09.28.11 - AMRAP

Skill: Handstands

10 Minute AMRAP

Kettlebell Swings (W55#)

Thrusters (W65#)

Checkout: 3 x 15 Toes to Bar

Rounds: 8 + 9 KBs

Comments: We warmed up for what seemed like a long time, push-ups and air squats, L-rocking and Supermans. Handstands – Killed my wrists. I typically have no trouble going upside down. Don't mind handstands on the wall, tripod head stands, or even attempts at free-standing handstands, but yesterday I wasn't feeling it. Did a couple... then I was done with that. I used a 25# KB and a 55# bar. These felt appropriate for my level of strength right now. Wendt did it Rx, (30# over my KB!) and still got higher reps than me. Ha. It was almost 6:30 by the time we were done, and frankly, I never had much of an intention to do the toes to bar anyway, so I beat it after the AMRAP. We ran an 800m-ish before class too.

06.21.11 - Holy Planks

3-3-3-3-3 Floor Press

4 Rounds of 40 seconds ON/20 seconds REST:

Hand-release push-ups
Dumbbell Box Step-ups
Right side plank
Left side plank

1 minute rest between rounds.

Floor Press: 45/55/75/85/95#
Comments: Knees for push-ups, 15# dumbbells with 12 box + 45# plate. Could not do left side planks. Right side sucked. I sweat my butt off on this one, but mostly from the planks. I think my spleen was "popping" during the push-ups too for some reason.

06.16.11 - Make Up (Wednesday)

3-3-3-3 Snatch Balance

6-5-4-3-2 Press

6-5-4-3-2 Back Squat

Snatch: 35/40/45/50#

Press: 35/55/65/75/85# (1 rep only, x2 = fail)

Back Squat: 35/55/65/75/85 x3/95 x3/105 x2/110 x1**

Then, 2 reps press at 80#.

Comments: Well it's been a while since I got a 1RM for the Press and Back Squat. Both were recorded at 85#. I had a goal of beating both of those today, but only had success with the squat. When I got to the 2 reps @85, it was too easy so I did 3. Then I just decided to keep adding and doing 3 until it got heavy enough to do 2. Then I went for just one. I ended up 25# over my previous PR, and I could have gone heavier. The most uncomfortable part of this lift was the weight of the bar balancing on the back of my neck before doing the movement.

The press hurt my feelings. I got that 85# up once, but could not complete a second consecutive rep. So I went back after the squats and went for it at 80# and got those 2 up. 1RM PR stays at 85#.

I had never done a Snatch Balance before. It was intimidating. You stand with the bar across your shoulders, wide grip, and then you drop under it, careful not to push the bar upward, into your snatch position. I went really light on this because it scared me. Totally lost my "balance" on a rep using just the bar and it ended up behind me, with my arms all twisted backwards. Have I mentioned how annoying it is that they keep insisting we "don't drop the bar" now? I was not hurt but I could have been. That's just stupid.

**New PR!!!

05.11.11 - Woman Makers

10-8-6-4-2 Bench Press

Partner WOD
10 Rounds Each (alternating) of:
5 Man Makers/10 Knees to Elbows

Bench Press: 55/75/85/95/100#**
Time: 33:37 (pretty sure)
Comments: Holy dogs. Girl/knees man makers with a really weak push-up portion. Used 15# dumbbells. K2E: I was lucky if I got knees to waist! This one was brutal but Wendt did the whole workout legit, with boy push-ups and true knees to elbows thru the whole thing! Amazing!! I was sweating like mad, knee prints etc. on the ground, and really worried about ripping my hands on the K2Es, which were so poor by the end it would be embarrassing if I wasn't just so glad I kept going. Probably should have scaled to some kind of sit-up type situation after about round 4.

**2RM matched my previous 1RM for bench press!!! Woot.

04.08.11 - WOD #3

5 Minute AMRAP:
Squat Clean & Jerk

165/110# Games
155/95# ACF Rx
115/85# ACF Intermediate
85/55# ACF Beginner

Checkout: 12 minute circuit of KB Swings, Jumping Pull-ups, Sit-ups, and Hand-release Push-ups. 1 min on each for 3 rounds.

Reps: 14
Comments: The load was different on the website for girls intermediate but we did 85# at ours, which is what I did. Love the WODs with the weights. I feel it everywhere already. Coming out of the squat was the most challenging for me, but I was able to pretty much get under the bar and catch it down low. Pausing in the rack position and pushing it up was the way easier half for me. I don't really know if I could have done more. I felt like I was moving the whole time but taking seconds to regroup mentally in between each so I didn't fail/bail. Was hoping for 10 and when Laura said 14 I about died. Sweet! But I fear walking tomorrow is going to be tough.

02.07.11 - Kettle Bell 15's

3-3-3-1-1 Press
3-3-3-1-1 Back Squat

15 Burpees
15 Kettle Bell Clean (full squat)* each arm
15 KB Power Snatch
15 KB Single-Arm Swings
15 KB Press
15 KB Stationary Lunges
15 Burpees

25/35# KBs
Each exercise is done with one KB, alternating sides. 15 on EACH side, in any rep combination.

Press 1RM: 82#
Back Squat 1RM: 85#
Time: 11:17

Comments: My legs are toast. Just doing air squats kills. Used a 15# KB for the WOD, thank god. That last set of 15 burpees was really brutal. So, I'm basically sore all over, which will make feeling sore from the car crash I got in on the way home hard to distinguish from the rest of it. Ugh. Totally hit two cars, pulled over from a previous accident, after spinning down the ramp toward them in circles. Worst.

12.01.10 - Plyos and Presses

Strength
5-5-5-3-3 Press

AMRAP (As many reps as possible)
50 Double Unders
20 Box Jumps (24/20#)

3RM: 75# (2x 80#, 85# 1RM)
Reps: 4.5
Comments: Due to the whole foot thing, I was too scared to jump rope or box jump. So I substituted a 250m row for the jump rope, and did 20" step-ups with 10# dumbbells in each hand. Tim told me on a step-up, you're not to actually 'step' with your second foot, but raise your knee as if you're actually climbing stairs, then bring it back down to the ground. This gave my left quad and incredible workout (when I did it right, about 1/2 the time). I didn't want to have to switch legs and land back on the bad foot see? So when I switched legs I did put my second foot down on the box. Still a sweaty mess after, still breathing heavy and red-faced, I thought this was a nice way to scale down. I was kinda pumped about my press numbers at the end. Stayed and did some foam rollers on my legs. Not feeling so hot after jumping back in with The Bear... But a good pain.

11.29.10 - Bear Complex

Don't forget your front squat!

5 Sets of 7 Rounds (3 minute rest between each set).

Power Clean
Front Squat
Push Press
Back Squat
Push Press

Increase weight each set. No dropping the bar between rounds.

Time: 22:15
Max Weight: 55#
Comments: This is for sure my favorite WOD. I love it. Back (YET AGAIN!) after another 3-week break due to a painful foot injury*. I was nervous about it acting up. I felt it a little a couple of times and am icing as I type. Anyway, last time I did this I maxed out at 70#, but that was back in May when I'd been on a "winning streak" so to speak. I didn't want to over do my return trip and end up hurting myself again (or more), so I am planning to take a page out of Matt G.'s book and "not be a moron". Jen was in my class and we rolled around for a while after on rollers and with lacrosse balls, while we watched some of the Super Kids play with the Bear. Fun night back.

*Incidentally, I was talking to Mark W. about my foot and he said several people have complained about hurting feet? Tonight I sort of thought it may have been originating in my arch with the resulting actual pain settling in the ball of my foot, behind the middle and "ring" toe. It felt at its worst as though someone had inserted a marble under my skin at that spot. Ow...

10.25.10 - Happy Anniversary!

5-5-3-3-3 Front Squat

10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1
Kettlebell Thruster (35/20#)
2-4-6-8-10-12-14-16-18-20
Body Rows

3RM: 85#
Time: 15:50
Comments: I first walked in the doors of Atlas one year ago today! After the body rows tonight, I'll probably feel the same in the arms I did at the end of that week. Still love/hate it, in a good way. Went a little easy on the front squats: 55/65/75/85 (skipped the last one, ran out of time). I didn't want to kill myself and my 1RM is 105# I think from several months ago (UPDATE: 110#). Used 15# KBs. And scaled the rows to a manageable angle, but stayed on my heals and felt a good range of motion thru the 20. I'm scared for my arms though. Rolled them out a bit on the foam roller after. Still scared. Oh yeah, we did some solid foam rolling in the beginning, and it felt really awful but good too. He kept saying to try not to grimace. Ha.

In other news: Terry complimented my Thrusters! After I made sure he wasn't being sarcastic, I was kinda flattered!

10.20.10 – Extremity

6 Rounds of 5
Pull-ups
Ring Dips

5 Rounds
500m Row
10 KB Step-ups (each leg, 18/12 box, 45/25#)
10 burpees

Time: 24:45
Comments: Good god my endurance is awful! Those rows! I swear I was averaging like 2:15-2:18 but there were times I even saw 2:28s on the computer. Yikes. I was dragging ass. Oh yeah, and had coordination issues reminiscent of the early days getting the right arm/leg combo on the step-ups (our group used #15 KBs). Nice. Really feeling very good to be back at it but I'm definitely paying (again!) for the extended time off. Pretty much sore everywhere after yesterday and tomorrow I'm predicting my arms will be out of commission. Face is still hot to the touch over an hour later.

06.18.10 - Freddy's Revenge

1-1-1-1-1 Squat Clean for Max

Freddy's Revenge

5 Rounds for Time:
5 Overhead Anyhow*
10 Burpees

*Get weight from shoulders to overhead anyhow – shoulder press, push press, push jerk, split jerk, front or back. Use rack.

Rx: 185#/105#
Int: 155#/85#
Beg: 115#/55#

1RM: 105#
Time: 9:03
Comments: Went down to do my push-ups during warm up and realized I pulled something very specifically in my stomach. It hurt! Tried a burpee. It hurt! Shit. So I didn't push myself too hard today. I was going to go for the 85# but was scared I'd hurt myself more (when I raised the bar, it hurt!). I did find that the more burpees I did, the less painful it was, but that could have just been overall pain distribution masking it's intensity.

The squat clean was kind of a disaster as the whole time I was confusing it with a power clean. Rather than barely lifting the bar and shooting under it, I was pulling the bar way up and then catching it in a squat I think? I don't know if this number should count in my list, but I'm writing it down anyway. The more I think about it, this was one we learned in Basic that I never quite got the gist of. Mark explained after that I should be lazier with the initial lift, and throw myself under it. His demonstration helped me see the error of my ways. I need to try this again before too much time goes by and I forget everything. Thanks Mark!

Warrior Dash on Sunday!

06.09.10 - Partner It Up

5-5-3-3-1-1-1 Press for Max

Partner AMRAP (As many reps as possible)
(55/35#)

3 Cycles Each of:

Kettlebell burpee
KB Sumo Dead Lift High Pull (SDHP)
KB Swing

5 Air Squats while "resting" as partner takes a turn.

Press Max: 85# (PR!)
AMRAP: 38
Comments: Personal Record on the Press! By 10#! Sweet. I had 90# in my head, but that was my (old) Push Press (now 95). One of my favorite things about CrossFit is the ability to see your improvement along the way, and today was a nice surprise with that press.

On to the AMRAP – Holy Hell. That KB burpee sucked! I could not do it right or well and maybe had two total that were even "countable", but who's counting. Lots of fresh bruises on the knees as I attempted to scale the push-up. Found out the A/C is out at the gym, which is a relief because I have been a sweaty disgusting mess the past couple weeks in there. Katy and I partnered up and I did only 30# on the KB. I tried some 35# swings and it was a struggle to raise that thing to full extension so scaled it down.

Oh, and don't tell anyone but I didn't do ALL the air squats. I'm a slacker but sometimes breathing wins.

05.24.10 - AMRAP

3-3-3-3-3 Push Press

AMRAP
As many reps as possible in 12 minutes.

10 Squat Cleans
20 Sit-ups

3RM: 95#
Reps: 4.75
Comments: I tortured myself with too much "fun" this weekend and payed for it today. Sweating my ass off felt kinda good, actually. And for some reason I was able to match my 1RM on the push press, which tells me I need to try for a new PR. Dang it was hot down there! The gym was crowded today – lots of new faces.

05.18.10 - Bear Complex

5 Sets of 7 Rounds

Power Clean
Front Squat
Push Press
Back Squat
Push Press

Increase sets to Max. No dropping the bar during rounds. Rest between rounds as needed.

Max: 70#
Comments: 35/45/55/65/70. Previous weight max was 55, back in January (first workout after Basic Training). I really love this one and I was actually... genuinely excited when I saw it posted.

05.13.10 - Make It Up (Monday's)

Back In Action

5 Rounds for Time:

30 Kettlebell Swings
20 Burpees
10 Pull-ups

Time: 27:21
Comments: I DID 100 BURPEES!!! (I mean, I txt'd my brother and called my parents about it – I am such a nerd!) After threatening all day that maybe I would do only 4 rounds, or maybe 15 burpees instead, I did all the reps. That's the most burpees I've done in a workout so far and I have to say it's one of my proudest accomplishments at ACF. ;) Only sorta kidding. Maybe a bigger accomplishment was declining happy hour tonight to make-up Monday? Grey band was actually sorta launching me over the bar, but I'm not complaining. Used only 20# on the KBS. Wouldn't change a thing – the burpees were my real challenge today.

05.12.10 - No Name MetCon

5-5-5-3-3-1-1 Bench Press for Max

4 Rounds of:

24 Air Squats
21 Sit-ups
18 Box Jumps
15 Push-ups
12 Body Rows
9 Ring Dips

Bench: 100# (PR!)
Time: 21:05

Comments: This one reminded me of when I started at Atlas. All the things we sort of learned first maybe. I knew it was going to be long and hard. It was.

05.11.10 - GRACE

Grace (YAY!)

30 Clean & Jerks
(or floor to locked out overhead)
135/95#

Row
3 x 750m, 2 min rest in between.

Time: 4:59
Row Times: 3:20(?)/3:20/3:17

Comments: I have been dying to do this one since I first saw it in action back in December, so I was psyched when it showed up this morning. Used 75# which may be the most weight I've used in a workout with multiple reps. I don't have a clean & jerk recorded at a max. This weight felt about right altho I inadvertently cheated on the first couple reps when it was pointed out I wasn't fully resetting from my split. I NEED to see this on video, because I felt pretty sloppy actually. Once we get going I really question the intensity with which I engage my legs, and whether I'm really getting myself UNDER the bar.

Row felt just okay. Again didn't feel like I was using my legs enough.

04.30.10 - Press and Dip

3-3-1-1-1 Front Squat

10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 (95/65#)
Push Press
Ring Dips

Front Squat 1 Rep Max: 110# (PR!)
Time: 13:14

Comments: Personal record on the front squat. Did the prescribed weight on the push press! Ohmyshoulders. Used a green band on the dips. I might even go to blue on these next time. Green almost felt too easy? (I got a solid green band this time, not like the one I used for those silly pull-ups earlier this week). I'm friggin' beat actually. I could barely push myself off the floor when I was done stretching after, my arms were so spent. Payback I guess from Wednesday and I may or may have not been a little hungover from last night. But I thought this workout was pretty solid and I quite liked it. Tim was watching my lifts and he didn't tell me I was doing anything wrong so I thought that was good.

Oh yeah, and did 4 days this week again. Niiice.

04.27.10 - Essentials

21-18-15-12-9

95/65#
Deadlift
Hang Power Clean
Front Squat
Push Jerk

Time: 28:40
Comments: Wow. When I saw this workout this morning I knew I had to do it. Scaled to 55# and for once I'm not going to say I should have done 10 more. I thought the weight was perfect. Pretty sure my form took a nose dive as I got closer to the end – I just wanted it Over. Our class was only 3-strong and Mike is very vocal so I felt a bit of more intense "pressure" than I'm used to, but I got thru it. A new girl was in front of me and she was rockin' it Rx'd, so that really helped me to keep picking up the bar when I didn't want to so I didn't fall too far behind. Brett behind me kept me going too. These lifting workouts are truly my favorite. It's 8:20 (my class was at 5:30), my face is still hot to the touch, and I'm beat.

I'm adding Get Some Rx'd Workouts Recorded to my list of goals...

04.14.10 - The Deadlift

For total time:

1 x 20 @ 1.5x Body Weight
Rest 3 minutes
1 x 20 @ Body Weight
Rest 3 minutes
1 x 20 @ 3/4 Body Weight

Checkout: 30 Partner Bar-Ups

Time: 10:25
Comments: Since there's no way in hell I could lift 1.5x my body weight at this point, I was allowed to scale to 80% of my 1 rep max (185#). Not so good at math, I went for 145/125/95# for the three sets. I thought that was close. I really should have spent some time stretching after this one. Why do I forget to do that? I can already feel it on top of the all-over soreness/fatigue I'm feeling being back in the gym 3 days in a row* after that time off. Yikes.

Vance and I partnered for the bar-ups and used the 15# bar for the first 10, then scaled it to a PVC pipe with a 5# plate between our hands for the rest. Pretty sure I wasn't doing this right because my abs felt way less engaged than my arms(!) and my legs, feet weighted down. Oh well. I wanted to skip this entirely so at least I tried it!

*Not sure I've done 3 in a row before? But I'd really like to step it up to 4 days/week. Glad I went tonight.