Jack-a-mofo!

"Jack"

Complete as many rounds as possible in 20 minutes of:

115/80-85 lb Push press, 10 reps --35#

10 KB Swings, 1.5/1 pood

10 Box Jumps, 24"/20" box --16"

Another one of those I'm going to die wods. Or it could be the horrible reverse-Paleo diet I've been on. Yea, it's probably that. 

My arms and hamstrings were still very sore from Monday's WOD, so I definitely had challenges with the KB swings. Excited that I was able to do the RX'd weight of 1 pood.  And history has shown that Box jumps make me have pukie-burps (yum!). The Push press was light, but still very taxing. After the 20 mins my head was reeling and my body was just done. Felt drunk high for about an hour after. 

I'm praying for a heavy day sometime soon. The WODs the past 2 weeks have been kicking my ass. 

Too big for my britches

Ten rounds for time of:

135 pound Deadlift, 10 reps (135/95)

10 push-ups

I can't read. I ended up scaling my DLs as suggested for the dudes. This workout kicked my ass. Heavy weight + the 100 degree weather in the box was completely draining. I collapsed in a heap on the floor. When I took the pic above is when I realized that I did more weight than prescribed for the ladies. Oh well. I really busted my hump to make sure I finished by the 20 min mark. I love deadlifts. I love feeling like mush at the end of a WOD. 

First day of work was good. I thought I was being hired as a restaurant manager, but I am really the F&B Supervisor. I don't get the manager title because I'm hourly, but I do manage all of the FOH staff in all the service outlets on the property: The Dining Room, Pool Bar, and Suite 700 which includes the servers, bussers and bartenders. I love that Dakota is my boss. It's sooo fuckin' cool. She trusts me, I trust her. We communicate very well. 

I can't wait to move. Not the actually moving part, but the part where I'm all settle into my new space. 

Sleepy. 

Press your luck!

Shoulder Press 3-3-3-3-3-3-3

Upper body strength is definitely my downfall. I have made strides in the past 10 months of doing Crossfit, but I know there is always room for improvement in building my upper body. I looked into all my past blogs and could not find PR for the shoulder press, but I went into the WOD thinking that my PR was 40#s, but it's unfounded. I know that in high rep WODs that included SP, I would default to 35#s. So I'm glad that I got to set a "PR" of 42.5#s . I know that working on my SP will lead me to handstand push-ups, but that's far in the distance. 

I want to make a quick mention of a blog that I stumbled upon, No Crying in Crossfit.  In the right margin, the author of the blog has a heading "BAD ASS CROSSFIT LADIES," followed by a long list of blogs of female Crossfitters. I slowly peruse all the witty blog names, some menacing, some just their given birth name... when I come across "Sweet Assassin." For a second, I thought, "there's another sweet assassin?" I hit the link and it lead me right HERE. I was dumbfounded and touched. In my journey discovering my physical capabilities, meeting goals, taking big strides, seeing the changes in my body and how I approach everyday challenges, never ever have I thought myself a bad ass crossfit lady. This moniker I save for the other women that I cheer on in my box, that I marvel at in the Games, and those I meet in our growing community... but not little old me. So to see myself placed in the group by a BAD ASS CROSSFIT LADY is humbling and inspiring to keep progressing in my crossfit journey. 

Crossfit keeps getting better and better. 

Kindness

I found this on the Tim Ferris Blog. I thought it a poignant poem... I hope you’ll pass this along to those in your life who may need it.

Kindness

Before you know what kindness really is
you must lose things,
feel the future dissolve in a moment
like salt in a weakened broth.
What you held in your hand,
what you counted and carefully saved,
all this must go so you know
how desolate the landscape can be
between the regions of kindness.
How you ride and ride
thinking the bus will never stop,
the passengers eating maize and chicken
will stare out the window forever.

Before you learn the tender gravity of kindness,
you must travel where the Indian in a white poncho
lies dead by the side of the road.
You must see how this could be you,
how he too was someone
who journeyed through the night with plans
and the simple breath that kept him alive.

Before you know kindness as the deepest thing inside,
you must know sorrow as the other deepest thing.
You must wake up with sorrow.
You must speak to it till your voice
catches the thread of all sorrows
and you see the size of the cloth.

Then it is only kindness that makes sense anymore,
only kindness that ties your shoes
and sends you out into the day to mail letters and
purchase bread,
only kindness that raises its head
from the crowd of the world to say
it is I you have been looking for,
and then goes with you every where
like a shadow or a friend.

~Naomi Shihab Nye

It's not always all smiles and rainbows.

I'm a hypocrite. I make assumptions. I make judgements from those assumptions.

I hope all my beliefs are proven wrong.

Chippy Chips!

For time:

25 Walking lunge steps

20 Pull-ups

50 Box jumps, 20 inch box -16" for me!

20 Double-unders

25 Ring dips -w/ 1" band

20 Knees to elbows

30 Kettlebell swings, 2 pood -1 pood for me!

30 Sit-ups

20 Hang squat cleans, 35 pound dumbells -15#s

25 Back extensions

30 Wall ball shots, 20/14 pound ball -8#s

3 Rope climb ascents -rope lowers for me

Good news: This WOD kicked my ass! More good news: I did the pull-ups fully unassisted!!!!!!!!! Let it be known that on this day September 22, 2010 I officially will be doing all WODs with Pull-ups (except RX'd strict) without a band- woohoo!

More crazytown: I did the KB swings with at 1 pood! I confident that I've been doing all WODs that call for KB swings with a 3/4 pood. I'm blowing my own MIND- mwahahahahahaha!

Observations during the Chipper:

I was glad that the pull ups and box jumps were at the beginning of the Chipper. When I got to the DUs, I was already wrecked. I couldn't jump or turn my wrists fast enough, so I never got into a rhythm; I did the 20 in sets of 2- it was really sad. 

The K2E weren't painful, but I know that I have trouble kipping hard enough to get my knees to touch my elbows when I get tired. 

The KB swings were horrible, at this point is when I'm starting to feel gassed; of course, I did go up in weight. 

I blame the KB swings for wrecking my forearms during the DB cleans. Even though I had a low weight of 15#s, I had the hardest time with the cleans. It felt like it was going in slow motion, I couldn't drop under the weight fast enough... and chipping away (hey!) at the set of 20 felt like FOREVER!!!

During the Wallball, I made the mistake of taking too long of a break and the blood started to rush to my face just like it does when I collapse on the floor after I complete a WOD. I did the last 13 without stopping. 

My left hand still has minor pain when I grab things firmly, but less so than last week (thumb stabilizer is def. helping immobilizing it lending to healing). I felt pain in the hand when doing my rope lowers. It kinda sucks. 

After calling time, I collapsed on the floor, where I stayed for about 15 mins, feeling that amazing euphoric feeling that I chase every time I step into the box :)

Super lazy

8 Rounds for time:

5 pistols, right leg

5 right legged box jumps, 20"/14" 

5 pistols, left leg

5 left legged box jumps, 20"/14"

5 clapping push ups

I used a small box under me for my pistols. I used a 10" stack o plates for my one legged box jumps. And I subbed ring push ups for the clapping push ups cause my hand is still in a lot of pain when I put certain pressure on it. 

My butt is already feeling a bit sore. 

Sleepy. good night. 

Ringu!

 

Complete five rounds of:

On the rings, lower from an inverted hang, slowly, with straight body and arms, 7 reps

15 Ring Push-ups

Move SLOWLY and methodically attempting perfect execution.

This is how you progress in today's ring work:

I only got to #3 stick figure-- which I think it great, considering I was completely convinced that I would never be inverted. I complete 4 rounds out of the prescribed  5 rounds. 

And my final assessment of the WOD:

Fran

Last time  I used a thick ass band, like 5" or something. This time around I used the 1" band. Kept the same weight on my bar. 

PR'd that shit by 20 seconds. Sweet. 

Imagine if I hadn't eaten like dookie the past 7 days. I did feel pretty heady and faint after the WOD. Fran is a crazy bitch. 

Weaksauce

Overhead Squat 3-3-3-3-3

Que lo yo hice: 50(1)-50(Fail)-45-45-45

My 1RM is 55#s back in June. So I thought I would be able to at least get up to that. But alas, no. 

I really think it's due to my crazy weekend of consumption. Good news, though, Oly Lifting class this Sunday for 1 and half hours. Guess what I'll be working on? That's right! The overhead squat. 

Apartment hunting is tiring. So many piece of shit places out there. 

Oh, UNFI called me today to set up an interview for Sept. 29th. Interesting.   

I partied too hard this weekend.

Five rounds for time of:

Row 250 meters

135 pound Front squat, 10 reps

15 GHD Sit-ups

20 Box jumps, 24 inch box

Scale Version B)

Three rounds for time of:

Row 250 meters

10-35 pound Front squat, 10 reps (65#s)

15 Sit-ups- I used the GHD

20 Box jumps, 12-15 inch box (16" box)

And I felt my partying in the WOD today. Everything sucked. I found the front squat especially heavy today. My 1RM is 85#, so 65# was definitely on the high end for me and was very challenging. The rowing always go slower than I think. I used it as my "rest" and kept a comfortable pace. The GHD sit-ups were fine. As usual, box jumps make me pukie.  

I didn't make it to the box once this holiday weekend. I drank every evening and ate my hearts desire.

Friday was taco and bourbon night.

Saturday was Korean BBQ and Soju night.

Sunday was the LA County Fair and every fried greasy thing you can imagine. I didn't consume any alcohol, but I did have bahn mi, thai ice tea, shrimp chips (yummmy!), poutine, Dr. Bob's ice cream, peking duck, lo mein, whole fried sole, rice.... 

Monday, I ate very "paleo"-ribs, grilled veg, fruit- but had copious amounts of strawberry daiquiri and beers. 

All of this came out in the WOD today. The 16 mins felt like 30 mins. I called time and was profusely sweating out all the toxins in my body. 

Today I had bacon and eggs for breakfast. And i'm about to have a large rib eye for dinner :) Meateriffic!

I'm not sore!

"Linda"

 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 reps of the triplet:

Deadlift: 1 1/2 bodyweight

Bench Press: Bodyweight

Clean: 3/4 Bodyweight

The evening classes were hectic last night with a shortage of barbells and benches, so I opted for a modified Linda so I wouldn't have to be waiting around for an hour. Mine looked more like this:

 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 reps of the triplet:

Deadlift: 110#s 

Shoulder Press: 35#s 

Dumbbell Cleans: 15#s

For some reason 110# felt really heavy. It's weird how like last week, I easily busted out 10 reps of 135# and it felt good, and then this week, 110# is just killing me. The shoulder press was unpleasant. I had muscle failure at rounds 7, 6, and 5. The dumbbell cleans were good. I felt myself getting under the DBs quickly and "conserving" energy. I don't have bruises on my shoulders today, so I def. had control of the weights. 

I know this isn't exactly the same Linda I did in February but I did manage to shave off more than 7 minutes from my old time. 

I hope to do Linda as outlined soon so I can see if I really did make some gains. 

This entire week, my left shoulder felt inflamed and I was concerned I had reinjured it or aggravated it  with the wall balls or thrusters this week, but I'm pleased to awaken this morning and find it completely pain free without a trace of soreness. On Wednesday, Rader and I did the shoulder mobility WOD post thruster WOD, which I think may have led it to being sore all day yesterday. No clicking, no range of motion limitations. I'm glad. 

On a side note, after completing Linda, I collapsed to the ground and smacked my right arm against the concrete and created 2 visible stress cracks in my jade bangle. When I got home it split into 2 pieces. I'm really sad. It was gifted to me by my mother and is a token of good fortune to the recipient. She gave it to me over 7 years ago and I have worn it every single day since, maybe taking it off a total of 4 times. It is a rare form of jade from Burma. I will see if I can glue back together :(

2 days in a row

I did scale A @ 45#s. This WOD really socked it to me. In a good way. I felt really good with my thrusters. I was getting really good hip extension, which enable me to get the bar over my head swiftly. The hang cleans really gassed me. I thought for sure it would be the thrusters, but it was the hang cleans. Now, all 8 rounds I did the 7 reps without a break, but after complete the set it would definitely take me a second to catch my breath. 

The High pulls I had the habit of breaking them up into 2 sets of 5. Overall I'm happy with my work. I collapsed on the floor, feeling that yummy euphoric feelings. My shoulder is definitely sore, but not in pain. I did the shoulder mobility WOD with Rader today, so hopefully it will help the soreness pass quickly. 

More hot tub action tonight, so I'm really drowsy yet again. Good night!