Looking for Big Me

Practice Front Lever progressions for 20 minutes.

5 Rounds for time:

185 lb Shoulder to Overhead anyhow, 5 reps

10 Burpees

I need to work on my technique with the press progression into the jerk. My strength is in my legs, my upper body def. needs attention. Knowing this I shied away from going heavy heavy. I stayed at at doable weight, only because I have trouble controlling the bar bringing it back to my shoulders. I def. have the strength  to push press the bar; all 5 rounds the bar was getting pretty, so much so that I didn't have to jerk it... Does that makes sense? I had enough strength to jump it up so high that I didn't have to drop my body underneath it. But every time I brought it back down from that solid finish it almost killed me each time. Sooooooo my conclusion is to work on my presses, all of them, get strong and have more control of the bar so I can go heavier in met-cons not be slowed down by my lack of control. 

The burpees were burpees. 

I'm happy with my time. I felt I went hard the entire time, intensity was high. I needed to let out all the shit that was swirling inside of me in the WOD. It kinda helped. I'm glad I showed up. 

Advent

CrossFit Games Open 11.2

Complete as many rounds and reps as possible in 15 minutes of:

155/100 pound Deadlift, 9 reps

12 Push-ups

15 Box jumps, 24" box

My head has been in a funk all day. I came into the box feeling very robotic and apathetic. I went into the WOD with absolutely no strategy. 2 mins before the 3-2-1-GO, I walked up to the whiteboard to see what the average score was and came to a quick goal of 5 rounds. 

I did scale the push-ups to banded PUs. And I used an 18" box. Not sure why, but that last 2" is really difficult for me to overcome. Something to work on. I did the RX'd DL weight of 100#s, which is my body weight. 

The DLs were def the "rest." The push ups were easy to start but by round 3, I was definitely feeling the burn.  It wasn't but a couple months ago when Diso pointed out that my arms were really wide when I did push ups, and he instructed me to bring my arms in closer to my body and I really resisted against it, it felt weird and it made me use muscles that I never used before. Fast forward to today, and I was mindful to make sure my arms/elbows were tight against my body. By that round 3, I found myself feeling the urge to actually want to bring my arms in even closer. I think I may be cured of my poor push up form :D yayaya!

It was minute 10 when I started round 5, so at that point I upped my goal to 6 rounds. I was very pleased that I got to both. 

So much to consider. So much to be excited about. I must get clear on my objectives. Actually, fuck objectives, let's focus on happiness. 

Thrust is still a dirty word to me

Thruster 3-3-3-3-3-3-3

PRs abound! I've gained significant strength since my last attempt at 1RM Thruster in October where I PR'd at 65#s. When I got to 55# it felt easy. So I jumped to 65#s; it didn't feel easy, but not heavy either. So that was a 3RM PR. My first attempt at 70#s I failed, because of form, not because of strength. I took a quick break from the barbell, and went in for my 2nd attempt. I finally got the timing down... cause that's what makes heavy load lifts successful, making sure you're pressing at the right time as your hip explodes open. All 3 felt good, I was def. in control of the bar. 

75#s seemed daunting. I had a a first attempt, at which I failed. Took a break. Went in and kept all those things in mind, keep the bar close to me, trying not to be forward on the balls of me feet coming out of the squat, pressing at the right time of "explosion" and finish strong. And I went, and I got it, but it was ugly. #2, I already knew at the bottom of my squat that I didn't take the time to reset, I didn't inhale fully or "brace" myself, so I think my core was soft. I also think that I didn't press at the right time so energy from my hip opening didn't transfer. I got the bar about 1" over my head and my arms just failed. 

I called it a day. 

It was good. I'm a bit stronger. A bit closer to doing that bitch, Fran, prescribed. How can I complain?   

Catching up

For time:

75 Squats

50 Pull-ups (25 for me)

20 Ring dips (10 reps)

50 Squats

35 Pull-ups (18 reps)

15 Ring dips (8 reps)

25 Squats

20 Pull-ups (10 reps)

10 Ring dips (5 reps)

When I saw this the other night on Main Page, I was completely intimidated by the high number of reps in this WOD. Diso suggested I cut the PUs and Dips in half but keep the same amount of squats. 

I did put up a band on the bar, in case I needed assistance since it was still a decent amount of reps even cut in half. I did not end up having to use the band and did all the pull ups unassisted. 

The first 75 squats felt like forever! I was the last to finish of my heat. It was a little discouraging, being that I"m the shortest and my squat should be the most "energy efficient" compared to everyone else. 

I was able to do 10 pull ups in a row, then broke them up in sets of 5.  The ring dips were tough. I initially used the thin 1/2" red band, but went to muscle failure and moved up to the white 1" band during the last round of dips. 

With my scaling down, I believe I was able to keep the intensity up. I'm happy with my time. 

My shoulders are pretty sore. I did do the thorough shoulder warm up, which I think definitely did me good; I'm injury free :)

I've fallen behind

21-15-9 reps of:

225 pound Deadlift

135 pound Overhead squat

This was tough. It kicked my ass!!

Both 115# and 50#s is 60% of 1RM for both my dead lift and overhead squat respectively. 

There was a point mid 15 rep round where I just started to burped continuously non-stop, which is my equivalent to a pukie. It was mostly my wrists that were suffering during the OHSs, but my legs and core felt solid throughout the WOD.

When I called time I fell flat on my stomach and my whole body felt like it was throbbing like a heartbeat. During the cool down everyone was quiet and Zeb said it was like we were the walking dead---- ZOMBIES!!

This WOD was my 4th straight workout, and pretty much killed my legs going into the weekend which was my Kids Cert. Go to Littlest Giant to see what that was all about. 

Onto the next one. 

The need to be (a)ROUSED

Five rounds for time of:

15 Medicine ball cleans, 20 lb ball

15 Wall ball shots, 20 lb ball

I used a 12# ball for my cleans and 6# for the wall ball.  I'm very satisfied with my time. I never looked at the clock. After I called time, my legs just felt like jello. 

I have ADD right now and cannot concentrate on thinking what to write. I know I liked this WOD. I liked it last  night when it first posted. It sucked. More than I thought it would . I had a feeling of hopelessness at the end of round 2. I was so grateful at the beginning of round 5 that the end was in sight that it gave me a little push to suck it up and finish. 

Kids Cert this weekend. Still haven't booked my accommodations for Saturday. My former procrastinator self shows rears it ugly head every once and awhile. I'm excited to feed my brain. 

That's it. Tomorrow is dead lift and overhead squat. I love both. But not sure if my body will be on board. 

I feel very sleepy and relaxed. 

Say it with me, "Bee-Brahms"

For time:

70 Burpees

60 Sit-ups

50 Kettlebell swings, 1.5 pood

40 Pull-ups

30 Handstand push-ups

Since this was yesterday's WOD, I had already heard the murmurings of everyone's take on it: arms are blasted and wrecked by the time you get to the HSPUs, regardless of what kind of progression you use. Even my Wondergirl, Courtneyrose, had to scale way back from box HSPUs to tri-pod. Knowing this, I went into it realistically. 

The burpees were not bad. I mean, by #55 I was feeling it in my triceps and my shoulders. Every time I threw myself on the ground for the 2nd half of 70, I did a little upchuck in my mouth. I believe I did all 70 in under 5mins. The sit ups I broke up into 10s. I did take a decent rest between sets, but they felt like they went by fast. I also broke up the KB swings in sets of 10. I used 3/4pood (26.5#s). My last 2 sets of 10, I was feeling tired and my form was starting to be compromised. I felt myself not controlling the KB at the top, at times being overextended.  As well, there were times where I felt I was loosing my neutral back (core was going soft) and dipping my chest too far forward on the downswing. Makes sense since I just did 60 sit ups, my abs were going out on me. 

The pull ups were a joke. I did one kipping pull up and my arms were cooked. I got a 1" band and broke it up in sets of 10. It was really difficult, even with the band. My forearms were not happy post KB swings. I was really tired and kipping was becoming harder and harder. It felt like this movement took the longest for me, I don't know if that's the truth but it seemed like it. 

Onto the HSPUs, in which I did the tri-pod. I did 3 and rolled onto my head. I couldn't believe I had to do 27 more. It was with a lot of groaning and moaning that I did 3 at a time. I started HSPUs at 16:09 and called time at 20:44. That's a big chunk of time to spend on 30 reps. My arms were soooooo screaming after every rep. It took all my energy to get my arms locked out. It was brutal. 

After I called time, I collapsed in a heap and laid there for awhile since my arms could not support my weight to get upright. 

I went to the board and saw that my time was perfectly "average." I was saying to Thomas that being average in Crossfit is pretty fuckin' phenomenal, so I'm happy with being average among such great athletes at my box. 

Achilles is a-killin' me

I ran the LA Big 5K Saturday morning with 5000 other people. I arrived to Dodger Stadium before the sun. The ground was wet and slick, and the air was crisp and biting. While I was discouraged to wear my New Balance Minimus for the race, I did, only owning them for less than 16 hours. I did wear socks with them.

The race started a bit late, and they weren't very organized overall in herding the large crowd in the right direction. I started off in a decent pace. I estimated that I jogged the first mile of the race. I started to walk on our first of 3 hills. It burned the hell out of my ass. At the top of the ascent, I picked up my jog again as the trail started to wind down. There was only one water break on the route, which I did not stop for, at the half way mark. 

A few hundred meters from there, on flat pavement, I started to feel the discomfort in my feet. This is where the friendly voices come into my head of not wearing my new Minimus' to this thing. Every time the ball of my foot would strike the ground I felt pain in certain pressure points. It took a lot of concentration to try to disburse my weight over more areas of my foot, but it seemed to slow me down... I had no more "spring" in my running bounce. 

I approached the 2nd hill and was relieved that I got to walk. I could feel the blood rushing into my feet. 

The last mile was mostly flat, save the hill that is the entrance back into Dodger Stadium  parking lot. I jog that last leg... when you come over the crest of the last hill and you see your last 600 meters, you get this burst of energy and run as fast as your tank of energy allows; in my case, not so fast. 

This is what they give you when you cross the finish line:

I'm not too obsessed with my finishing time. That wasn't/isn't the point of me running the 5K. My goal, as I stated in my previous post is to get over the loathing I have for running. I intend to do more 5Ks, hopefully on a monthly basis, to learn more about my body mechanics and mindset while I run. 

Maybe down the road I'll keep track of my times in a more competitive manner. For now, I'll state as more of a starting point- 41:23, which is 13 min mile. 

I went into the box last night with every intention to do the WOD since it seemed like a pretty awesome chipper. I wasn't able to do it though, so I believe I'll be attempting it tonight. Hopefully my achilles will be not as tight as they have been the past few days. 

Let me just be upfront

I hate running. Therefore, I signed up for a 5K. Hating something takes so much energy, and I'm fuckin' tired. So, I need to make amends with this hate by just doing it.

I went to the box today and had no idea how to "prepare" for tomorrow morning. I mean, do you prepare? It's only 3 miles. I have purposefully avoided WODs that contained any running in them since the beginning. (GOsh, this has turn into a confessional) So, I figured I would come into the box and run. I didn't have a plan. I thought, just run.

I ran 2-800 meters.

So I'm running about 11:15 mile, which would put me at about 34 min finish time. I really want to come in around 30 mins, but I highly doubt I will magically start running a 10 min, esp. since I've been avoiding running this entire time. 

Truly though, doing this 5K is the first small goal of getting over my hate, regardless of what time I come in at tomorrow morning. I think it would be good goal to just run as much as possible, walk if absolutely necessary. 

SaSQUATch 2.0

Overhead Squat 1-1-1-1-1

Front Squat 1-1-1-1-1

Back Squat 1-1-1-1-1

I am riding on the wings of love (only the 2 of us together flying high, on the wings of love!!!).... I am sooooo proud and happy and excited to have beat my old overhead squat PR by 10#s. Mostly because 75#s felt easy. I was sooooo tempted to attempt 80#s, but Rico suggested I don't and save it for a day when my legs are completely rested. I'd probably have to set myself up by having the bar overhead and I step into it, vs. having to jerk the bar from behind my neck, cause 75#s was pretty difficult to get overhead. 

I can't even write about my Front Squat or my Back Squat. I mean, both were valiant efforts, but no PRs. 

I really am psyched about my OH squat. Just cause I know about the the hurdles I had to get over to get to this point: flexibility, mid-stability, etc, etc... I mean, there is a picture I have on FB of me having trouble squatting the 15# bar overhead, and wondering if I'd ever be able to doing anything heavier. And, of course, knowing that 50% of the lift is all mid-line... that I've really gotten to a place where my core is truly solid and I "trust" it. If you only knew what that really means. It's crazy. I will try my best to explain to my mother how much this lift is dependent on abs; if she gets it, then she too will probably feel as I do. But maybe only her. Nate might understand, but I'm not sure how much he cares.  

I Covet!

2011 Pendlay Women's Classic Weightlifting Shoes in pink and Gray. And they come in a size 5!!!!!!!!!

CrossFit Games Open 11.1

CrossFit Games Open 11.1

Complete as many rounds and reps as possible in 10 minutes of:

30 Double-unders

15 Power snatches

I am super happy with my work today :) The prescribed weight for the ladies is 55#s, which I believe is my power snatch PR, so I knew that it wouldn't be wise to do it RX'd. Plus I wanted to keep intensity up therefore I lowered the weight. I kind of use the guideline of the average weight of the ladies in my box, and figured that 55# is a little bit more than 30% their weight, so 35#s seemed like a good ratio of my bodyweight. 

I super STOKED that I knocked out the first set of 30DUs UNBROKEN. It got me on a high! I just kept thinking, 10 mins is really short and that I should just go as hard as I can. I def. took short breaks but they were calculated. Like for example, during my 2nd round I could not get in a rhythm with my DUs, so I just took 15 seconds to calm myself, and low and behold I knocked out the last 16 unbroken. When you start getting in funk with your DUs, you just have to clear your head and shake it out, and focus on getting your wrists to turn faster, and your hops to be consistent and your mid-line tight... 

The power snatches were not bad. I was doing them in sets of 7 and/or 5. I was doing my best to jump/shrug the weight and NOT half ass it and press the weight up. Each new round of PSs I felt "fresh" and was able to chain together at least 5 reps, all of them feeling strong and solid, with me landing under the bar. 

By round 4, my feet were killing me; the balls, arches and heel. I think it was all the jumping and landing. Joe D. had the same complaint. Hmmph. 

I really liked this work out. It was great. 

Tomorrow- squat heaven!

Oh, and I've decided to apply to be a judge at the Games- regional or finals, I'm not picky. Not even sure if they would pick me. But I think I'd like to contribute to the sport, even though I'm not cut out to be a competitor. 

Today made up for yesterday

"Death By 10 Meters"

Run 10 meters the first minute, 20 meters the second minute and 30 meters the third.  Continue to run an additional 10 meters until you can no longer finish the prescribed number of meters within the minute. Score is complete rounds and meters run in last round.

I did better than I expected of myself. I'm a little upset that I missed the 11th round by just 10m, but I'm satisfied with my work. I was being very mindful of my form. After each round I expounded what I was feeling in my body and Diso let me know what I was doing wrong in my form to result in that feeling. Like whenever I run I have ankle "pain"--- not really pain but shocks of electricity. It happened yesterday during the 200m running drills; I got this shock in my ankle and it felt like I could put weight on it, but only for second. I was getting that same shock today. Diso explained that my ankle was not "loose" but tense and I was striking the ground with the tense ankle, making it sore... I think. So the next round I would take heed to Diso's assessment and try to correct it. 

By round 7 I was starting to feel the shock in the balls of my feet. In my class, I was the only one wearing barefoot shoes (Vibrams), so I wonder if they were feeling the fatigue in their feet like I was. 

(SIDEBAR: I cannot wait until my NB Minimus shoes get here! My Vibrams are literally coming apart at the seams)

I really liked this WOD, and I HATE running, so good job G for making a believer out of me! Lol!

Soooooo, I know that I want to set a new Clean & Jerk PR. After the 2 week intensive of squat cleans, I isolated the fact that I have to work on getting stronger in my front squat, because in the high rep WODs, I found myself not staying active at the bottom of my squat. I would "sit" down completely then fire up, which isn't the most efficient use of energy.  I set up to do a Front Squat complex with the intention of hopefully building strength.  Here it is: 

This was crazy. The first 10 @ 65#s was challenging already. The 8 @ 75#s even more so. The round of 6, I took long breaks between each rep, but with the bar racked on my shoulders. @ 95#s I banged out 3, then racked the bar on the stand, took a 15 sec. breather and completed my 4th rep. (BTW, my 3RM PR is 95#s which I set in January).  I was definitely seeing stars and my hearing went "out" after that set. After about 2 mins I attempted 2 reps @ 105#s and I FAILED at the first rep. I think I went into it too soon. I took about an 8 min break and stepped up to the bar and got aggressive. 105# is my 1RM set in November,  so this 2 rep attempt would technically be a PR. I went down, felt I was below parallel and fired up. It was good. I was seeing stars. Took a big breath in, tightened up my mid-line and went down. At the bottom, I had an inkling of doubt, but it took all my energy to hold on to fire up. It was like in super slo mo. I had to be mindful to keep my elbows up. I could feel my legs bowing in, trying to utilize any and all muscles in my legs. I did it! It completely drained me, but I was happy. 

So with 30 heavy squats under my belt, I half committed to attempting a new 1RM PR of 110#s. I probably didn't rest long enough and of course just plain leg fatigue, I failed at 110#. I'm ok about it. I feel this FS complex has built up more strength and tomorrow, I will probably work on my C&J if my hamstrings will allow. With the pose running + all those squats, my legs are pretty beat right now. Trying to stay hydrated and doing a lot stretching my living room floor. 

Games site WOD still not up. It is 11:11PM. Great. 

Focused, yet distracted

Behind the neck Jerk 1-1-1-1-1-1-1

I wasn't confident. That's why I failed. I think I was scared. I C&J 75#s, so I know it was my head that got in the way of a successful lift. Commitment issues. As well, all I could see was Arbel breaking his foot on a Jerk attempt at the NLP. 

I haven't been feeling well the past few days. My tummy been acting up. I did have a decadent meal of pasta carbonara that I made--- it was delicious. But I haven't eaten wheat/gluten in a loooong time, so I think I shocked my digestive system. I got to the box today and felt nauseous. I had those burps that you get when you dry-heave. We did a running warm up that I didn't abhor, surprisingly. And it turns out that I have perfect cadence. My short little legs finally are doing something right. 

Tomorrow, I have an interview that could change the direction of my professional path in the direction I've desired since I got into produce. I want to go to bed early so that I am rested. 

If can wake up early enough, maybe make it to the box in the morning. Teach my CF class at 11:30 at the park, then jam over to my interview. Then if God wills it, make it back in time to attend the Oly Lifting Class. HOpe to stay for Open gym and do the WOD for Sunday: 7 Rounds of 10 wall ball-10 pull ups. 

What a lovely day Tuesday is going to be, I can just feel it :)

Shoots and Ladders

With a continuously running clock do one pull-up the first minute, two pull-ups the second minute, three pull-ups the third minute... continuing as long as you are able.

Use as many sets each minute as needed.

I did this Pull up Ladder about 6 months ago and beat myself by 2 rounds today. That's pretty fuckin' cool. Not much to say about it. My arms were cooked. I just got the 10th pull up in at :59 of the 9th minute and had to go into the next set of 11... I did those last four with a lot of effort. My attempt at the fifth was failure. I threw in the towel. 

For warm up we did 2 Squat Cleans on the minute for 10mins. I started at 50#s for the first minute, but slapped on another 10#s. I figured I did that WOD just last week of 1 squat clean/7 burpees and I used 60#s that day. I've got to work on my Front squat. I mean to take a rest day tomorrow, but maybe I'll come in and do 3RM front squat... Naw I'll take a rest day. I've worked out 4 days in a row. 

Afterwards, I moseyed on over to  Dogtown Crossfit  for Dusty's gymnastics class. I wouldn't say it was "fun" but it was a huge magnifying glass on my weaknesses. Gymnastics as a sport is my weakest link in my Crossfit journey. It took me well into 8-9 months for me to be comfortable being upside down, and at about the same time I had just acquired my first unassisted pull up. Slow, deliberate movements that exhibit control of my body are very difficult and a weakness for me. The warm up included my faves(if you cannot sense my sarcasm, then we don't really know each other in real life): forward rolls! Then more forward rolls later in the class, along with hand stands- yippee! 

I'll probably be back for more torture, cause my training needs it. 

My abs are killing right now. It feels like a bad bad tummy ache. Sleepy times. 

Musings

If you could do a WOD of your choice and with whomever you wanted would be doing it with you, dead or alive, what wod would you do and and whom with?

I would create a WOD that would include explosive movements like heavy snatch; use of balance and coordination like hand stand push ups; muscle ups; rope climbs...

And that person I would pick would have to the legendary Bruce Lee.

I hope I dream of this tonight :D

Oh, Annie, Dreamboat Annie, little shipper of DREAMS!

"Annie"

50-40-30-20-10 reps of

Double unders

Sit ups

Diso says that a good marker for this WOD is sub 10 mins. I tried. It was the sit ups that got me; I felt so slow doing them. My abs are killing me right now. Well this is my baseline, and hopefully I'll kill it down the road. I really think I did great considering I really don't have a full set of fused abdominal muscles, ya know? 

a short and sweet ditty by my 7th favorite band of all time, Heart <3

"Dreamboat Annie"- Heart, 

What rhymes with couplet?

Complete as many rounds as possible in 12 minutes of:

185 pound Bench press, 3 reps

225 pound Back squat, 5 reps

I liked this WOD bery-mucho. So much so, that when Joe called, "1 minute left!" I was kinda sad. When I counted up my rounds after time was called, I was really surprised I did 7 rounds; I thought I did less. 

Just last Friday we did the high rep back squat couplet, where I went with 75#s and that felt heavy for that rep scheme. With in my memory, I initially loaded my bar to 80#s. Zeb said that the weight should be heavy for me, so I added 10#s. (now at home, I really believe I should have done 105#).  At each round, the 4th and 5th rep were pretty difficult. It was kind of scary with no spotter. 

I started with 45#s for my Bench Press, my 1RM being 55- an ugly 1RM, if you know what I mean. At round 4, I went to complete muscle failure, so I opted to strip the weight down to 35#s. I'm already really sore in my pecs, shoulders, lats. I could really use a massage. 

Not much to say about the WOD itself. I may do it again tomorrow at 105# for the back squat. Maybe not. I'll probably stick in a met-con workout... Maybe Annie, finally. 

Just want to mention it was pretty cool being let into the 8:30pm club. 

Goodness Gracious

"Full Grace"

For time:

30 Squat Clean and Jerks (135/95)

Oh my god, this was very difficult for me. I really thought 60#s wasn't going to be challenging enough for me; boy, was I wrong. The wod felt soooo long. I did the first 7 and thought, "Fuck, I'm not even 1/3 way done and I'm gassed." I was really trying to focus on keeping good form and speed- getting my elbows around fast, and catch the bar in the squat vs riding it down. But well into my second set of 10, I was losing my speed. Coming out of the squat was becoming more and more difficult. I was getting deep in the squat, only cause my leg muscles were failing me. 

The last 10 reps I really had to push myself. Every time I cleaned the bar and had to reset for the jerk, I was seeing stars and feeling heady. The reset was about 20 seconds long, just to catch my bearings and let the stars go away-LOL!

My 30th rep was tough. It took all the energy I had to get the bar off the ground, and get underneath it. With my legs pretty much shot, I "collapsed" under the bar and was completely sitting in the squat, I was no longer in the "active" squat position. Great, I thought I had lost it; but somehow I was able to stand up with 60#s racked on my shoulders. (Trying right now on my living room floor, I had a hard time standing up from a seat squat.) Not sure where I got the energy to fire my legs explosively like that. It was crazy. My last jerk I wanted to be solid, not light on my landing. I "stuck" it real well. 

Then I collapsed on the floor as the stars started to swirl about my head. Lol. 

Here is video of my Clean and Jerk. I still think I can speed it up and catch the bar in the squat versus riding it down. Always room to improve. 

You know you love my pink wrist wraps :)

Holding it together

Five rounds for time of:

135 pound Back squat, 20 reps

Handstand walk 20 yards

It was a lot of back squats. Why can't I ever do the basic math before I get in there. 100 sounds like a lot, but 5 rounds of 20 doesn't. Yea, I'm a 'tard. I did notice that my abs were totally hurting the entire time I was doing the back squats. Zeb says it's cause I'm doing the the right thing of keeping my core engaged and tight. 3rd round and 4th round seemed to be the hardest to get through during the 20 reps, breaking up the set in 4 squats. The 5th round I suddenly realized that it was completely mental and told myself that I've already done so many squats that it's NOT my body in the way of doing the work, it was my head. I did 8 in a row, then 6, then 6 for the last round. 

The handstand hold against the wall was really difficult. I walked my feet up the wall so that my stomach was pointing towards it. The point was to try to keep your hips over your hands, so you had that hollow position in your back. Explaining it in words doesn't seem to do it justice in regards to how difficult it was for me. The longest stretch of holding the HS was 30 seconds, and that was with deadly concentration and mindful breathing. 

I just wanted it to be over by round 3. I couldn't believe I had 2 more rounds to go. 

Now my shoulders are pretty sore and my legs/posterior chain feels all swoll. Lol. 

Crossfit is my refuge, my therapy, my release, my rock... It's getting me through this tough time in my life. 

I'm lovin' it!

Every minute on the minute, for 20 minutes:

1 Squat Clean

7 Burpees

I'm really proud of my numbers today. Of course, I really really really wanted to go all 20 rounds, but by round 14 I had run out of time in my minute. My burpees were several seconds apart and were like slow motion. My arms were burning pushing up in the burpees at that point. Not sure when but, I had to go outside cause I felt like puking; burpees do that to me. 

David was kind enough to record video me doing the squat clean for critique. This one was round 7, of which I was about to hit some wall, so I was pretty tired. It's in slow mo, but the audio isn't, which makes it funny. 

Things I need to work on: I'm jumping a little to early. Dave says I'm shrugging the bar too high, which is a waste of energy, yet i'm not getting below the bar fast enough. Remedy would be to not jump the bar so high, and just work on my speed to get under the bar and make sure I catch the bar on my shoulders, not my hands- a sure sign that the bar is traveling too far in front of me. 

Video 2 is the same Squat Clean, but it is my last one (#18) in the 20 mins. At this point, I am wrecked and tired. The video is 1:30+ seconds long, but my clean doesn't happen until 1:14. So I apologize for the long set up--- I WAS TIRED!! 

Of course, all the little errors that were in the first video are more pronounced due to me being tired. I noticed that I'm catching the bar way out in front of me, making me land on my toes. My elbows are pointing down and NOT parallel to the floor.

I believe Diso is going to start taking video of us on the regular, which is GREAT because then we can see ourselves in action and see where we need work on certain movements, so I'm lovin' it!

Crossfit/Paleo getting National coverage

Paleo Lifestyle highlighted on ABC's Nightline

Oly Oly Oxen Free!

If you can't understand Mello's scratch:

POWER CLEAN-HANG SQUAT CLEAN-CLEAN

RACK JERKS

I've been wanting to attend Tuesday night's Olympic Lifting Class by Chris Mello since its inception a few weeks back. I finally got a Tuesday night off after much finagling with those at work (god, I hate that place).

We started with the Junk Yard Dog Warm up that go me all revved up. It was great. Mello then jumped right into the lesson starting with the Burgener warm up with the pvc, then into the clean progression. We did it all over again with a just a bar with no plates- I chose the 15# bar. 

The clean complex was the 3 movements strung together without letting go of the bar. I really liked it. Mello didn't feel I needed to get to my 1RM weight (75#), but to really work on my speed and technique, so I maxed out at 65#s doing sets at that weight. 

The Rack Jerk is something I need to work on, specifically on my landing, it's a bit soft and not solid. But I feel my jump-jerk speed is good. I feel solid with the weight above me, meaning my core is solid and engaged, but for sure my feet are "slippy" if that makes any sense. 

I really really really really want to have it where I have Tuesdays off from now on so that I can attend the Oly Lift Class on a regular basis. I'll talk to Cole and Ricky about it. Orrrrrr, I could just land a regular schedule job and escape the hell that is Hotel Shangri-la. Please please please please.