decided to do six, and give myself a good 20-30 second rest.  The last round, I hammered out an extra 2.  So I ended with 64 reps.  I was quite happy with that, and actually felt a bit like I could have gotten in a few more (one or two per round - not a plethora!)  I'll have to give it a shot next time.

Saturday - Annie, 50-40-30-20- and 10-rep rounds of: Double Unders/Situps.
I'm still struggling with the double unders!! But I managed to eek a minute or two off my last time - ending with 14:50 or so.  Someday I'll be able to do this one without having big black knuckles the next day!

Today - "Heavy Fran" 15, 12, 9 rep rounds of 95# Thrusters and "weighted" pullups.  Well, I can't do weighted pullups.   I tested 2 red bands and 1 red band. I couldn't even kip my way up on the single red band.   So, I went with the double red bands.  I decided to do the pullups dead hang if I had to do them in my usual reds.  So, I did my heavy ass Thrusters.  I was more motivated to get the Thrusters done as unbroken as possible because to get them up, I was going to have to clean them from the floor.  So the goal was to do as few extra cleans as I could manage.

Round 1 - Thrusters -10/4/1 (what the heck was that?)  Pullups I did 9 dead hang, very slowly, then Jonathan looked at me quizzically and said, "you can do kipping - just get all the way OVER the bar" So kipping it was to finish this off.

Round 2 -Thrusters - split into 8/4.  Then pullups.

Round 3 - Thrusters - split - 6/3.  Then pullups.

Ok - I admit it - because I was kipping I don't think the pullups were as difficult as they should have been, so I feel like I cheated a bit.  Next time I'll have to go lighter bands somehow. 

Overall not bad - but these 3- well, really the first two workouts have left me bruised and battered.  My knuckles, my biceps (from the KB smacking into my arm - yes, I know it's not SUPPOSED to smack...)  Ah well, the joys of Crossfit -  I wear my bruises proudly!

Running around Lynne

After being vastly disappointed that I had to miss the long awaited "Dirty Dozen", I was appalled that I was about to have a workout inflicted on me that was nothing but running.  Now really, have I mentioned that I don't like running?  I thought so.  Well, I have to say, this brought out little Miss PPP  (AKA Polly Pissy Pants).    Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on how you think about it, little Miss P, didn't hang out too long, instead, I ended up trying to bolster the spirits of the other "I'd rather stick my big toe into a vat of sulphuric acid than run" members.  (Ok, maybe not all of them despise running quite THAT much...but still, you get the drift!)

So when the time came, to do the workout  - 200 meter run -8 rounds for time - I had actually kind of psyched myself up.  I went in with the spirit of "I'm going to be the next Joe G - making vast improvements never seen before...amazing to the eye!"  Yep, a bit like superman or any random super hero.  That is what I have determined I'm going to strive for.  If my freaking butt won't shrink despite my finest efforts, then if I'm putting all this work into it, at least I'm gonna do some amazing things!!

Round 1 - my immediate goal was to keep Luke in my sights.  First round, I actually did pretty good.  48 seconds.  Not a world record by any means, but it was 10 seconds faster than my first round the last time we did this.  I was hopeful.

Round 2 - Holy moly - rest is over already?? YIKES!  Still - I managed to eek out a 49.  I can live with that.

Round 3 - the 2 minute rest is over before I could blink!  This time....50...and so the slippage starts

Round 4 - 53 seconds  OY!

Round 5 - 57 or 58 - I just stopped caring.....couldn't breathe.

Round 6 - 58 or 59 - really had a hard time getting through these rounds....REALLY!

Round  7 - 60 seconds - YIPES!! That's longer than it's EVER taken.....

Round 8 - 57  - ok, at least it was under a minute.

So - overall, I'm not certain if I ended up doing better than last time or not.  I kicked it up a notch the first 3 or 4 rounds, but then was totally gassed for the last 4.  Not an ounce of energy was left!

Today was Lynne.  Max rep bench press/max rep pullups - 5 rounds.  Bench Press was supposed to be body weight. HA!  So it was BP at a weight you can do about 10 reps of.   My shoulder has been a bit off since the dips of Friday night (I think that's what sparked it, not sure though.) Nothing bad..just off.  It actually felt great this morning when I got up, but as the day progressed it got twingier.  Apparently working is bad for me! I think I might have to quit my job for the sake of my shoulder...hmmmmmmmm..........

I digress into daydream land.  Back to reality. YIKES! 

So - rather than trying to do body weight bench presses, which I know are ridiculous to think about, I went with 125.  I believe that's what I did last time too, I just wasn't sure whether to go up or not because my shoulder was making feel a bit off.  I did pullups - kipping style, since I have that now, more or less, in the red bands

Round 1 - 12 BP/11 PU

Round 2 - 11 BP/11 PU

Round 3 - 9 BP/9.5 PU - yep - last one was eye level, so I counted it as 1/2.

Round 4 - 8 BP/9 PU

Round 5 - 7 BP/9 PU

Not too bad - bench should have been better, but I was happy with the pullups.  Now I need to see if I can get into the minis so that I can eventually get out of the bands altogether.

There wasn't a whole lot of rest between rounds, and by the end, my biceps were numb.

I still like Lynne.  Gimme Lynne over running any and every day!!

UGH! with a bit of pain and frustration thrown in

Again, I fall behind.    So, here's a plethora of days.

Thursday - Back Squats - 5/5/5/5/5

I feel like I haven't done back squats in forever.  My knees aren't achey at all, they haven't snap, crackled or popped in weeks.  So, I was kind of looking forward to these, but also wondering how they would feel.  Silly question.  Heavy.   That's the answer.

165 - was ok

175 - ok - but my knees were going wonky, yes, that is a technical term!

185 - heavy - I banded my knees to try to stop the wonkiness.  Not sure if it worked or not...

195 - really heavy....super heavy...uber heavy..still had the banded knees. 

195 - ok this set - was really heavy - but not as heavy as set 4....not sure how that happened.

Overall - not bad.  Not fantastic, but not too bad.

Friday - a new one:  21-15-9-rep rounds of:

Dips -  I did with the red band assist.   I did learn - do not stop, keep on dipping until you can't dip anymore. Once you stop, the next one is 12 times harder, even if you pause before complete depletion.

Box Jumps 20" box - I jumped up, but stepped down - my ankle has been feeling good, and I didn't have the best bouncing shoes on, so I didn't want to risk aggravating it again.  But stepping down is completely legit - not as fast, but still counts.

Pullups - Again - red band assist.  Someday I'll be able to do these freakin' things!

Deadlift - 155# - These were fine - no problemo.

I ended up finishing with a sad, sad time of 21:36 or so.  Primarily because of the dips.  Once you stop to refresh your arms a bit - it's a slow progression of one or two at a time.  

The time didn't make me happy.  Definitely not as good as I wanted.

Saturday - another new one - timed stations, based on the person doing the plate push.

I started with Ring Rows.   I think the most I got in was about 8 or 9 because Rich flew through the plate push.

I then moved to the plate push.  This is where you have to push a weight across the floor.  Hands on the weight (35#), feet on the ground...ass in the air.  Although if your ass is too high, the plate doesn't move.  Sounds simple enough.  but I personally ended up on my knees a couple times. I never stopped. Just dropped.  Then hoisted back up again!

Supermans - after the plate pushes, it took me a bit to get my breath and work the supermans, but got in quite a few.

Kettlebell swings 12kg - I could have cranked these out, but Jimmy flew up and down on the plate drag so I had a mere 30-45 seconds to get in as many as I could.

Pop presses - weird jumping jack things.  Fortunately I was able to get quite a few in, despite Lisa moving swiftly on the plate push.

Overall - I scored about ..306???  I think I broke 300....barely.   Not stellar - but not horrible.

Tonight was frustration central.  3 attempts at a 1 rep max Snatch and Clean and Jerk - for an Oly Lift total.

My snatches were wretched.  I seem to be only able to do them, and do them well if we have to do 75 of them.  When it comes to singles - form goes to hell.  

On  the snatches I did:

75 - pulled too soon

85 - pulled too soon -moved too slow

back down to 65 - still pulled a bit too soon.

Can you say "ARGHH!!!!!!"

Onto Clean and Jerks.  For me - the easy part of these is the jerk. I can jerk a whole lot more weight than I can effectively clean.  Because I've been "greasing the groove" this week with 95 lbs.  I started there.  I should, in theory, be able to clean the 95 lbs, as I've been doing and jerk it on up.  Not sure how that first round looked, but it went.  Next round went up to 105.  This was a mess.   No other way to describe it.  I got the bar up on both, but to say it wasn't pretty would be a vast understatement.  I knew this, and didn't even have to see it!  Third round I stayed at 105.   Apparently, this was my best clean of the night.  So, I guess my scor would be.....190?  I completely forgot to write up the clean and jerk score.  

Like the pullup, someday, I'll get these suckers.

Beck can bite me!

Newness....

Someone is feeling a bit of creativity when coming up with the workouts this week....hmmm wonder who that could be???  After what I have just deemed as "Lucifer's Lunges" on Monday, we did a new mish mash.  I can't really say this was a good mish mash either.  It was 3 rounds for time of:

20 meters - Beck's Burpees 

180 meter run

20 SDLHP - 55#

20 situps.

Doesn't sound so bad.  But whoever came up with Burpees for distance is a whack job.  Certifiably insane....and we only had to go 20 meters!  Beck's burpees are burpees, where you try to go as far as you can forward rather than just up and down.  First of all, let me start by saying I was working out with Joe G and Luke, both of whom have about a 5 meter leap.   Me....oh, I can long jump maybe a foot or two on a good day.  So, I was kind of screwed.  Let me give you an example of just how sad this was.   I started on burpees, Joe G started on the high pulls.  He did his high pulls, his situps, and slowed down a bit in the hope that I would cross the burpee line before him.  No such luck! He beat me.   Of course he only had to do about 4 burpees to my 20(yes, yes, slight exaggeration!!).  Running a day after Lucifer's lunges, and doing 20 burpees, didn't exactly come easily.  Legs were all rubbery and wonky.  The good thing is the run was only 180 meters.  High pulls were no problem, sit ups, were the rest period if ya ask me!  

Shockingly, Joe G and Luke were both finished by the time I was beginning my 3rd round.  I got through the burpees, then Jonathan ran with me.  This was a new experience for me.  Running is my least favorite thing to do...wait, I take that back, next to burpees, running is my least favorite thing to do.  I can't really say that I "run" it's more of a wog (walk pace with jog form). So as I'm huffing and puffing along in my slow wog, J is along side me, talking to me the whole time, it was a very one sided conversation since I couldn't catch my breath. 

Note to coach: If you want to make a point without getting any flak - do it while running next to someone - you'll have a captive audience that won't have any breath left in 'em to argue!

Anyway, I survived that, actually it did distract me a bit from my breathing misery, so that was a good thing.  Then onto the highpulls and sit ups.  Final time was 15:45.  This one is definitely more of an ass-kicker than it sounds.

Now, comes truth time....I must admit, I did cheat a bit.  When doing the burpees, I would leap as far as my legs would let me (a mere meter or so) then, on the burpee part, I would fall forward, trying to get a couple extra feet in that way, rather than putting my hands by my feet and kicking back the way you are supposed to. So, I did it, but I did cheat.   I just couldn't resist in the moment.  It's easy to look back now and say to myself "nuts, shouldn't have done that, I'm only cheating myself", yeah, yeah, but in the moment, when you look and see how much distance you STILL have to cover, that thought may pop in your head, but it is smashed into oblivion as soon as it does.  Yep, BAD ELLEN, oh well, next time, we'll only go for partial cheat - I won't fall quite as FAR forward.

Tonight was Bench Press - Functional Focus style.   Meaning light weight and all about form.  I didn't mind the lighter weights, although I would hit rep 3 then my mind would go...I'd look at the ceiling, look at the bar wonder, basically get completely distracted.    It was hard going light, when heavier has been the way of the world.  However, we go light in all the oly lifts to practice form, so it only makes sense that you would have to do that with the power lifts too!

So, all in all, a good coupla days.   Now I have to beat Patty at finding the grooviest singlet for a couple of hip chicks!!

Helen and some new things.....some painful new things

Saturday was Helen - I've never been a fan of Helen - too much running, but I did kind of want to give it a shot with my new banded kipping move.  I ended up getting through the run torture, and finishing in 15:20 or so.  This time it was the run that took so long.  My pullups weren't uber-fast, but I soooo did not feel the run.   Overall, it was a good day though.

Today was a new diabolical one.  Overhead lunges - 100 for time.  The ridiculous amount of weight to do this as prescribed is 95 lbs for women. HA!! As stated, ridiculous!  I decided I was going to try it at 50lbs, since I didn't really have a starting point, and 100 is alot.  We aren't looking at a mere 20 or even 50.  100.   That is a plethora of lunges even without weight!!  My biggest worry was the balancing thing - because you have 50 lbs held high over your head, while lunging.  By held high over your head, it's not just resting on your back, it's lifted way up over your head, with your shoulders tight and arms locked out straight.   Just an element of pain and difficulty.

So I was going to start at 50, but naturally in my head, that seemed wimpy, so when Jonathan said, "oh, go throw a couple 5' s on there, you can always go down, but most people never go up in the middle of a workout",  I went with it.  60 lbs it was.   In my head, I was going to do 5 sets of 20.  Then we started.  Nope, I got to about 7 then decided I was going to do 10 sets of 10.  At about #48 or so, I lunged forward with my left leg, went to push back up, and it just wasn't going, in fact, it kind of slipped out from underneath me, so I chucked the bar forward, and fell back on my butt!  If I wasn't so tired, I would have busted out laughing because I can just imagine how ridiculous it looked.  On the plus side, I actually DID drop the bar.  The final 20 or so were slow, and my left leg at times just didn't want to bend, it knew what was coming and was fighting the move.  Who knew my leg had a mind of it's own??  In the end I got through it.  Stayed with the 60 lbs through the whole thing, and finished in 16:15.  I can foresee great pain in my future because of this one!!

We tried a new thing during warmups.  L sit on the paralette bars.  My first try was one leg out, one curled under a bit.  The next try, I actually did it.  It wasn't exactly high up on the bars, and when done I kind of flumped down on my butt, but I held it for about 5 seconds!  The coolest part was that there seemed to be a bit of surprise that I could do even that, Rich even made a comment to me, something like "you always amaze me".  I thought was pretty cool, because he's been around enough athletic people that I consider that a pretty big compliment.  YAY!

flipping, tossing, slamming and lifting

I feel like I've had a couple of good days...YAY!!!

Wednesday, was a functional day - focusing on ringwork.  Ok, maybe this day wasn't the best, because as far away as I am from doing an actual pullup, I'm even further away from the muscle up.  Of course, after toying with muscle ups, we got to play with the upside down rubber band contraption for a bit, then did inversions on the rings.   That part was fun, although, I didn't get into  my "Nadia" rhythm as much as I did the first time I did the "jump to inverted hang".  This stuff is cool - just wish I could actually do it!

This was also the day I started "Greasing the Groove" with my overhead press.  So, as part of the warm up and post workout, I practice a heavy clean, then do 3 strict presses.  This week I'm doing it at 90 lbs.  Next week, I think I'm supposed to go up and up and  up, until I get a PR in a big way.  I believe that's the theory behind it, this is the test. HA!

Yesterday, was Wallball/Slamball 4 x 25 for time and weight.  We have not done this one since last June, and yet it sticks out in my mind as really sucking.  I know when I went into this last year, I was all excited because I loved slamball.  This workout taught me the difference between practicing slamball for 10 reps in a happy little circle with a 12 pounder and really working the slamball/wallball thing.    The good news (and if I didn't have good news on the improvement front, I would probably be a big frustrated weepy mess - after all, it has been almost a year....)

a year ago when I did this, I think I had the 14# WB and 16# slamball and it took me over 20 minutes.  This time I did 16 pounders all around, and finished in 12:33.  Maybe I should have gone heavier, or quicker....but take my word for it, this one, no matter what, sucks.  The only thing that really makes it better this year than last year is that it was only 12 minutes of suckiness!!  Ah well, no matter how bad the suckage, when it's all said and done, you're still glad you did it. 

Tonight was Push/Pull - Bench Press/Deadlift- 3 sets of 12.    I am actually pretty happy with what I did.  Doing 12 reps is alot.   It's a heck of alot more than 1.....definitely more than 3.....and those last two, make it a plethora more than 10!

I did:

BP - 115 , no problem, a bit heavy, but ok.

DL - 165, again no real problem, tried it straight grip, but that didn't exactly work out well.

BP - 120, harder......definitely harder......

DL - 185, mixed grip - heavier....definitely heavier.....

BP - 125,  I wasn't sold on this one if we were not supposed to go to failure, but I did it anyway.   Got in 10 and 1.  Failed miserably on the 12th.

DL - 205, mixed grip again.....holy frijole that sucker is heavy, what the bejeezus did I get myself into???.....but I did it, and it about kicked my ass.

Now - by this time, Sean had finished with his massage, and wanted to see his favorite wife lift heavy things.  He caught the DL's, now he wanted to see the bench.  So, guess who got to do a bonus round??  Yep, that's right, you know it!!   I wanted to go with a 5 rep set, nope, I was overruled again. 8 was the magical number we were striving for.

BP - 125, .....tired....heavy......got it....6.....7.......breath....FAIL!

Once again, I fell 1 short.  But I think that's ok - since I had just done 35 reps at an average weight of 120.  Today, although a good day on the lifting front, there was no greasing of the groove done, but I think that's ok.  So all in all - not too bad.  Leaving off on a stellar Friday night!