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.

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!

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.

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!

Puzzlement..

Tonight was a  bit of a new one, but not all that new. Strict Press/Front Squats 3/3/3.

The Press, I did 85/105/110x2.   Front Squat - 125/145/165x1

Not sure what's going on, but I'm all wonked out.  Presses are stuck, and I should have been able to get the Front squats without too much of a problem, but I couldn't.I seem to be moving almost in a backwards pattern, and I'm not certain why.

Me, being a bit analytical about myself, must try to figure this out, so I've been mulling this over in my mind.    Could it be the fact that the last 6 weeks have been a bit inconsistent for me training wise? Possibly....Hawaii, Omaha had to have thrown a bit of a wrench into it. There is the huge stress, and suppressed emotional experience of layoffs and paycuts that wreaks havoc on you mentally.  The whole thyroid thing?  Perhaps, at least in theory, but I really feel fine, so, I'm not really convinced about that one.  

I know I backed off a bit on the whole competitive thing a couple months ago - that whole scenario was getting to me mentally in a bad way - causing me to like it less, so I recognized it, and backed off, decided to only compete with myself.  Did I back off too much?  Let too much of the "tiger" go?

I dunno - perhaps a combination of it all...or an off day??  I'm just not sure....but I know I wasn't feeling like I was at my best tonight.  I've been off, I just can't pinpoint exactly why, but I don't think I like the backward momentum that I seems to be setting in.

I guess we'll give it a week or two and see if this is just a wonky week.  I'm a bit puzzled about the whole thing.

Now - the good news - we went to dinner tonight at Olive Garden - can you guess how many breadsticks  I had???

If you guessed a big fat zippo, you are correct!! Not a one.    YAY ME!

Push and Bench

Under most normal circumstances, I workout 5 days a week - Mon thru Thursday, Saturday and take Friday  and Sunday off.  The peculiar thing is that now that I'm sucked in, hook, line and sinker to this whole crossfit thing, I have more workouts that I really like, which makes it really hard to take that darn Friday off!!  So this month at least, I've been going 6 days, primarily because I can't resist the call of the Friday workouts.

This week:

Shoulder press 1-1-1-1-1 reps 

Push press 3-3-3-3-3 reps
Push Jerk 5-5-5-5-5 reps

On the shoulder press - the one thing I can say is that I can do 110 - and the last time I  got it, it  wasn't just a one time fluke.  On this I did 105/110/115 - fail/115 - fail/115 - fail.  Amazing how much weight 5 lbs can be!  There is a chance that I may have/should have been able to do this, but once again, the first time I tried the 115, I got a bit into my head, and as I was lifting the bar off the rack what runs through my head?? "Wow - this is heavy"..DUH! That's gonna kill the lift everytime!

Push press, I did 115/125/135/145 - fail/140 x 1.  On that last set at 140 - I apologize for giving everyone heart palpitations - if I had any idea what I did or why - I would promise to never do it again. Unfortunately, or fortunately, whichever the case may be, I'm still not really sure what I did.  All I know is I tried to hoist it, and next thing I knew it was kind of on my back in a funky position and everyone was running....so I just let it slide down my back, and did what any sane rational person would do - busted into a total and complete laughing fit! 

Push Jerk, we only got in 2 rounds because of time issues.  First round was 115, second 135.  No freak incidences on this one.

Today, was a new one:

30, 20, and 10-rep rounds of:

- KB swings - 16kg

- Bench press 95#
- Goblet squats 20#
- Feet-to-sky

I started with KB swings, and I'll admit it here, but if you ask me, I'll deny it....I probably should go up in weight on these, actually, that probably should be a definite on the 2 handed swings. Then Feet to Sky - kind of strange things, and I'm pretty sure I'm gonna have to work on my range of motion, I think I've got the feel for them, but it's a new thing, so I'm sure there's plenty wrong with it!  Goblet squats were fine.  Then onto Bench Press.  95 pounds is normally not a big issue - of course, I have never really tried doing 30 in a row.  Still, overall, not too bad.  Did round one 30 of each.  Then did 20 of all but the BP, there was a shortage of equipment, so went onto the next round, where I did 10 of each, and ended with another 30 bench presses. Overall time was 16:25.    I must admit, I liked this one - it was something new and a bit interesting!