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!

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.

The bean concept -I just don't get it!

I'm trying to get my head around a concept that makes absolutely - zero sense to me.  It's part of the whole "Paleo"eating thing. I get most of it, and it makes sense...all except the legume thing.  Legumes and beans are bad.  I don't get that. I understand cookies, cake, and ice cream (wah!) being bad (yes, I know, not a real difficult concept), I even understand the bread, rice, pasta, and potatoes being bad.  I'll even go so far as to say, I understand why dairy would be in that category...not that I necessarily agree, but at least I understand it.

But really, beans??  So green beans are the enemy?? - ok, maybe not enemy, but a bit of a foe.  I'm not certain I'll ever be able to get my head around that one - and I'm not sure I'll ever want to.  Taking bread, pasta, rice, cookies, candy, cake, ice cream etc, out of a diet is hard enough, but then to take beans out?? No.  just no.  You just can't convince me that green beans, and black beans are the devils candy....just not gonna happen.

Now onto the last week or so.  I've got to get better at this whole keeping track thing, because going off memory, is not so good.

Last Friday, we did 5 minutes each of Turkish Getups (16kg), Cleans (95#) and Handstand pushups for reps.  With a 2 minute rest in between.

We've only done this one once before, but I remember REALLY liking it.  That like, proved true the second time around. In fact I was downright geeked after this one.  I feel like I kicked some good old fashioned ass on it.

On the TGU's I got in 19.  Way up from the 13 I did the last time.

Cleans - 29, again, way the hell up from the 18 I did the first time - although, I will say - the first time I did squat cleans, this time, power cleans.  There is a huge difference between the two.

Handstand pushups - These were done hook feet, but I was really working on full range of motion - I may have been 1/2 inch off the ground on some of them, but I know the range was a heck of alot better than it has been in the past.  I got in 35, up from 27. 

To say I was stoked when I left was an understatement.  I actually felt like I totally kicked ass on a workout, and I haven't felt like I have done that in a while.  

Saturday, we worked on Bench and DL's.  My bench was not so good.   We won't even go there. Deadlifts, I worked on my "breakthrough", and I think most of it carried over, except when we got to the uber-heavy weight.  I was able to do a set of 4 at 275.  Then went for a 1 rep PR.  HA! Not so much.  I tried 305. Getting it off the floor is the easy part...it's the part when the bar is between your ankle and knee cap that I tend to lose it.  Oh well, next time I just might be able to do it. I was probably a bit worn out by the time we got there.  I will say this, when we got to the park to "play"   ...me=toast.  I had a completely empty gas tank.  Note to self - bring food next time!

Tuesday - Box Squats  3-3-3-3-3-3-3
These are basically squats, but you actually sit, and kind of rock 'em forward.  Kind of funky.

I did these 135/155/165/185/195/185/165.  Not spectacular, but not bad, we were working on form.

Tonight - 4 rounds x 25 reps each of Wallball/Slamball.

This is such a pure and innocent sounding one.  It's not.  It's evil.  I tried to keep pace with Jimmie tonight - it worked fairly well, until about the last round, then I about croaked.  This one takes the wind out of you, like nothing else.  I ended up finishing better than last time - taking off about 1:10, with a time of 11:12.  I said I would go up in weight if I got my time under 10 minutes.  So, I guess that means, I'm staying with the 16 lb balls next time..  

That's it, came home feeling pretty good.  Then read that beans were bad, and have been slightly obsessed in my puzzlement since then.   If beans are bad, there's just no justice in this world.

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.

A week's worth of spouting off!

Sheesh, darn tootin' near a full week behind!  Traveling kind of messes with things!

I'll start at the beginning...

Monday: Nicole -  400m run, max rep pullups.  As many rounds as possible in 20 minutes.

Nicole is not my favorite.  1. I hate running.  2. pullups frustrate me.

Overall, this was just a weird night all around.  I went to the 530p  class, and it was the strangest atmosphere that I've ever experienced.  The 530 group doesn't normally intimidate me, or throw me off too much, but it is different that the 630.  It's not quite as loud and rambunctious as the later class, more focused, but still an all around friendly atmosphere.  Monday was not the typical 530 group, and for some reason there was a palpable tension in the air with a couple of the other people, creating an added tension with everyone else.  Not sure where this came from, or what caused it, but it did make things very uncomfortable.  So, first lap of the run, I kind of ran along with Patty and told her this was not a typical 530 atmosphere, because she was swearing off ever coming again.  Then we continued on.  Pullups, I tried my new kipping maneuver in the red bands - I didn't exactly stack up the numbers!  I ended up getting in 5 rounds + 200 meters and 20 pullups.  Pullups were far less than last time, but last time I had jumping pullups from the low bar, so although less in number, more effective.

Tuesday: Z's birthday.  His choice.  What does he choose?? Why DeFyght Gone Bad of course! We did it a bit differently this time - it was based on Task Priority:

3 rounds for time of:
- 20 Wallball shots (16 lbs)
- 20 Sumo Deadlift High Pulls (55 lbs)
- 20 Box jumps (16")
- 20 Push press (55 lbs)
- 40 Double-unders
- 1 minute rest (self-timed)

I started with the box jumps, and continued through.  There was a 25 minute cutoff on this one.  I failed miserably in getting through all 3 rounds, primarily because of the double unders.  I can get them, but I'm not exactly a speed demon on them.   I got through 2 rounds, saw time was coming to a close, bailed on the last rest minute, and started with my box jumps.  Once I completed those I knew we were within 3 minutes or so of time being called, so I whipped out my push presses and went straight into the high pulls.  I knew I had a better chance of at least finishing what I started before time was called if I went this route rather than going in order.  The DU's were gonna take me forever.  So, I missed on finishing 3 rounds by Wall Ball and DU's.  DRATS!

Wednesday: Back Squats - I was in Omaha - so missed out on heavy squats again! Cripes it's been months since I've done these for weight.  Just bad timing.

Thursday: 3000 lbs overhead anyhow.  This looked like a cool one!  I was still in lovely Omaha so missed it.  Next time though, it will be a really cool way to work/practice snatches!

Friday:  A whole new stations - 3 rounds.  1 minute at each station/1 minute rest in between rounds.

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

- Pullups

Split jumps are basically jumping lunges.  Round 1, my ankle did not like these so much, but it loosened up a bit after that.  I managed to get an average of about 22 per round on these.  

Sandbag cleans - I believe, overall, I brought my score to around 35 , so 13 -15 per round.  Although on the first round, as I was coming to the end of the minute, I brought the sandbag up, plopped it up, and there was a metal hook or something underneath that landed square on the top of my shoulder!! OWIE!! Yes, I do believe that will be one big nasty bruise when it forms!  Kettlebell swings, overall I cranked these out.   Burpees, blech!  I eeked out a measly 3-5 per round.   The Goblet squats - it depended on the round.  Round 1, I got in quite a few.  By round 3, my thighs were torched, so it was not nearly as many.    Pullups - well, I did them with the fancy kipping move in the red bands, but I really don't have high numbers on these yet.  I can still only manage 3 at a time.  Which equated to about 4-5 per round.  

Overall - I can't remember my score at all - I think it was 89, 78, 67 ish....I know those aren't the numbers at all - overall score was 200 and some odd amount...maybe 220??  Dunno, this one took alot more out of me than I expected.  So in the end, my final number did not register in my brain at all!

Friday night, we went to Joe G's hockey game.  Wow! It was good to be back in the rink, even as a spectator, it made me miss the old roller hockey days.  We may have to have a Genetic Drift reunion!

Saturday:  Power Cleans 5/5/5/5/5

Olympic lifting is not my forte.  When the weight hits a certain level, I lose any form I had completely.   I'm going to work these and a couple other things using the "Kaizen" theory.  That article, I think was the best one that Jonathan has written, primarily because it definitely "spoke to me".   In other words, as I was reading, I saw myself, and recognized the points being made, whether the article was written with me in mind or not.  It's a good reminder for how to better yourself in all kinds of aspects in life.

So, I went into today with this in mind, I started at a relatively low weight and only went up by 5 lb increments, so I could pinpoint the exact weight that I start pulling too soon on these Oly lifts.  I started at 75, went to 80, 85, 90, 95,    At the 95 lb range, I started to do the usual pull too soon, but it wasn't nearly as bad as it was in the past, so I guess we'll see.  Perhaps it was the 5 lb increments that kept me better in line.  I'm not certain.  But I have a plan in my head to get these moves better at higher weights.....we'll see how it works.  Only time will tell.

Went to the Olympic lifting competition afterward.  We only stayed for the snatches.  

All the boys did awesome!  I have to say, this is the first time I've ever seen Rich psych himself out of a lift.   He did what I usually do, which was a bit strange.  Goes to show he truly is human.

Fight....and Squats Gone BAD!

Another day, another sneeze, sniffle, cough and hack.  Ok, so it's not quite that bad, but my denials didn't really work.  The crud hit over the weekend, and there is no denying it. Fortunately, it did not hit me nearly as hard as everyone else that I know who had it.  I never felt down and out for the count. Run down, sniffly, a bit of cough..but overall, not too bad. Monday was probably the worst, but I still felt good enough to give Fight Gone Bad a chance.

Fight Gone Bad

With a continuously running clock, perform maximum reps in 60 seconds at each of 5 stations:
- Wallball (16 lbs)
- Sumo Deadlift High Pulls (55 lbs)
- Box jumps (16")
- Push press (55 lbs)
- Double-unders

Last time, at 100% - I hit 208.  Going into it, I wasn't hopeful about improving, I had to average more than 60 or 70 per round, and I just was not certain what my lung capacity was going to be.  I ended up getting 71/74/68 for a total of 213.  HOLY MOLY! Somehow, I managed to bring my number up a tad.  Not alot, but pretty good for not being 100%.  Trust me, I was suckin' wind and feeling my lungs and throat.  In fact, right afterwards, I was kind of thinking, I probably shouldn't have done this.  

This morning, I wake up and start to wonder if Fight Gone bad may not be the cure for the common cold. Although I'm still sniffly and hacking a bit....I'm as close to normal as I've felt in a week.  Or so I thought.....

Tonight - Backsquats 5/4/3/2/1.

For some reason, I haven't been feeling the squat love lately, and tonight was definitely no exception. To say I was wonky would be an understatement.  On my first set, 185, I was poppin' and cracklin' everywhere. I think one of the pops was in my hip, or lower back - somewhere funky.  Not a painful thing, but completely unexpected.   I think from there, I just felt a bit slink-ified. (AKA, my body had turned into a slinky).  Overall, I didn't do awful, but form was off, weight wasn't all there.  Even lifting the bar off the rack I was a bit topsy-turvy.  Just not the best night.  

5 - 185

4 - 195

3 - 205

2 - 215 (success for 1, failed the 2nd)

1 - 220 ugly, but up.

So, I didn't even come close to my PR, 235.....but chalk it up to an off night.  Maybe it's the residual cold meds in my system throwing off my equilibrium....perhaps.

So the fact that I've hit PR's on 3 different workouts while feeling under the weather (Annie, Fran and FGB), did have me thinking a bit.  Was I just numb?  ..or could it be something else?  I guess, I can admit that there may be a chance diet is involved. I've been pretty darn good about the food/Zone thing the last couple of weeks - weekends not as good, but weekdays, I think that I have the whole thing pretty dialed in.  Could that really have affected it that much? or Perhaps it's the 6th day that I've thrown in the last coupla weeks.  I just don't know.....but I kind of like it.  Now, if I would only get that dastardly pullup!

Yoda-isms and mega squats

In between the many football games of the last several weeks, there has also been a bit of a Star Wars marathon....all 6 of them.  Saturday night, was Empire Strikes Back.  The really freaky thing, is that at one point, I heard and recognized a great "Yoda-ism".

After Yoda lifts Luke's X wing fighter out of the muck, Luke says "I don't believe it"

Yoda's response....

are ya ready?? .....

It's a good one!!......

"That is why you will fail"

HOLY CRAP!  Something a bit on the profound side from Yoda!!??!!    ....and the fact that I'm mentioning it, and even attempting to quote it is downright bizarre.  Kind of a bit Zen to be coming from a puppet, huh?  So wise, I just had to share!

Tonight we did breathing squats - 5 sets of 20.   Last time we did these, I didn't do so well - much worse than the time before.  This time, I came prepared with my Yoda-ism, so, I was gonna do better. 

set 1 - 95

set 2 - 105

set 3 - 115

set 4 - 120

set 5 - 125

These suckers really do kind of suck - especially the last 10.  I got through them pretty well, and am happy with it.  I don't feel quite as woogly-legged as I did the time I did best on these, so now I wonder if I could have gone higher....OY!   What has become of me!!