Yes, the glutes have been activated!

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

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

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

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


-

BAWK, BAWK, BAWK!!!

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Big Day!!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Mostly Grey's...

Yesterday was the big group outing for DEFY! - hiking a 14er, Grey's Peak. We were all to meet at the gym at 530 am, so that we could get an early start. I went to bed early hoping to get some good quality sleep,which had eluded me the last couple of nights. This was not to be. Instead, I was awake virtually every hour, in fact, I believe the only hour I truly slept through was 3 am, instead I woke up at 405am - missed by a hair!

I got up when the alarm went off, lack of sleep for the last 3 nights , left me feeling hungover. Yes, that's correct - I didn't drink an ounce but I was so freakin' tired, that I felt like old Capt'n Morgan had paid me a terrible visit. I was gonna do this though. I packed up my bag, grabbed my "waterproof" jacket, a couple bars and headed on out. Jonathan, JC, Patty and myself hopped into Patty's jeep, clad in nothing but the bikini top (the jeep that is!!) It was an excellent ride to the mountain - beautiful morning. It didn't even get chilly in the back of the jeep until we got to within a mile or so of the exit. We all met up at the entrance, and after a false start, we all piled into Michael's Land Rover. I ended up with Laura on my lap, I think my leg position was a bit off, because by the time we all fell out, my left knee was feeling a bit tweaky. Kind of like an overstretched ligament or something. Not bad, just not quite 100% right. Finally, we were here, and off we went, all 9 or so of us, up the trail to start the big hiking adventure.

We started down the trail, it was pretty evident there were a couple different paces. All was fine and dandy, the scenery was beautiful, it was just good. The higher the trail went the more rocky the terrain, it was almost like the trail was cut out of a rockslide. Then we hit it. The point where the world fell away from the side of the trail. One wrong move and you would plummet to your death - maybe not death, but at minimum several broken bones and a whole lotta pain. As I walked, the world on my right slowly morphed and fell away into a steeper and more menacing ledge. I tried my best to keep my game face on, not to let my fear of heights overtake me. It worked fairly well, until I hit it...the point...the end game point. Something I saw said "NOMORE!". I stopped....that's it, sheer terror overtook me. At that point I crumpled - I'm not sure if I did literally, but I know I did mentally. The only reason I didn't whimper and say I had to go back at that moment was because I couldn't decide which was going to be worse - going forward, or turning around. Before I could make that decision, JC holds out his hand, tells me to take it and he would help me. I took his hand, and kept my eyes on the ground and towards the mountain. I was hyperventilating as I took each precarious step. Patty offered to take the backpack from me....backpack?? what backpack?? I couldn't concentrate on anything except my next step. I gotta be honest, I'm not much of a hand holder, overall I hate asking for or needing help, but the calm, confidence that JC exuded really helped me put my trust in him. Once we got through Terror Ridge (my new name for it!), all the stress, fright, and panic that I held in, came bursting forth in the form of tears. Big, sobbing, gut wrenching tears. UGH!

We continued on up the path, it was still steep, still rocky - but not as bad as Terror Ridge. As we got closer to the top, the clouds started moving in. We were moving at a very slow pace - having to stop every 50 feet or so because of the weariness and altitude. We saw the end - it was in sight, it looked so close, and yet so far. Then we heard it, in the not so far away distance....the grumble of thunder. Not menacing, or really threatening yet, but definitely shooting us a bit of a forewarning of things to come. We had another 20-30 minutes to get to the top. Because of the weather, the slower group decided it was probably a good idea to turn around. Sounds a bit lame, but actually, it turns out it was a very good decision! I liked the idea, primarily because of the thunder, possible impending weather, and the fact that I know that I am slower going down than I am going up. I am not a mountain goat, and steep, rocky grades, with drop offs freak me out a bit, I'm not gonna lie. So we started our descent, while Jonathan and Melissa hoofed it on up to the top - they were just hangin' with us pokey people to be nice. I knew they would get up there and meet back up with us before we got too far.

Just as I suspected, I was the slow one on the way down. I had everyone go ahead of me at first. My tension on the descent was high....very high. Once Jonathan and Melissa caught up with us, we took a tad bit of a rest, when we got up to go again, somehow I ended up in front....leading the pack at a snail's reticent pace. At this point, I cannot lie - the stress valve gave way again. I was just walking, and concentrating on not falling, with tears streaming down my face. I was in the front of the pack, so I don't know if anyone noticed..... My giveaway may have been the fact that I didn't talk at all - I couldn't or I would have ended up sobbing and blubbering uncontrollably. The most frustrating thing about being female is the tear thing. I don't mind the weeping once in a while, it's a great stress release, but once the tears start, they think it's a free range party on my face for the next 24 hours.

We finally reached a spot where the grade wasn't so steep, and I was able to get it together again. Finally, it was a matter of just walking. However, I knew Terror Ridge was coming up, and the thought of the downhill on that, possibly in the rain was daunting. I put that thought right where it needed to go, in Denial Land. We finally hit Terror Ridge, and I think I had hit my exhaustion point , I just wanted to get through it before the rain. I simply clutched JC's hand, hyper-ventilated a bit, and got through it without facing the dreaded tears again. YAY ME! Finally, a small victory over the weepiness!

Within 5 minutes of completing Terror Ridge, the rain came. Big buckets, with some tiny hail. Well, my trusty old Red Wings windbreaker is not so waterproof. I ended up walking the last hour and a half or so drenched. Soaking wet - head to toe. I think this means that I am not such a good adventure hiker - not really prepared for the worst, because in denial land, the worst doesn't happen! By the time we got to the car, where everyone else was waiting for us, I could barely move. My goal was to get out of my jacket and long sleeve shirt, just leave my tank top on - skin will dry faster than the clothes. Unfortunately, by the time we got there, I had a bit of a difficult time moving....here's the really sad part. I had to ask for help undressing - ok, maybe it wasn't really undressing, but I couldn't get my jacket over my head by meself. Once again, JC hops to the rescue!! Good man - that JC! After adventure ride #2 in Michael's Land Rover, we got to the parking lot. I couldn't wait to get my shorts off and put on my happy lined pants. In the rain - in the parking lot, I just stripped 'em off - at that point, I just didn't care. Now - it may not sound that strange, but I am really not one to drop my pants in front of a whole group of people!

As it turns out, Patty's bikini clad jeep, is not so water proof. So JC and I ended up riding all the way home in the Land Rover . I for one, fully took advantage of his excellent butt-warming seats!! I love those things! We stopped at Tommyknockers for a yummy buffalo burger and although technically not on the diet plan, a beer. A giant tasty beer. I felt like I really deserved it!!

All in all, a good day.

Nothing beats spending time with good people, and every last person on the trip fits into that category.

Short trip to Reality-ville.

Much as I love living in the lovely land of Denial - I think it's time to face the reality of this Powerlifting competition, that I seem to have signed up for.

I've been going to the "gettin' stronger" workouts, Patty has kept reminding me that we need to go to the store to buy our "oh so fashionable" singlets almost daily - so you would think that denial land would be in the far distance. Not so much, my affection for the land of Denial is not something to be taken lightly. That being said - I also know there is no backing out at this point.

So - my thoughts on the whole thing......

1. I need to lose 7 lbs before the competition - I'm not sure why this is kind of a big deal to me - but I do NOT want to be in the "heavyweight" division. This is mental stigma for me - I believe it stems from watching my brothers wrestle in high school, and when they didn't drop below the heavyweight division - they had to deal with some monsters!! So, since coming back from North Dakota, I've been really watching what I eat - so far successfully (ok, it's only been 2 days...) So, my first competition goal - is to avoid the heavyweight division.

2. Deadlifts - Ironically, I'm feeling best about the DL's overall. I think my biggest fear is that I'll pull so hard, and put so much into it that I will have a bit of an "oops" moment.....which will throw me off and I'll dump the bar. Doesn't happen much anymore, but when it does, I have to say, I do get a bit discombobulated.

3. Squats - I'm having issues with the squats. I can go heavy - but for some reason, when I go below parallel with 180+, I tend to relax at the bottom. I'm not sure why this happens, but I can kind of equate the feeling to finding the balance point when you're upside down on the rings. I know it's not good. But when I focus on keeping everything tight the whole way - I'm not making it quite down far enough.....when I'm not that focused on keeping things tight, I can go low, but I hit that relaxation point. Bizarre - I think I must be a bit of a freak with this. So, need to work on that the next couple weeks.

4. Bench - I'm in a big freakin' rut. I have definitely not hit a max in about a year. In fact, I think it was probably close to a year ago that I hit 150. Since then I've hit 155 twice. Kinda sad. Tonight, the bench felt terrible - just off, which bums me out, because I went in thinking I was gonna rock it out. My shoulder felt better than it has in a while - no twinges or tweaks. I felt good!.....but alas, it was just not to be a good BP day.

5. UGHHH - the outfit. I don't know what psychopath decided that everyone had to wear singlets, but that is really just cruel and unusual punishment - especially out in public. Sheesh, my biggest nightmare is that I'll look like a big blob of stuffed sausage...or a pumpkin type figure with a large protruding belly with two boobs sitting on top. Just not a pretty picture. I think, I can delude myself into believing I look better than I do, as long as I don't see any pictures. Pictures have an evil way of booting you out of denial land and giving you a hard dose of reality.

I guess I just hope I can figure out why the heck I'm in such a chronic state of no improvement on my BP and my Squat, and if I'm gonna do this competition, at least make a decent show of it.

On another note, I go to the Endocrinologist on Tuesday, to see what is up with my thyroid meds suddenly going all wonky. We'll see if I can get that straightened out before 2010. Maybe something in my thyroid/endocrine system is holding me back.....probably not, but it's a thought......something.

DRATS! I know - it's just an excuse. Nevermind - disregard that last sentence, I refuse to make excuses. Excuses are just crap, and a way of deluding yourself into thinking that you are better than you are. So no excuses, it is what it is, and I'll just have to figure out why.

UGGGHHHH......oh yeah - and here's what I do know.

So, it's been a while. Too long.  There's been all kinds of things going on.  Mostly heavy lifting...with this meet thing, coming up, it's been a focus.  Not to mention, with a mass of gym deserters recently, I want to be kickass!!  So, I've been following the "gettin' Stronger" workouts fairly closely.  I've found good things and bad things that I do.

1. Deadlifts - Now that I've had my "AHA" moment, I just need to keep that in mind.  The good news - I pulled a 305...and while it still had a hitch - it wasn't squirrelly like the first time I pulled 300.  Baby steps, right?

2. Back Squats - I still haven't hit the 235 max again.  But, I did find that when going down low - below parallel, when the weight gets heavy, I'll relax at the bottom of the squat.  That's not so good.    I'm working on not doing that.  I got 1 good one in at 225.  Went for the 2nd, but that was a no-go.

3. Bench Press - my bench is off.    I think a major part of it is the hitch in my arm. Melissa worked out a big knot in my shoulder, and I rearranged my office.  The hitch appears to be a bit better - only time will tell though.

The only Crossfit metcon workout that I've done recently is "the Chief".  This was on Patty's birthday, which was an awesome day.   My goal was to beat my previous score of 15.    Jonathan was persuaded by Patty to do this with us.  I did my best to pace myself with him - which worked really well for the first round...then it slowly fizzled.  I ended up getting in 16 rounds plus a single clean.  So I was quite happy with that.

Now to the frustration that was today.  I have to admit, and I'm not certain why - but today was an epically frustrating day.  Probably the most frustrated I've been - and I think it's because 

1. I was awake  WAY too early this morning

2. some big allergy thing blew up overnight, and I've been sneezing and snorting all day - which irritates the hell outta me.

3. I can't get the oly lifts quite right......no matter how much I try.  I know what needs to be done, but my body won't do it.

....at that point, I was getting so frustrated..I couldn't do anything.  I know the frustration was apparent, but there was nothing I could do.  I just need to figure these out.  Oly lifts and pullups - I'm almost beginning to think I'll never get either of them.

Kinda hard to be "kickass" with that mentality though.....shake it off.  Tomorrow is another day.

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.