The good people of @norcalcrossfit putting in work before the weekend. #crossfit #wod
blog
Gloomy Day.
Disclaimer: this post contains extreme frustration and self-pity.
Good day, everyone. It’s hump day and I’m struggling to pull myself over that stupid hump. I managed to kick start my morning routine again and headed into the box for some heavy lifting. Little did I know how much of a battle today would be…
First off, our warm-up was great: a little bit of rowing, some mobility, skill work – the works. I felt ready to lift some heavy bars. Side note: I modified yesterday’s 8 min AMRAP, 8-16-24 front squats, push ups and box jumps and switched out front squats for deadlifts. I have this nagging hip flexor issue and didn’t want to piss it off so I went with 115# deadlifts instead. Spicy…
Sure, I was a little stiff from my deadlifts yesterday, but I had no idea how slow that would make me.
Today’s WOD: 1RM Clean + Jerk + 3RM + 5RM.
Funky, right?
Well, we decided to just go for the heavy singles. The first couple sets were basically muscle cleans, then I started to get slightly lower into a power clean. Not too bad and my split jerks were looking on point; however, I was NOT feeling it today. I felt out of it. As soon as I reached 105# I was doing this ugly muscle clean thing. It was awful. My clean form was totally breaking down and I’m sure I looked like a mess. Jerks were fine, but the clean – YIKES.
What gives? There were moments in between sets that I felt like I was psyching myself out and the spiral started: “My hips were slow under the bar. What was I doing catching the bar so low? Do I even know how to clean anymore?!”
After the last few (ugly) completions – I threw in the towel. It was time to call it a day.
Bottom line: I was over-thinking what I did wrong during my last lift INSTEAD of thinking about how I will approach my next attempt. The negativity and self-doubt won. ARGH!
Sigh. Folks, it just wasn’t my day. I even had a hard time congratulating people on PRs. Bitter, party of one?
So I left the gym with my own personal rain cloud over my head.
Thankfully, it didn’t take long to snap out of it. My drive into work included my favorite holiday music and great coverage from yesterday’s announcement was waiting in my inbox.
Ironically, this snappy CrossFit video was posted and I was able to retain some great cues like, “pretend there’s paint on the inside of your elbows and your trying to wipe it off on your shirt.”
Pretty cool. And to the lady in the video. 175 lb clean? Baller.
Moral of the story: We’re going to do some cleaning in near future, this time with a more positive attitude and confidence.
So that’s how my day started out and it can only go up from here…
How do you rebound from a bad workout?
It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!
It’s official – my product launch has taken off and it looks like I might have my life back during the foreseeable future. What a relief! I hate turning into a stress monkey during the start of the holiday season – it takes the fun out of it. I’m almost thankful finals were scheduled before the holidays to prep me for the endless projects in my professional career. Not.
I know promised a video blog with one of my Rebelles, but Friday night turned into wine, cheese, Vampire Diaries night instead so you’ll have to wait a little while longer…
Saturday morning I had every intention of going for a long walk with Rosie or at least going for a run, but alas, the cold weather kept me inside where the bacon breakfast was residing. Seriously, I wish I had more time during the weekday mornings to cook up a beefy meal like we do on the weekends. Mmmmm…bacon.
As I mentioned, Dave’s company holiday party was on Saturday so we hiked up to Berkeley for some horse racing. Yes, the company party was at a horse track. I’ll take it – I’m a sucker for the holidays. **Cue Johnny Mathis**
I used to ride horses until I was about fourteen when soccer became the number one focus and I wish I had more time to practice dressage. Sigh, aren’t they beautiful? I’m not going to lie, I can barely handle watching racing on TV let alone live. The images of Barbaro are still burned into my mind. 🙁
Anyways, the party was super fun and Dave even one a raffle prize…
Tequila! You can imagine how the rest of our night went…
Sunday morning started like Saturday – intentions of working out with Catherine, but the Bay Area storm had other plans for me.
So we decided to stay in, watch the pathetic 49ers and wait until the rained passed before heading to the tree lot for our majestic selection.
This looks like a bad Home Depot advertisement. Ha!
To make the day more interesting, Home Depot ran out of wrapping so we had to macgyver our tree onto my little car. And pure comedy ensued:
Luckily, the tree stayed put and didn’t cause an accident. Props to my Eagle Scout for remembering how to tie knots.
I’m still giggling about this.
The rest of my day was spent meal planning and watching Dave put lights decking the halls.
Ever wonder what a CrossFit family eats for dinner? Check it out:
First two meals were killer. I’m obsessed with slow-cooker beef stew. Meat, broth, veggies and anything else you can find in your fridge. What else could you need? Our grab bag section is seriously lacking, but we’re not big snackers. If anything, it’s usually a piece of fruit. Creative, no?
We usually shoot for one night out a week (sometimes it’s two). It helps us save money and stay within our clean eating lifestyle.
Do you plan your meals for the week?
Hey, isn’t this a fitness blog? Sure it is, and now that I have more time – I’ll be able to drag my ass to the box (including tonight – WOD & coaching). Yipeee!
All I Want For Christmas: CrossFit Edition.
Holy moly — It’s Friday! I loved this warp-speed week. I’m almost done with my 23 briefings and the product launch week is almost here! Yay PR!
This weekend marks the official start to my holiday season: Dave’s company holiday party. I’m looking forward this fiesta and the rest of joyous celebrations this month. Can you believe it’s December tomorrow? Holy cow!
Another month means another set of goals and a recap of how I did this month:
- 10 unbroken double-unders – ugh while I’ve totally improved on the DUs I was have only hit 5 unbroken. I’ll take it. Baby steps.
5 kipping pull-ups– Done. My hands are destroyed as a result, but consider this check off.Film cooking video with my Rebelles– Filming tonight. Posting tomorrow. Filming counts right?10 push-ups– Done.- Finish reading “The Happiness Project“ – Nope. As mentioned before, I think book helps me fall asleep. I’m not even half-way through…
Post 3 vlogs– I’m going to count the gym videos – that’s fair right?
So what’s my grade? I’d give myself a solid B. Much better than October goals, but still not 100% on the goals effort…
Here’s what I’m targeting for December:
- 10 unbroken double-unders (IT HAS TO BE DONE)
- 115lb squat clean (Because I’m still frustrated about missing that last attempt)
- Go for a hike
- Try aerial yoga (Does this count if I’m already scheduled to go 😉 ?)
- 5 unassisted rings dips
I know those seem like sand-bagged goals, but I’m keeping it light and realistic this month – I obviously have a lot other important things going on this month. 🙂
Before I jump into my CrossFitter’s wishlist, let me recap yesterday’s WOD:
- Warm-Up: EMOM for 10 mins
- Hang power snatch
- Hang squat snatch
- Full squat snatch
- Everyone warmed up with a naked bar, then started loading on the wait. I cruised at 55 lbs for the first half then went with 65 lbs the remaining time.
- In 10 minutes
- 1 snatch @65#
- Run 200 m
- 2 snatch
- Run 200 m
- 3 snatch
- Run 200m
- You get the picture?
I don’t think I mentioned this before, but I tweaked my right hip flexor during L-sits last Tuesday. Yes, I was getting lazy and my form suffered as a result. For yesterday’s WOD I took it easy and hit 5.5 rounds. Not bad, but I should aim for 7-8 rounds when I’m feeling better…
Coincidentally, we taught the snatch yesterday to a couple new on-rampers. I love instructing the snatch. It’s such a powerful movement that can really showcase an athlete’s coordination and explosiveness. Many CrossFitters (including me) find this lift to be incredibly humbling – just like a golf swing, it’s constantly being perfected. I’m currently working my speed under the bar and focusing on my jumping position. It’s one of those movements that is always being tweaked.
OK, now on the to the good stuff. What’s on my wishlist? I’ll admit I’m probably the worst person to shop for because if I need it or want it, I’ll just buy it myself. No patience, remember? But, alas, there are a few things I’m asking Santa for this year:
- Reebok CrossFit Annie Repeat Tee – I saw Iceland Annie post a picture of this shirt a month back and I’ve been envying it ever since.
- Reebok CrossFit Tri Blend Long Sleeve Top – Every athlete needs a long sleeve shirt during the winter.
- North Face Vest – us Californians are wimps when it comes to the cold and sometimes all I want to do is toss on a vest before heading outside
- Garmin Forerunner 10 Watch – in pink, obviously. I’m looking to complete my first triathlon in 2013 and watch better way to train than with this nifty accessory?
- Isopure Zero Carb Protein – Dave is probably shaking his head at this one and to be honest, I feel like a real meat-head for including protein on my list, but I’ve heard really good things about this company and I want to try it out! 🙂 (note, the punch flavor is supposed to be delish)
- Rehband 7751 W Knee Sleeves – I’m a women with bad knees, need I say more? Plus these are great for keeping your knees warm during lifts.
- Weighted vest – I’ve been eyeing one of these for awhile. Dave and I like to go hiking (when we have time) and I’ve always wanted to “take my hiking to the next level” LOL – ok not really, but it would provide a more challenging experience. Any recommendations on brands?
- All things Lululemon – This needs no explanation, I’m an addict. Seriously, I almost refuse to purchase anything else. It’s just that damn comfortable!
So what do you think? As Dave says: “I’ve created a monster.” Yes you have, sir. My college self would have looked at this list and laughed out loud. Where’s the designer sunglasses?! Ugh, okay maybe I should sneak those in there somewhere. 😉
What’s on your wishlist this year?
It’s Peanut Butter Tabata Time!
What’s up, everyone? How’s your week going? Mine is flying by and I’m A-OK with that.
Yesterday wrapped up nicely with an epic tabata WOD. I don’t know what it is about the word “tabata,” but every time I heard it I instantly think: “IT’S PEANUT BUTTER TABATA TIME”
As in:
Ya, who knows…
- RX Tabata:
- Row
- Double Unders
- Wall Ball
- Hip Extension
Before I jump into this beastly WOD – did you know where the word “Tabata” came from?
In 1996, Dr. Izumi Tabata published the results of a study
demonstrating, with speed skaters, that the aerobic and
anaerobic pathways could be trained simultaneously
(Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise 28).
This finding was incredibly groundbreaking- you can read more about it here, but the main point is – when athletes train in this format, they will see significant gains in work capacity. Not to mention, Dr. Tabata is quite possible the coolest name ever…
Pretty neat, right? I personally, LOVE tabata WODs because I’m the type of athlete who likes to go all out for 20 seconds and recover for 10, then hit it again – I’m able to maintain the intensity the entire time, which is normally is difficult during a longer WOD. Ha!
Anyways, last night was really fun. Because we had such a large class, we broke up into groups and stationed ourselves at different movements, then rotated throughout the series. For whatever reason, I was started at the hip extension station with a fellow coach and a couple of the fire-breather guys. Definitely a dumb idea. My posterior chain was lit up after the first couple of rounds, and of course, being grouped with competitive guys brings out the uber-competitor in me so I had to pace them rep for rep (most of the time).
Rowing wasn’t so bad (I kept my pace sub 1:50) and my DUs are looking better every day…Though I must have looked ridic trying to crank out quick sets in 20 seconds.
Lucky for us, we ended the series with wall balls. Yuck. People take note: during tabata wall balls, do not drop the ball. Just don’t. I did early for one round and I felt like the biggest puss.
When it was all said and done, I was so proud to keep up with big dogs and I felt like our group had a little moment when the suffering ended.
Tonight we’re hitting a nice little snatch/endurance WOD, which could be pretty brutal, but I know my legs will need some mobility work or my legs will be fried tomorrow. DOMS, anyone?
What is your favorite tabata workout? How do you fight off DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness)?
Squat Clean Humble Pie.
Happy hump day everyone! Hope you are all surviving the week. Here in the Bay Area we are going to have three storm systems in the next five days, which if you’re from the area, you’ll know that means some cray weather. Yes, us Californians are complete babies when it comes to “bad weather” – a tree falling down in a neighborhood will make the local news. True story.
Much to my delight, I was able to make yesterday’s WOD (after a rather stressful day). I don’t know about you, but there’s nothing like hitting heavy weight to wrap up a crummy day.
- Find 3RM squat clean
- 5 minute AMRAP HSUPs
I’ll be very honest up front, my squat cleans, heck, my cleans in general have been pretty inconsistent lately. I don’t know if it’s the fact we haven’t programmed since last month, or that it was my first WOD after the Thanksgiving gorge fest, but I wasn’t feeling too confident going into this lift.
Three rep maxes are an odd bird – you’re not going for heavy singles, but rather three (semi) quick reps. I know what you’re thinking, “It’s not rocket science.” But this can get kind of tricky and you will surprise yourself with what you are able to accomplish or not accomplish. When 3RM lifts start to get heavy for me, I usually hit one rep, drop the bar thinking, “shit, that was rough” then hop back on the bar and get two more.
Granted you can hit these as touch-and-go reps, but you can also afford a 30 second breather in between. Make sense?
For this lift, I worked my way up to a heavy 3 reps @ 105lb. Here’s a video of that last rep:
Not too bad. Noticed my whining expression at the end? Let me backtrack for a second. That was actually my second time hitting that weight. After the first successful set, I moved on to 115lb because I was feeling like I could at least hit one rep (which would have been a 20lb PR).
Want to see how it went?
I had it. I HAD IT. I won’t get into specifics about what went wrong on the lift because goodness knows there is a list of critiques for that attempt, but let me explain: I hit three reps of 105lb twice (TWICE) and yet, I couldn’t pull off 115lb once. ARGH. Sure, it’s probably because I was fried from the previous lifts and because my elbows were in slow-mo, but I was so close I could taste it. Talk about humble pie.
What you don’t see in this video is that I tried it two more times and it just became silly. Funny, really – I’d pick it up and just drop it. I was done. Not all was lost though, my previous 1 rep squat clean PR was 95lbs back in October and I hit 105lb multiple times. You crazy, CrossFit!
I’ve been meaning to write about my new-ish wrist wraps by Strength Wraps. I’m in love. And they come in cool colors! I’ve used them for OH squats, cleans and jerks (so far) and I couldn’t be more satisfied with the support. The best part about these babies is that you can instantly loosen or tighten them by simply twisting them around your wrist. I’m one of those people who will tie and re-tie their shoes until they feel comfortable and it’s the same thing for my wrists – I highly recommend them.
Has a lift ever left you scratching your head? Do you wrist wraps?
**Shout out to camera woman, Brittany for the videos and commentary!!
Thanksgiving Food Hangover + Video Update.
Hello friends! Gosh, it has been awhile since I last posted. Sorry about that! As I’m sure all of you can relate, last week was pure madness. Cramming five days of work into three and then hosting Thanksgiving felt like a huge undertaking, but when it was all said and done – it was a blast!
What do you guys think? The majority of this decor came from World Market. I could seriously live in that store….
Long story short, the dinner party was a smashing success and it was so fun having my familia over for some good eats and drinks!
Friday morning we headed off to Chico to spend the rest of the holiday weekend with my family. Have you ever been to Chico? It’s the neatest town and I’m lucky enough to have relatives to stay with in case I ever need to escape the Bay Area hustle…
As you can see, we like to keep it classy in Chico: tractors and champagne, ya’ll.
I was a complete slug all weekend and hardly made it out of the neighborhood. People, when I say I like to relax, I mean RELAX.
Dave, on the other hand, is a busy body and somehow made the trek to the mountains to cut down the neighborhood’s Christmas tree. Can you say Griswalds? Let me set the scene for you:
I honestly love this movie. While most people’s favorite holiday movie is Elf or Home Alone, mine is hands down – Christmas Vacation.
It was a great long weekend and I’m sad to be back on the grind, but I’ll admit the break felt incredibly refreshing…
I promised a video blog so here it is, but please pardon the rambling thoughts…it has been a long day!
Did I mention I didn’t work out once since Tuesday? Not once. I tried not to think about it too much, but it was a total bummer…
How was your Thanksgiving week? Feeling like you have a food hangover? Me too…
Two Hundo Club.
Houston, we have lift off. Good people of the blogosphere, I’m pleased to report that I have been officially inducted into the two-hundred dead lift club! Yipeeeee!
Here’s the set-up from this morning’s class:
- Deadlift 15 (103#)-10 (133#)-5 (173#)-1 (193#) – 1 (203#)
- +
- 20 sit-up
- 20 Double under
- Amrap 5min
- * Scale DU to 20 air squats
I was paired with two dead lift ninjas who make me feel like a 80 year old woman during this lift, but hey, if that’s not motivation, I don’t know what is…
What to see it in action? Here’s a video of my mini glory – please ignore my poor form. As you’ll note the video catches my lift a couple seconds into the movement so you miss my clean set-up, and instead see my slightly arched back. Ugh, practice makes perfect, right?
I’m so pumped. I’ve been eyeing this PR for a while and I definitely feel redeemed after my last PR notch.
Obviously, with every new CrossFit milestone, I want to celebrate the best way I know how – beats. I’ve started a mini-trend on Facebook. If someone from our box posts about a PR, they need to accompany it with his or her “PR song”, a beat that exemplifies the feeling they have after hitting their goal.
For whatever reason, I felt gansta after that lift and this song instantly popped in my head:
Hit a PR recently? What would be your PR song??
Change of Plans.
Change of plans, folks. I was going to blog about my morning WOD, but as life happens, things don’t always go according to plan.
Late last night Dave came back the gym in near-screaming pain. The poor guy went to re-grip from a front squat to a jerk and dumped the barbell on this knee/quad. It wasn’t pretty and he ripped his favorite work out pants (salt on wound). To make matters worse, the barbell landed inches away from the knee he had surgery on a year ago (almost to the date).
I don’t do well with bad injuries – after destroying my knees playing soccer, I can’t even watch football replays when a guy injures himself – it makes me want to vom. I think last night I even asked Dave before I came over to help him, “Is this going to make me sick?” LOL, what a great girlfriend, right?
As you can imagine, I didn’t make it to the box this morning as planned, but here’s the WOD that I will be doing at some point:
- RxD
- 400m run
- 15 DB thruster
- 10 chest to bar pull-up (scale to 10 pull ups or 10 ring rows as needed)
- Amrap 15min
Spicy! Anyways, I’m taking advantage of my free time to go shopping with my mom for our Thanksgiving dinner. I haven’t mentioned this before, but I’m hosting this year. Cray. I don’t know what I got myself into. Granted, it will be just Dave, my parents, sister, grandparents and uncle, but still — pressure’s on, people!
This is one of the first years that we’re not all going up to Chico, where my mom’s entire family gathers every year. I’m talking 20+ people in the past. My aunt and nana’s spread puts Paula to shame. It’s that good.
Needless to say, I need to step up my game.
So what’s a clean-eating girl to do? Well, the plan right now is serve up the traditional dishes and have some paleo options available.
Here’s what I’m thinking for our menu:
Apps:
- Cheese plate with olives
- Buffalo chicken dip
- Goat cheese dates
- Crispy Prosciutto Cups with Pear
- Kale Crisps with Sea Salt and Lemon
- Spinach, Bacon, and Onion Dip
Dinner:
- Turkey (doy)
- Gravy
- Candied yams
- Green bean casserole
- Salad with feta and pecans
- Bacon and Chive Sweet Potato Biscuits
- Sweet Potato Casserole
- Cranberry sauce
- Traditional dinner rolls
Dessert:
- Apple pie
- pumpkin pie
- Berry cobbler
- Pumpkin cheesecake?
Am I missing anything? Too much? LOL. As you can see, I’m trying to mixed it up so my family doesn’t protest the paleo options:
Don’t get me started on the table decor. My friend Liz and I have been brainstorming since July…I can’t wait to show you the final product.
Have you ever hosted Thanksgiving at your house? How did it go? And what’s your favorite Thanksgiving dish?
Great Expectations.
Happy Wednesday, everyone. Hump day is taking on a new meaning for me today. I woke up feeling like I’m stuck in a fitness rut. For the past few weeks I’ve been waiting for this intensity breakthrough and that I’ll suddenly become an RX beast. Um, yeah still waiting for this to happen. Hell, I’d even settle for a November goal; however, at this rate, I feel like it’s going to be awhile.
What’s with my great expectations? I’m impatient. We know this. I just need to settle down and do what it takes to get results: Eat clean and stay consistent with workouts. If the Whole30 taught me anything, it’s that my diet can change everything. Speaking of this gnarly program, I’m going after it again in January. Crazy, I know, but luckily I’ve convinced a few other crazies to join the ride. I hate to admit it: I’m actually looking forward to it (especially after holiday indulgences).
I took a three-day break from working out in hopes of bottling up some energy and made it to the 5:30 p.m. class on Tuesday. This WOD was a small indicator that my recovery helped, but it also showcased my poor diet from the weekend:
- Death by Snatch:
- 1 Power Snatch (65 lb) /1 HSPU on first minute
- 2 Power Snatch/2 HSPU on second minute
- Continue until you can no longer perform the required reps within the minute
- 15 minute cap
Seems confusing right? What happens when you fail? Do you spiral out of control and run out of the box crying? No, but that would be entertaining. Our coaches provided a solid game plan: Once you hit a wall and you can no longer complete your reps in a minute, rest for one minute, then start again at half the reps you stopped at. For example, I was able to complete 7 reps of both movements, but right at the minute mark. Then, I rested for a minute and started again at 4 reps, stayed consistent at 5 reps until the 15 minutes were up. The title says it all: Death.
I don’t even know how I managed to help coach on-ramp at 6:30 p.m. I was feeling like a mess. I do have to note that there were so many people in class that we ran out of wall space for assisted HSPUs so I resorted to 20lb DB shoulder presses. Kinda lame, but it got the job done.
Fast forward to this morning:
- 1 rep max back squat test + 21 reps of backs quats
I left the box last night so pumped to hit this lift in the morning. PUMPED. I was mentally prepping for hitting a crazy weight. Why? Because I was due. It had been so long since I tested my 1 rm back squat that I didn’t even bother to look at my last PR. I had a rough number floating in my head, but I felt like I could hit 165 lb easy. After doing CrossFit consistently, I felt like that’s where I should be, where I should stack up…right?
Wrong. I failed twice at 155 lb and I was left grinding my teeth on 145 lb. What gives? I felt stiff and weak under the bar. For the 21-rep lift (which is cray in my book) I hit 95lbs and struggled the whole time. It was a very humbling morning. Of course, I left the box scratching my head.
In case you were wondering, I did find my old back squat PR (hidden in an old WOD app): 117 lbs on July 3rd. I nearly hit a 30lb PR with my 145lb lift today. Am I excited? Of course, but it’s safe to save I want more.
What could I have done better? For starters, I needed to work on my ankle movement and I probably should have warmed-up better (i.e., jump rope), but I really think the root cause of my lack of general mobility is dehydration. Say what? Yep, I haven’t been drinking as much water as I usually do. Don’t get my wrong, I only drink water with my meals, but this weekend of celebratory drinks and skipping out on the H2O in between meals are really doing a number on my muscles.
We need water, people! More than you’d think. I think by now most people know the endless benefits of hydration, but the biggest factor for athletes is that water lubercates your muscles. Think of yourself as the Tin Man from the Wizard of Oz, except the oil is replaced with water. No water, no moving. Ya dig?
Where do we go from here, kids? We keep on plugging away. I know what it takes. #GetAfterIt
How do you self-assess failure? What’s your rebound strategy?