Snatch Work & 'Jack'

9am at River North CrossFit

3 Rounds Not for Time
Do the entire complex unbroken
5 BB Sots Press
5 Snatch grip press
5 OH Squats
5 BB Jump squats
5 snatch balance

NOTES: This was a fun complex to warm up with. I have to remember the snatch balance set up: start with feet in jumping stance, then jump feet out wider when you squat.

Snatch
30+ minutes of technique

NOTES: This is what I have been begging for all summer. Andy coached me through about a million and a half reps today. We actually took the time to strip down the bar and pull a ton of reps from the high hang.

Here are the cues that actually worked:
'jump' back (aka lean back with your shoulders - think BACK instead of thinking 'don't jump forward')
don't JUMP (you do NOT need to jump off the ground - your feet will move on their own)
squeeze shoulder blades together
keep shoulders rotated back (correct posture!)

I think that these session really sunk in. I'm hopefully that we elicited some lasted change. FINALLY

OH Squat
Find 1RM

1 x 95
1 x 125
1 x 145
1 x 165 (failed back jerk, make)
1 x 175
1 x 185 PR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
1 x 190 (fail, fail)

NOTES: I am ecstatic about this PR. I think OH squat is a very tricky lift, so I'm glad that I'm getting better at it. And the best part about the lift was that it didn't feel that heavy. I KNOW (and Andy agrees) that I could have gotten 190#, but I was really tired and lost focus by this point. I'll get it next time.

Back Squat
Find 1RM
1 x 190
1 x 215
1 x 230 (fail)
1 x 225

NOTES: The weirdest thing has been happening on my squats. I am able to drop, get up from the bottom, and get about 3/4 of the way up, but then I get stuck. It's like I loose all tension in my quads and my glutes, so I loose all momentum and can't stand it up. It's really annoying - especially because it looks like I'm just giving up. I have to keep remembering that I haven't squatted heavy for several months and that I took a whole week off from legs.

'Jack'
20 AMRAP
10 Push Press (85)
10 KB Swings (35#)
10 Box Jumps (20")

ROUNDS: 11 + 24
NOTES: I did my first 6-7 sets of push presses UB, then I broke the rest up into sets of 6-4. I tried really hard not to put the bar down. The KB swings were fine, but I could tell that my shoudlers were fatigued from the 100 pull ups I had done less than 12 hours ago. My legs were feeling a little sluggish (from maxing on BS and rowing last night), so I felt more comfortable stepping down from the box. It kept my breathing under control and it saved my calves/ankles/knees. I wish I would have been chasing people. I'm kind of mad that I didn't pick up the pace at the last 2min. I pretty much kept the same intensity the entire time. I wouldn't be surprised in my splits were almost all identical - which is good and bad. I had enough energy 'saved' up at the end to go harder.



Cheers to cite checking!

#Angie

7:00pm @ RNCF

General Warm Up

"Angie"
100 Pull Ups
100 Push Ups
100 Sit Ups
100 Air Squats

TIME: 14:01
NOTES: I was super happy that I got to do this WOD with Katie. She is the best at body weight/endurance WODs, so it was good for me to try and keep up. I set the pace for the pull ups. I got done in 4:30. I butterflied for about the first 25, but it always feels like it's grinding my shoulder. Not good. I started with sets of 15-10, then 5, then 3, then 2. I only had to do 2 singles at the very end. I don't want to make excuses, but the bar was SO slippery tonight. My hands were literally sliding right off. Ugh. The push ups were awful. I did sets of 10 till about 50, then I did a mix of sets of 3-10. My form is awful. My biggest downfall in this WOD was the sit-ups. I got off the bar like 10 or so reps before Katie, and I was able to get in almost 20 sit-ups before she got down on the ab mat. BUT she beat me by almost 20 reps. So Katie was basically doing 2 situps for my 1. This is not acceptable. I did all the situps UB and I was moving as fast as my body would allow me. After the WOD, Katie showed me her 'trick'. She lifts her hips off the ground when she throws her body back, so she can used the force and the kip of her hips to help propell her body forward. I think this will help. I need to practice it more. The squats were sneaky. I did 50 squats super duper fast without any fatigue. But at about 55 I hit a wall. I finished with a set of 25, 10, 10.

Katie and I are going to do Thursday night WODs together. I'm excited :)

Power Clean
15min to find 1RM Power clean
1 x 85
1 x 125
1 x 155
1 x 170
1 x 180 (fail, make)

NOTES: I haven't done a ton of heavy power cleans lately. I've been focusing on good oly form - so I've been squat cleaning a lot more. I was glad I could get 180# up. I could have probably gone up a little bit, but my wrist was bothering me and I ran out of time.

Jerk
Find 1RM jerk from the blocks
1 x 125
1 x 155
1 x 175
1 x 185 (fail, make)

NOTES: It literally took me longer to move, set-up, and rebuild the blocks then it did for me to actually find my 1RM. Annoying! Katie pointed out that I need to take every rep seriously. I need to do the same form, drop low, and stick each landing like I would for a max. The blocks were a little bit too high for me, so I would kind of brush it on my dip, which would throw off my mojo. I'm glad I got 185#. When I watched the video, it actually looked pretty good. I'm looking forward to getting these numbers back up.

Back Squat
1RM back squat off blocks
1 x 185
1 x 215
1 x 225

NOTES: My legs were feeling kind of fatigued once I got to these. I tried to focus on keeping my core tight. I was able to stand up 225# a lot easier than I did on Monday. I didn't attempt 235# because I could tell my back was getting tired and I didn't want to sacrifice form just for a couple more pounds.

Rowing
8 x 250 with 1:30 rest

57.3
57.9
58.2
57.9
58.6
58.8
59.6

NOTES: I tried to stay as consistent as I could on my rows tonight. I think my form is getting better, but I still pull to my neck/collar bone. That's not good. My butt hurt and I was sweating a lot when I was done, so I think it did its job.



Cheers to block parties!

Power Cleans & Burpees

6pm @ RNCF

3 Rounds Not for Time
5 2 arm C&J with KB (26)
20 Hollow Rocks
2 Rope Climbs

NOTES: I had never done C&J with the KB. It was interesting. I had a problem keeping the KB in close to my body.

Clean & Jerk
20min to find 1RM
1 x 85
1 x 125
1 x 155
1 x 170
1 x 180 (failed jerk, make!)

NOTES: I usually never fail on my jerk. That was strange for me. I actually hit myself in the chin with the bar on the way up and it totally threw me off. It also hurt pretty bad. Even though I wasn't catching the squat cleans in a good position, I was able to stand them up. Even just a couple of months ago, standing up a 180# front squat when your butt is pretty much on the ground would have been out of the question. Now, I'm confident in my legs and my ability to correct poor form - which I don't know if that is a good or a bad thing. My back felt a little bothered on the cleans, so I decided not to push it. I found my 1RM for TODAY. I'm trying to listen to my body more. And it was definitly telling me to stop.

Deadlift
Find 1RM dead
5 x 135
1 x 180
1 x 215
1 x 245
1 x 265 (fail, fail)

NOTES: I am just going to put this out there right away...I HATE dead lifts. They scare me and they get in my head. Because of my history of back surgery/degenerative disc disease, etc., I am really weary of maxing on deads just for the sake of maxing. To better explain how irrational I am about deadlifting, I felt like I needed to 'warm up' with a couple reps at 135. If you remember (or if you read the above entry), I had just gotten done squat cleaning and lifting 180# over my head. But, yet, I was scared to just pick it off the ground. I'm a weirdo. When I started to lift 265 off the ground I felt my back curl and my low back start to pull, so I immediatley set it back down. That happened twice.

WOD
3 Rounds
15 Power Cleans (145#)
20 Burpees (must touch target 6" above reach)

TIME: 9:59
NOTES: This is an adaptation of the WOD that RNCF did today. It was fun to throwdown with Kayla and Mr. RxBar! I was pretty pleased with my effort. I was surprised how quickly 145# got heavy. I was able to bang out 6 UB reps in the first round, followed by some more UB reps. After I got to about rep 11-12, I pulled singles the entire time. I thought I did a good job getting right back on the bar after I dropped it and took a breath. I tried to move quickly and efficiently through the burpees. I'm glad I did them with the Games standard - it totally changes up the difficulty.


This isn't anything new, but tonight I realized how bad I want to be a great CrossFit competitor. If you want it, you definitely have to put in the work. And then some. And I am 100% willing to do that. Hopefully some changes happen soon :)



Cheers to pennies!

Got My Legs Back!

Monday, August 26, 2013

7:30AM @ RNCF

3 Rounds Not for Time
10 Bottom Up KB (#18, 5 x #26)
10 T2B
10 KB Swings (44, 53, 62)

NOTES: I'm happy that I feel a lot more comfortable with heavy swings. I remember how terrified I used to be of the 53# KB. I used to be a wimp! ha.

Snatch
20min to find Max snatch
2 x 65 (power)
1 x 85 (power)
1 x 100 (power)
1 x 110 (squat)
1 x 120 (squat) fail, make
1 x 125 (squat) fail, make
1 x 130 (squat) fail, fail, fail, make...thank goodness

NOTES: I would have flipped out if I didn't get the 130. I wasn't going to stop until I made it. I kept missing the first rep because the bar was so far in front of me. But, I was able to control my jump a little bit better. It's just really frustrating working by myself. How am I supposed to get better if I never have any eyes on me?

Back Squat
1RM in 4-5 reps
1 x 125
1 x 175
1 x 225
1 x 235 (fail)

NOTES: Considering that I haven't squatted heavy in ages and I took an entire week off from all legs, I was pretty excited that I was able to get up 225#. I should've gotten 235, but I stalled really long at the bottom. I also dropped all that weight on my low back/tailbone because I didn't get out of the way fast enough at the bottom. Or, as Andy so professionally explained, I didn't thrust my hips hard enough or fast enough forward. My hips don't lie.

Push Press
1RM push press in 4-5 reps
1 x 85
1 x 135
1 x 150
1 x 162 fail, fail, make (PR!...)

NOTES: I'm not a fan of push press. Why wouldn't you just use your legs? It doesn't seem very functional to me. Anyways...I got a 2# PR. A PR is a PR, right? I don't work a lot on strict presses. I probably should. With a 200# jerk, I think my push press should be higher.

WOD
5 Rounds
1 Frog Complex (95)(5 x squat clean thruster to back thruster)
10 Pull-Ups
200m Run

TIME: 14:20 (slow)
NOTES: This was awful to do alone. I knew I needed to rest a little bit before I got on the bar, since the whole thing has to be unbroken. 95# got kind of heavy, but breathing was more of an issue than the weight. I also spent a considerable amount of energy to make sure that all of my pull-ups were UB. I have an issue of dropping off the pull-up bar at 5 reps. I'm trying to train myself to keep on the bar for at least sets of 10. I needed someone to push me to the bar.


It was definitely a different world at RNCF this morning. The AM crew and the PM crew are polar opposites. It will be an adjustment.


On the law school side of things, it's baaaaaack! Loyola Law School has welcomed me back with a full load of courses and all the extra-cirriculars you could ever want.

I will not be in the gym on Tuesdays because I have 10 hours of class. Ten. Hours. That's a lot of learning, folks.




Cheers to prepositions!

4 Miles (kinda)

9:00am @ River North CrossFit

Warm Up
400m Run
Dynamic Stretching
Shoulder Mobility

Partner WOD:
4 Miles (20 laps)
150 Pull Ups
200 Burpess
250 Ab Mat Sit-Ups

Partners will be working at the same time, but they cannot work on the same exercise. You must complete each movement before moving onto the next one.

TIME: 36:5?
NOTES: I think Kayla and I strategized and executed this WOD very well. For the entirety of the workout we each ran 1 lap at a time. I started off the pull ups by doing 25 UB. This probably wasn't the smartest decision, but I didn't want to be the first person on my rig to fall off the bar! I was able to get in 37 pull ups before Kayla came in from the run. Kayla was doing about 25 pull ups each round and I was sticking pretty close to 35ish. The burpees were A LOT easier than I thought they were going to be. We were both doing sets of about 30-40 each round. The hardest part of the whole workout was the running after/during the pull ups and the burpees because my shoulders were so locked up. The ab mat sit-ups were 'easy', as to be expected. We were cranking out sets of 50+ each round with ease. Kayla got done with the ab-mats when I was on our 16th lap. It felt strange to be resting in between these final runs, but it did make us run a lot faster.



Cheers to pink post-its!

Muscle it Up

5:30pm @ RNCF

3 Rounds Not for Time
10 Reverse flys in GHD (5# DBs)with 3 second negative
5 Wall Walks

NOTES: I had never done reverse flys in the GHD. I tried to focus on squeezing my shoulder blades together as hard as I could the whole time. It was a good new movement. Andy prescribed 2 wall walks, but that was just way too easy. I bumped it up to 5 UB wall walks, which still wasn't too bad. It was a good warmup.

WOD
Every 2min for 20min to max UB muscle-ups

Round 1 - 7
Round 2 - 5
Round 3 - 5
Round 4 - 5
Round 5 - 4
Round 6 - 4
Round 7 - 5
Round 8 - 5
Round 9 - 4
Round 10 - 4

TOTAL: 48
NOTES: I was disappointed with my first set of 7. The only reason I came off the rings was because my grip was slipping (I didn't put any chalk on my hands). I should have tried to rest longer on the top of the rings when I felt my grip was going. I was very surprised that I was able to maintain sets of 5 for awhile. The last two sets of 4 were kind of scary. I didn't attempt the 5th rep because it felt like I was going to slide right off the rings - which is a terrifying feeling. But, overall, I can admit that my muscle ups have come a long, long way in a relatively short amount of time. (In the Open I didn't link ANY of the MUs)

Planks
5 x 1min planks (30 sec rest)

V-Ups
2 x 20 V-ups

NOTES: Ab work is pretty boring. It was fine. Nothing special. It sucks limiting my workouts.


Cheers to sweet potato pancakes!

SWEAT ON STATE

5:00pm @ Sweat on State

Warm Up
3 Rounds
30 second Plank
30 second high knees
30 seconds of pull ups
30 second butt kick

NOTES: This was a lot different than my typical "skills" warm up. It was very fast and to the point. It got my muscles warmed up and my heart beating a little bit faster.

WOD
1500m Row
5 Rounds
5 Burpee Ball Hops (Do a burpee and then jump over the med ball)
20 Med ball twists (20# ball)
1000m Row
5 Rounds
5 Burpee Ball Hops
20 Med ball twists
500m Row

TIME: 21:5?
NOTES: The gym lived up to its name - I definitely got in a good SWEAT! I tried to go pretty hard on the row. I was able to keep my rower between 2:00-2:05 for the 1500. The 1000m was the hardest. It felt like I was on the rower forever. I was trying to keep it below 2:10, but it crept up to about 2:18 at one point. I was able to keep the rower a little above 2:00 on the 500. I was proud of my focus on my rowing form. I'm not going to say that it was perfect by any means, but it's definitely improving. (It helped that Sweat has a wall of mirrors right in front of their rowers). The burpess ball hops were easy. The med ball twists were extremely hard. I was surprised that I had to break these into sets of 10. The ball kept slipping out of my hands and it was burning my forearms. Overall, great workout.

I highly recommend everyone checking out Sweat on State (1165 N. State St., Chicago)! Katie and Liu are both amazing trainers with great knowledge about fitness and healthy bodies. If you want to get in a great workout with a great group of people, you know where to go.

Thanks for letting me drop in and get my SWEAT on, Katie! I will for sure be back!



Cheers to brand new tweezers!