With self-discipline, most anything is possible. – Theodore Roosevelt
Hi there!
It’s been quite the week of workouts. I’m actually pretty thankful to have a rest day today (rain + homework = stay inside all day) and tomorrow. My quads still need some rolling out and my shoulders, pecs, and hands (yes, hands!) are still recovering. But, I’m not complaining. That’s the best kind of sore. 🙂
Monday
I could have gone to the box on Monday. But, I went shopping with Thing 2 instead. Mother/daughter time vs WOD? Yeah, I made the right decision. 🙂
Tuesday
6pm CrossFit
On the surface, this looks like it wouldn’t be too rough. Which is why you should never just look at the surface (did you ever notice how ‘surface’ is a strange word?) or judge a book by its cover or think any workout that involves both running AND rowing and manages to throw in burpees and lasts 30. Minutes. Long. is anything BUT rough.
Of course, I’m still not running so I had to sub 10 calories on the air dyne bike.
The idea was to finish whatever you were doing around the 50 second mark so you would have a small amount of breathing/transition time. Coach told us most people would scale the workout and that was recommended. He even had to scale the run! Then, he also said he spent a little bit of time with his head hanging over the trash can. Oh goodie.
So, I started off pretty well but by round 4, maintaining 10 calories on both the rower and the bike was getting really, really hard to do. By round 5, I scaled down to 8-9 calories on the rower, 7-8 burpees, and 8 calories on the bike. And that’s pretty much where I stayed. And, it was quite possibly one of the toughest things I’ve ever done. I wanted to quit. For reals. Just stop and breathe. But I didn’t. Not until Coach called time, that is, and I fell off the bike and laid on the floor. And, I didn’t vomit. But I thought about it.
Wednesday
5:30am Spin Class at the Y
Because I am a glutton for punishment.
This class was so much better than the first class I went to! Got in a great leg burning workout! After the class, I went out to the floor and did a little core work – mostly planks, Russian twists with a 10lb ball, and V-ups. I definitely felt that later.
6pm CrossFit
thankfully, NOT a metcon
The snatch is one of the most difficult and complex olympic lift. Most people really struggle with it and I am definitely one of those people. BUT, I’m getting better!
Coach had us warm up with 2 rounds of 5 push ups, 5 ring dips, 5 GHD sit-ups, 5 GHD back extensions, 10 walking lunges, 5 supermans, and 5 PVC overhead squats.
That was in addition to the standard warm-up that I had already completed. OY!
I started off with just the 35# bar working on the complex. Coach really wanted us to work on our hook grip and form during this stage – it wasn’t about the weight.
The hook grip is SUPER difficult. Basically, when you wrap your hands around the bar, your thumb goes UNDER your first two fingers. So, you’re not actually holding the bar, per se; you’re more holding your thumb. This helps with control of the bar – since you’re holding your thumbs, the bar is less likely to slip out of your hands. It’s very uncomfortable until you get used to it. And I’m definitely not used to it. My hands were TORE UP and so stiff by the time we were done.
I ended up finishing the complex at 45#. Coach gave me some great critique and said that he could see that I’ve improved and that I’m really concentrating on getting it right. I struggle with speed in my hips (but, they’re a LOT faster than they used to be!) and sometimes, the bar goes too far out in front of me but I’m getting there. It’s work in progress.
For the 1 rep max of the hang snatch, I got 55#. I tried 60# but failed. A few times. That’s alright, though. Work in progress. 🙂
Thursday
6pm CrossFit
I wore my cute new grey capris!
*Note to self – don’t wear the cute grey capris to a sweat-inducing workout. Especially if you take sweating very seriously. Or you are a sweaty betty. It’s not attractive when it’s all over.*
This workout, though.
My hands were still pretty stiff from the snatch complex so I wasn’t sure how all those pull-ups were going to go. But, somehow, I managed to Rx this workout. Without ripping my hands! I finished in 18:52.
Friday
5:30am Spin Class at the Y
Why do I do this to myself? Oh yeah, glutton for punishment. Crazy. Nuckin’ futs, as my sailor likes to say.
Apparently, Fridays are the “advanced” class. Um, yeah. This workout was a beast. One of the students had a heart rate monitor and he said it showed 900-some odd calories burned. Yeah, I could see that.
Then, I did an abs circuit I found on Pinterest.
Dude, this was NO joke. I couldn’t do all 6 rounds. I did 4 rounds and couldn’t do any more. I couldn’t do all the movements for 30 seconds – the V-sits, bicycle crunches, and tummy tucks kicked my butt. My abs were on FIRE. It was awesome!
Talk to me: How long did it take for you to get comfortable with the hook grip? What core workouts are your least (or most) favorite? Are wall balls the worst thing ever?
– jennifer
A Hungry Runner 