Weekly workout recap – or the one where I almost vomited

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.

source

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

Weekly workout recap – or that week I got to run again!

Hello!

Another week of workouts in the books!

This week was actually pretty difficult but pretty awesome at the same time. 🙂

Monday

I had originally planned on hopping on the treadmill in the morning but when my alarm went off, I just wasn’t feeling it. My nose was all runny and my eyes were itchy and I was cold. So, I reset my alarm and got a few more Zs.

Blew my nose pretty much all day long and considered taking a nap at one point. Pretty sure that would have been frowned upon at my office. So, I took some Emergen-C instead. 🙂

6pm CrossFit

Holy. Cow.

Whoever programmed this WOD was out for punishment.

It looks pretty unassuming on the surface.

But, when you’re actually doing it? Well, that’s a whole different story.

Thank goodness I took that Emergen-C!

I set up my bar with 165# for the deadlifts. There were quite a few of us so we were sharing rings and bands (used a thin red band) and wall balls (14#).

That’s where I started. Wall balls.

You know what? 30 minutes is a looooonnnnnggg time.

30 minutes of 40 deadlifts, 80 ring dips, and 120 wall balls.

Those wall balls were making me lightheaded and the 165# deadlifts did not get any lighter and I’m pretty sure the minutes got shorter.

Relieved would be a good word to describe how I felt when time was called. Exhausted would be a GREAT word to describe how that WOD made me feel.

Tuesday

Again considered getting up for an AM elliptical workout but decided against it. I only felt like a tiny little slacker so I’m pretty sure I needed to stay in bed.

Thank goodness I did.

6pm CrossFit

Seriously, people. 2 ridiculous workouts in as many days?!

I was still pretty sore from Monday – my triceps were sore, my hamstrings were sore, my whole body was sore.

We did burpees and air squats as our warm-up and those were plenty difficult.

CrossFit – where the warm-up can be as difficult as the workout. Haha!

I really, really, really wanted to run the 400s but chickened out and opted for the row instead. Seriously, runners have it easy sometimes. Running and rowing are so NOT the same thing!

So, for this WOD, you had to do 3 rounds of Cindy in each round. But, you couldn’t just knock out the 15 pull ups, 30 push ups, and 45 air squats all at one time. Nope, you had to go in order – 5, 10, 15, 5, 10, 15, 5, 10, 15. Honestly, I think that’s the best way to break that up anyway.

I kipped every single one of my pull ups. That’s 75!!! I was able to consistently string together the first 3 and then the next 2. Sometimes, I got 4 in a row. I think I might have gotten all 5 in a row one time during that first round.

I did every single push up on my knees. I knew I wasn’t going to be able to do them all Rx and my triceps were hurting anyway. I decided to go for good form over Rx with bad form.

I finished in 40:22 and I was a big ole sweaty mess. Holy cow what a burner!

These past two workouts have really tested my mental strength – kinda like a long run does. I was tired, both physically and mentally (end of a long work day) and I wanted to stop and just curl up into a ball but I didn’t. I pushed through it. The reward was on the other side – a sense of accomplishment and knowledge that I worked hard. 🙂

Wednesday

AM Garage workout

I did it!! I made it out of bed for a spin on my elliptical!

Man, were my legs sore, though!

I opted for a slightly less strenuous workout – just something to get the blood flowing and help stretch my legs. I did a basic 30 minute workout but bumped the incline up to 20%.

Felt pretty good when I was done although I was still a little stiff when I was stretching.

I need to run. I want to run. I think I’m ready to run.

Interestingly enough, tonight’s WOD includes running……hmmmm…….

6pm CrossFit

We started off with strength – 5 rounds of 5 reps of Pendlay Rows.

I’ve never done Pendlay Rows before. Heck, I’d never ever heard of them so I YouTubed it.

They were interesting. And definitely not easy!

Then, the WOD.

5 minutes of hell Burpees and then a mile run for time.

Yep, a RUN! Not a ROW!

I decided to run!! OMG, I was so excited!!!

I was so excited about the running that I didn’t even CARE about the burpees!

Of which I did 50, btw.

5 minutes of burpees is a long time and a LOT of burpees.

Then, we headed out the door for the run.

BLISS!

It is possible that I ran a little faster than I should have (7:55) but I felt like I had a good, smooth, easy, steady pace. Yes, I probably should have run slower but I felt like I was going so slowly already! And my foot felt pretty good!

I was definitely a happy girl. 😀

I plan on resting my foot on Thursday and doing nothing. There’s running in the WOD on Friday and I’m going to play it by ear.

Thursday

Rest day

Ginny had to go to the vet in the morning for her comprehensive exam and that’s a drop off appointment. So, I’ll be picking her up after work which leaves out CrossFit. Plus, I had to leave earlier to get her there and still make it on time to work so, no morning garage workout for me!

But, that’s okay. I need to rest my foot.

Now, let’s talk about my foot.

I’m not sure. My foot feels a little stiff (I guess that’s the best word) but it doesn’t really hurt. Maybe it’s a tiny bit achey but maybe I’m just focusing too much on it. Maybe I’m just stressed out about it. Maybe I shouldn’t have run a 7:55. I don’t know.

It’s not swollen and it doesn’t hurt. I’m probably just over-sensitive and worried. Definitely glad I’m resting it today and I may row instead of run in tomorrow’s WOD, just to be safe. We’ll see.

Friday

6pm CrossFit

This workout…

that whole “not for time” business makes it seem easier and more laid back….

but, yeah, this one was something else.

Tough.

Snuck up on you.

Basically, it was bench press, row, spot your partner, bench press, row, spot your partner, bench press, row, spot your partner…..etc

I started with 75# but failed at rep 8 in my first round, went and did my row, and then came back to spot my partner.

I decided to drop my weight down to 70# even though the board said to pick a weight and stick with it. I didn’t intentionally pick too heavy a weight – I wasn’t sure what I could do and just started with 75#.

I finished out the whole workout at 70#.

As the bench press reps got smaller, the row got harder and harder.

This one was a surprising lung burner!

Then, we did the 400m run for time.

Everyone else sprinted, I just ran.

My time didn’t matter to me, the actual act of running was what made me happy. 🙂

And, my foot felt pretty good. The stiffness that I felt on Wednesday/early Thursday went away.

I’m definitely going to take it easy getting back into running but I really loved the little bits of running I had this week. 🙂

Saturday

Rest day.

Because of all the cardio and the running yesterday.

Okay, honestly, my iPod wasn’t charged and I didn’t want to elliptical without music.

That’s pretty bad, isn’t it? #dontjudgeme

Talk to me: What did your week of workouts look like? Have any surprisingly tough workouts? Did you do anything that made you blissfully happy?

– jennifer

What motivates you?

Hello!

Happy Wednesday!

I don’t know about you but it was really tough for me to get out of bed this morning.

Seriously.

Maybe it was because it was 3:30am?

Nah. What are the odds of me being tired at 3:30am?

But, I did get up and I went to the 5am CrossFit class.

My sailor says I’m an addict.

I say there are worse things I could be addicted to! 🙂

I love the way working out makes me feel – both physically and mentally. It’s what drives me to get up and go even if I don’t want to. Especially WHEN I don’t want to. Plus, then I get to eat. I like eating.

Hey, I remembered to take my camera with me when I took the dogs out for their first morning bathroom break!

Isn’t it beautiful?

Blue moon leftovers.

Almost like a blue plate special only less diner-ish.

So, they’re really throwing some toughies at us at CrossFit these days.

Me and my shadow!

We had a SUPER full class this morning and, by the time I helped finish putting the rowers away – seriously, not sure why only 3 of us were putting ALL the rowers away! I think if you got it out, you should put it back but maybe that’s just me. Not just me? Good! Grrr! – all the 35# bars were gone. So, I had to grab a 45# bar.

The main difference between the two, besides 10# (duh!), is the width/grip of the bar. The grip on the 35# bar is skinnier than the 45# bar and perfect for ladies or people with small hands. I do not have gigantic hands.

OH!!! Check out my new lifting gloves!!! They’re PURPLE!!! Best. Color. Ever.

And, as you can see, my hands are little. The 45# bar is hard for my little hands to manage sometimes unless I’m deadlifting. And then, that’s just picking up weight. I’m not throwing it around trying to get it over my head.

So, the snatch with the 45# bar was a whole new experience for me. I added 10# to the bar so I was up to 55# and, honestly, that was pretty darn near my limit. I had to break them up into sets of 3 or 4 to get to 11 because I had a hard time holding onto the bar.

But, *bright side!*, I got a good workout and I worked really hard on maintaining good form and I think I did pretty well! I was 2 snatches shy of completing 4 total rounds.

And then, I went out for a mile cool down rather than the 800m. Because, you know, I’ve got to be an overachiever.

And, honestly, I just wanted to run.

My reward for getting out of bed even though I didn’t want to, making the 5am CrossFit class and working hard?

Nature's beauty

Complete and total gift.

Thank you, Mother Nature. ❤

Questions:

1. How do you motivate yourself to get up when it’s early?

2. Do you prefer morning or evening workouts? If you workout in the evening, how do you motivate yourself after a long day at work?

3. Sunrises or sunsets? I love them both but I prefer the sunrise. I love the joy and possibilities in a new day!

– jennifer