Big Things?

Ugh.  I just...ugh.

I'm having a little bit of food fatigue, I think.  Since starting Operation: Get Strong Without Getting Fat, I've been cramming in the protein, aiming for 120-150g per day.  There have been a couple of days where I just wasn't focused and barely got in 100 or 110, but generally it's been doable.

And then yesterday.  It's peak week, and I'm geeked out about, well, peaking.  Back squats on Monday went really well - I've hit my June 30 goal over a month ahead of schedule.  I even PR'd my strict press by 2 little pounds (well, technically by a kilogram - so 2.2ish pounds - but whatever).  And I cannot WAIT to deadlift on Friday.  BUT.

That meant that yesterday, I had to set a reminder in my outlook calendar to tell me to eat at 4:30 pm.  Last Friday's 1.5-hours-from-eggs-to-Fran semi-disaster has made it clear that I need at least two solid hours between a meal and training.  And my lunch was a little light on the protein, since I had a practice group meeting and the best I could get was a salad with MAYBE four measly ounces of chicken (tasty, but so little!).  So...CHRIST.  There I was, at my desk, shoveling down eight ounces of tuna and trying to get it all in before 4:30 so I could train at 6:30.

So, it's not super glamorous.  But it's working.  And I do like eating a couple squares of chocolate before hitting the gym - that's kind of fun.  And I'm pleasantly surprised that adding in a bit more sugar, in the form of fruit a few days a week, plus all this protein and pre-training chocolate, has actually left me the tiniest bit leaner in addition to super-strong.  (Have you ever had berries with flaked coconut and a little bit of heavy cream?  And maybe some 85 or 90% dark chocolate shaved over it with a microplane zester?  CHRIST ON A CRACKER that's delicious.)

But I kind of wish I was this cat just for a minute.

I've also started logging my training at the CrossFit mainsite boards, here: Chrissey's CFCC Log

Saturday May 26: 4x750m row with 3:00 recovery.  Score is slowest interval.  3:07, 3:11, 3:13, 3:14.  A little inconsistent, but more annoyed that my last interval was also my slowest - I started out too fast (at a 1:50/500m pace) and just died somewhere in the middle.  I am getting substantially better at rowing but am still so far from being good at it.  Went rock climbing later in the day with some gym friends - and WOW.  I would be much better at that if my forearm strength was JUST a little bit better. 

Sunday May 27: Memorial Day Murph. 1 mile run, 100 pull ups, 200 push ups, 300 air squats, 1 mile run.  In theory, I wanted to do the entire thing - but I wanted to PR my back squat on Monday, so I did half Murph...sort of.  Amber and I both ran the first mile and then split the pull ups, push ups and squats.  Mile run was about 8 minutes - 7:17 on the gym timer, but it was a little behind.  I did 11 full rounds of Cindy (5 pull ups, 10 push ups, 15 squats) plus half of the pushups and squats for a twelfth round.  We finished everything in 28:45 - I got a little caught up in stuff and almost went out for the second mile, but reminded myself that I needed to squat heavy the next day.

Monday May 28: ...and I'm glad I reined it in with Murph.  Back squat, peak of 1.  115x3 -145x3 - 170x2 - 185x1 - 200x1 - 210x1 (PR) - 215x1 (PR, but not counting it - I JUST got to parallel).  Next goal a legit 215 and then 225?

Tuesday May 29: strict press, peak of 1.  55x3 - 65x2 - 75x1 - 80x1 - 87x1 (PR).  87 got stuck around my forehead but I forced myself to get my head through and what do you know - that shit went RIGHT up.  Maybe I have 90 in me, maybe I don't.  This is one of my weaker spots.  Metcon: 60yd shuttle run, score is fastest attempt. Rounded to the nearest second, I did 16-16-15-16-16-16.  Hard to say how consistent I am because we can't measure any more accurately than a second, which is kind of a large increment for such a short run, but I'm happy with it.  Turning around is SO AWKWARD.

Wednesday May 30: some kipping pull up practice followed by strict pronated chest-to-bar pullups for a peak of 1.  I tried out the new pullup bar - it's a little more painful on your hands, but MAN is it easier to grip.  I was easily stringing together sets of 4 or 5 kipping pullups before losing my rhythm - which is real progress for me.  Did maybe 5 or 6 sets, then onto strength.  Light + mini band - light band - light + 5lbs - light + 10lbs - mini band only - mini band + 5lbs.  I think I have a bodyweight chest-to-bar in me.

Metcon was a mini-chipper.  For time, 50 double unders, 40 american kettlebell swings (1.5/1pood), 30 burpees, 20 pull ups, 10 handstand pushups.  11:56, as RXed - WOOF.  I wasted a LOT of time on the DUs, taking my first 25 or so in really small sets and tripping over the rope a bunch, before hitting a better rhythm for the last 25.  Kettlebell swings and burpees unbroken (can you "break up" burpees?  I didn't go fast, but didn't rest at all).  Pull ups finished in 5 sets.  And then I hit the HSPUs at about 8 minutes in - my first 5 or so were REALLY tough.  It was my first time using full ROM in a metcon (one abmat with plates on either side), and I didn't realize how much harder these would be when I was fatigued.  Once I worked out my hand placement, the last 5 felt much stronger, but still - those suckers took me four minutes.  Um and also:

OH HAY PALM RIP.

hmmmmmm.

Four day weekend?  Yes, I think I will.

Hoping for some of these:

over this

I LOVE SPIEDIES.

Been thinking hard about my training lately and where I want to take things.  I've made my back squat goal already - and I know I have more in me.  I pulled 265 for two deadlifts today and it felt decent - I'm hitting 300 next week.  I've brought my Fran time down substantially.  I can run much faster than I could when I was running all the time.  I look pretty damn good in little-ass shorts and knee socks.

(Not quite as good as Sly does though).

I feel happy and healthy and lean and focused.  So now what?  Get super-SKRONG?  Try to lean out and get super-fast?  Switch my focus to oly and maybe do a competition?  Run another half?  This whole "being athletic" thing is still relatively new to me, you know.  Aside from high school cheerleading, I haven't done any kind of competitive athletics since I was a kid - and when I was a kid, I was pretty slow and fat.  When I went to college and got in shape, it was very different - it was an hours-on-the-elliptical, eating-fat-free-cheese kind of "in shape."

So...food for thought on this long holiday weekend.

PhillyGuy and I had planned to go to the 8am session at CFCC this morning and then head to the new Green Eggs Cafe on 13th Street for breakfast afterwards.  But then I woke up, looked at my clock that said 7:19, and said "F this noise."  The pups and I went for a nice leisurely walk and I chilled in bed with my laptop and coffee for a couple hours, before we finally got moving and headed to breakfast around 9:45.

Beef bacon and blue cheese frittata:

PhillyGuy's steak and eggs and side of bacon in the background.  He had the far superior breakfast this morning.  The frittata was pretty disappointing - it wasn't bad, but it was very bland.  The blue cheese was very mild and had almost no tang, and the bacon-to-frittata ratio was unacceptably low.  Iced coffee was tasty, though, as were PG's rosemary potatoes (I stole one of those and a piece of his [meh] bacon).  I'd probably come here again on a gluten-binge to try their red velvet pancakes, but it's definitely not worth the crazy wait on the weekends for eggs.  Give me Mixto any day.

Log:

Thursday May 24: clean & jerk. 63x2-83x2-93x2-103x1-113x1-118F (uh why?)-118x1-123x1-128F-128F-128 clean only - failed the jerk twice, since I just couldn't seem to keep myself from trying to push press it, and, well, I can't push press almost 130lbs.  5lb PR for the clean and the jerk.  No metcon (yaaaaay).

Friday May 25: deadlift, peak of 2. 145-185-215-245-265.  posterior chain for days.

Fran - 21-15-9 thrusters (95/65), pull ups.

6:30, as RX'ed.  16-second PR.

Morgan and I battled that shit out - she is a squatting machine and absolutely beasted through the thrusters.  Glad she was there, honestly, because I probably would have been much slower without her in the corner of my eye.  I was COMPLETELY certain I was going to spew mediocre frittata everywhere mid-thruster, but I kept it down.  Note to self: at LEAST two hours from eggs to working out.

happy long weekend everyone.

So That's Interesting

I haven't run in a long time.

I mean, a LONG time.  I plugged my Garmin in tonight and saw this:

Last recorded workout was March 17, 2011.  Last one before that was the Philly half from 2010.  Uh, yeah.

I whipped out the Garmin because I decided to run to the Art Museum steps, where my friends at Trap Door Athletics were hosting a "flash mob" workout.  The run there was easy - except for the part where there was a train on the tracks blocking my access to the Schuykill River path at Locust Street, so I had to run up and down the Walnut Street stairs...boooooooo.  Even with the detour up the stairs, I averaged an 8:39 pace there.

At the museum, we did a ten-minute AMRAP of stair runs, air squats and pushups.  I felt those 200lb back squats...HARD.  I squeezed in five rounds, then watched some strongass people do Grace (30 clean & jerks for time) with 60lb sandbags and took plenty of awkward pictures...

SEE??

...before flipping the Garmin back on and running the 1.6ish miles home.  My run home was much slower, since my legs were REALLY tired, but even so:

That's an average pace of 8:51.  And I haven't run outside in WELL over a year, and I haven't run at all  pretty much since I joined CFCC.  That doesn't really suck, you know?

BOOM.

and it's not even peak week yet.

That's my PR face.  For when I back squat 200lbs for a double.  I Beyonce'd the second one a little bit, and definitely made some really fun faces (and noises - pretty sure I screamed "I'm GETTING THIS"), but yup.

rest of my log:

Saturday May 19: ran to the gym - 1.57 miles in 12:36 easy.  Apparently, not running more than 400m repeats EVER has been pretty good for my running abilities.  Gymnastics: muscle-up work.  I am getting this in a year for sure - maybe even in 2012, though that seems a little ambitious.  Dips are getting stronger and my jumping muscle-up is easy.  I did a couple attempts at kipping a muscle-up, and my biggest problem is that I slip out of false grip VERY easily - which makes the transition a billion times more difficult.  Metcon: 15 minute AMRAP 5 false grip pull ups, 5 push ups, 10 toes-through-rings.  Kipped the pull ups after round 2, and wasted a good minute or 90 seconds on busted rings.  5 rounds plus 4 pushups, as RX'd.

Sunday May 20: "Hope."  This year's variation on Fight Gone Bad.  3 rounds of 60 seconds each burpees/power snatch (75/55)/box jump (24/20)/thruster (75/55)/chest to bar pull ups/rest.  184, as RX'ed - better than last time but still an ass-whooping.  Stayed for Croga and got supple.

Monday May 21: this was my eighth day of training in a row without rest and I was feeling a little tired, but...you know...gotta squat and stuff.  Back squat, peak of 2.  95-125-145-165-185-195-200.  BOOM.  Glad I went.  Metcon: 3 rounds of 60 seconds back squat (135/95), 60 seconds row for calories, 60 seconds rest.  Scores - 29/29/31, as RX'ed.

Bad Habit

...in more ways than one. 

When I first got my bike back in December, it was a little unsettling getting used to riding around.  I hadn't even been on a bike at all in the better part of 15 years, except for one quick ride to return a bike my family rented on vacation in Edisto Island back in 2009.  And I'd definitely never actively ridden in traffic before.  I had no sense of what it felt like to be passed by cars or how wide a space needed to be in order for me to ride through it.  And god, what I must have looked like the first time I had to figure out the best way to lock my bike to one of those little bike-posts-with-a-circle-on-it they have on the sidewalks.  Spatial reasoning, she is not my strong suit.

But I got used to things really quickly and within a few weeks or a month or so was zipping around - between stopped traffic and parked cars, on streets without a dedicated bike lane, all kinds of fancy shit that terrified the bejeezus out of me at first.  And during the last month, I've developed kiiiiiind of a bad habit: listening to music while I ride.

I know, I know.  I keep the volume down and make sure to be extra-attentive to what's going on around me.  I don't blow through red lights or stop signs, and I certainly don't commit PhillyGuy's number one bike annoyance of riding between lanes of moving traffic.  But still. 

The other day, when I was riding, the Offspring's "Bad Habit" came on.  Smash is a great album, and back when I actually ran regularly, about eight songs from that album were on regular rotation in my running mixes.  This particular song, though, will ALWAYS bring me back to the summer of 1994 or 1995 - I was at Camp, old enough to have a "boyfriend" and young enough to think it was fun and scandalous to curse.  I had a friend who I was convinced was the coolest person I'd ever meet -  he was short, incredibly witty and a badass drummer (and has, actually, since gone on to have a fairly successful music career out in California).  Like most 13 year olds in the mid-90s, my knowledge of the Offspring was pretty much limited to the song "Self Esteem."  He made me a copy of the full album (on a cassette tape!), and my love for the Offspring was born.

(Incidentally, he also introduced to me to Rush.  I have a bootleg copy of 2112 somewhere in a shoebox, I'm sure of it.)

So, yes.  Hearing "Bad Habit" now takes me back to being a newly-minted teenager in the grunge era, walking through the woods with my friends screaming "YOU STUPID DUMBSHIT GODDAMN MOTHERFUCKER!" at the top of our lungs.  Because we were fucking awesome.

And then yesterday, I'm on my way home from the gym and I hear "All-Star" by Smashmouth.  Come ON.  I cannot hear this song without instantly being transported to the late spring of 1999.  I was a junior in high school, had a license and my very first car (a 1991 two-door Nissan Sentra with power nothing and no tape deck, let alone a CD player), and remember blasting that song while I drove out to camp (yes, god, camp AGAIN) to pick up my materials for what I didn't realize at the time would be my very last summer working there.  I clearly remember having my windows down, leopard print fuzzy dice bobbing around, and wearing a really, truly awful black spaghetti-strap, slightly cropped tank top with some tribal-ish design on the front and super-wide-leg khaki cargo pants (think JNCOs).  You have to understand that I thought I was really, REALLY hot stuff then - I was different! and UNIQUE! and SO INTERESTING!  God, I miss the 90s sometimes.

Anyway, that's that.  I wish I hadn't gotten rid of my JNCOs - particularly the sweet Hypnotix with a 32" leg opening and a red and white swirl down the side - but it's more fun, on balance, being a grown-up.

Workout log:

Wednesday May 16: practice with kipping pullups. Stringing them together is my weak spot, but I'm working on it.  Pronated grip chest-to-bar strict pullups, peak of three - OY, these are tough. Light + mini bands; light band for two sets; light +2.5lbs.  Metcon: Four rounds of 2-minute AMRAP 4 box jumps (30/24"), 8 toes to bar, 12 american kettlebell swings (1.5/1pood). As RX'd, 1 round + 2 KBS, 1+7 T2B, 1+8T2B, 1+5T2B.  Stayed for gymnastics; worked on pressing up to a handstand from tucked, straddle and piked positions, and bridge work with kickovers.  I usually don't do two metcons in a day, but this looked fun: 5 rounds of 5 touch-and-go straddle handstands, 7 bridge ups, 9 piked v-ups.  8:40 as RX'ed.

Thursday May 17: clean & jerk. 53x2-73x2-88x1-98x1-108x1, pressed out-108x1-113x1, power cleaned but easy.  Felt much better than last week.  Metcon: 6 minute AMRAP of 60' bear crawl, 20 air squats.  I totally ate it TWICE during the bear crawl when my legs outran my hands.  Squats slow as shit.  5 rounds + 30' bear crawl.

Friday May 18: FRAN FRIDAYS.  Deadlift, peak of 3.  Didn't feel as strong this week - 135-165-195-215-235.  Attempted 255, but it felt REALLY heavy on my first pull so I called it at one.  Fran, 7:08 as RX'ed.

Gettin' better at this.

Things I Love

Thing I love, number one: recently, I've hit a new level of genius (and laziness): you can scramble eggs in the microwave.

They aren't quite as tasty as pan-cooked eggs (mostly, I suspect, because you don't add any cooking fat), but it is faster since there's no cleanup required.  So, I've been bringing a little tupperware to work with me, with a couple of eggs (three if I'm not adding meat OR two plus meat of choice) and some veggies (salsa is a really good "cheater" veggie...or a handful of spinach and cherry tomatoes...and lately, SO MUCH KIMCHI).  When I get there, I break the eggs into the tupperware with whatever meat I'm using, stir it all up with a fork, microwave for a minute and 15 seconds, stir, and nuke for a little longer to finish cooking - usually another 15-45 seconds, depending on the meat.  Top with veggies of choice, and it looks like this: 

Thing I love, number two: so this morning, I'm standing there in the office kitchen chatting with a coworker, who's watching me stir a couple of eggs in with leftover smoked pulled pork and a (particularly beautiful) chunk of brisket.  I work in a small office, so everyone has noticed my recent weight loss and several people keep asking me how I did it.  I usually say that I found out I was allergic to gluten, which isn't COMPLETELY true, but generally staves off any scrutiny about "WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU'RE NOT EATING WHOLE GRAINS ARE YOU ON ATKINS UGH YOU ARE GOING TO DIE."  

Anyway, she's telling me how she needs to start eating better, and going to the gym, and she just can't seem to lose weight.  "It's not like I overeat!  I haven't eaten anything yet today, and in a little while I'm going to have a yogurt.  That's what I'll have today...a yogurt."

It makes me die a little bit inside to know how miserable and frustrated she must feel.  I hate having my eating choices criticized, so I generally don't do the same to others (PhillyGuy must be rolling his eyes through the back of his skull right now - but it's DIFFERENT because I LOVE YOU!), but I always feel like I have this big amazing secret I want to share with all the sad dieters existing on boiled chicken breast and Yoplait.

One of the things that's surprised me with my third BCCC is that I'm not actually getting quite as much protein as I'd assumed I was.  Focusing on gettin' SKRONGER means that I need to make sure I'm eating a sufficient amount of protein - at LEAST one gram per pound of lean body mass.  With some very rough estimating, I've been using 115lbs as my LBM - so I shoot for 120-150g of protein every day.  I figured that'd be a given.  It is NOT.

Which brings us to thing I love, number three: canned fish.

Sardines, tuna, smoked herring (what my grandfather used to call "kippered snacks"): whatever.  They don't need to be refrigerated or cooked or prepared, which means I can keep a couple tins stashed in my desk drawer.  It's a decent way to get a hit of protein - one little tin of sardines has 22g - and if you stick with a good brand, the ingredients are nice and clean.

(Incidentally...how is a serving HALF of this little baby tin?)  So we'll see.  The past week has been rough, but I'm off antibiotics now and feeling MUCH better.  I'm still taking a probiotic supplement and eating kimchi and yogurt like it's my job, but hopefully my gut flora will rebuild themselves pretty quickly and I'll be back to normal. 

Log:

Tuesday May 15: some strict HSPU work - tripod to headstand and pressing up from the bottom. THAT SHIT IS NOT EASY.  Even though I can do a few sets of strict HSPUs with light and mini bands, and can kip them easily, I couldn't even press out of the bottom with an average (green) band.  Oy.  Strict overhead press, peak of three. 45-60-70-80-85x2, failed on the third.  This is a PR, since I could never get 85 up before, but it was incredibly ugly - I went up on my toes, arched the shit out of my back, etc.  These are still on my suck list.  Oh well.  Metcon: AMRAP 7 minutes, burpees.  I got 93 - quads seizing, sweat dripping off of my face, mascara annihilated, and beating my score from the open by nearly 20.

woof.

I've been sick.  It's been a long week.  My productivity at work wasn't great last week and I feel like I'm super behind.  I've eaten my weight in kimchi and some full-fat yogurt here and there, but the antibiotics are still kicking my ass (and my digestive system) a little bit.  We traveled up to visit the inlaws this weekend and my diet wasn't ideal - I ate far more dried apricots and almonds than was necessary, but I suppose in the grand scheme of things, gorging myself on dried fruit and nuts in a movie theater beats the many, MANY other things I could have gorged myself on. 

Pretty sweet theater, though.  Why doesn't Philly have one of these?

I don't have a ton to say, except that I want to curl up in bed with a bagel or maybe some nachos.  Instead I'm going to drink a buttload of water and do my best to force myself to be a workhorse today.

Training log:

Tuesday May 8: strict press, peak of three. 55-65-75-80-80.  Yep, tripled my prior (and honestly, probably current) max.  This is not my strongest lift, but my shoulders feel like they're a little stronger than they were.  Metcon, 5 rounds of AMRAP 60 seconds wallballs (20/14lbs), 60 seconds handstand pushups.  Half-assed the wallballs.  Total reps 87, as RX'ed.

Thursday May 10: clean & jerk. 63x2, 83x2, 103x2...and then I started pulling with my arms. 103x1, 108x1, 108x1...and then two sets of 5 clean pulls at 108lbs.  Woof.  15lbs under my max.  I went to a morning class and had to rush to get to work, so I wasn't sad to skip the metcon (50 bar facing burpees for time).

Friday May 11: deadlifts, peak of three. 145-185-215-235-255.  Fast and easy to 255; 255 was heavy but still fast enough out of the bottom that I was satisfied.  Fran (21-15-9 thrusters (95/65) and pull ups): 7:40 as RX'ed.  54 seconds slower than last week's time.  Like last time, broke the 15 thrusters up into 7 and 8 - but I failed THREE TIMES to squat clean the bar for my 8th rep, which ate up a bunch of time.  Post-Fran I felt awful - sick and nauseated - not sure if it was due to the workout or to the nasty shot of antibiotics I got in my arm earlier that day, but I had a coconut water and ginger Larabar afterwards and felt much better.

Monday, May 14: another morning class. back squats, peak of 3.  85-115-135-155-175 easy.  Could have gone up to 185, but I decided to skip it and planned to take two sets in today's metcon - 20 rep back squat.  Last time we did this I did 115 and 125 and remember it being fairly easy, so I planned to do 135 and 145.  Should have done the extra work set instead, because I wore a belt and FRIED my lower back on the 135.  Easy weight for my legs, though.

Kimchi and Chocolate

Not feeling my absolute best for the past few days.  I'm on a round of antibiotics now.

Killing off all of the bacteria in my body means eating plenty of this:

Authentic (a/k/a mixed by rubber-glove-covered hand and not even remotely pasteurized) kimchi from Sook Hee's Produce.  "I put the kimchee in an extra bag for you, because it's stinky."  Yes, Sook Hee, it sure as shit is.  But it's chock full of live cultures, and I need probiotics to reestablish my gut flora while I'm killing the nasty shit off.

Yogurt, too.  Yesterday I drank my coffee black and had some full-fat Fage yogurt as my third meal of the day.  Low fat dairy is complete and total bullshit.  I don't do much dairy these days - about a tablespoon, maybe two, of heavy cream in my coffee, and the occasional piece of cheese or dollop of yogurt if I'm having chili.  But never, EVER again will I consider drinking skim milk or eating fat free cheese.

Operation: Get Strong Without Getting Fat is getting interesting.

I generally train six days a week - four weeknights, at 6:30 or 7:30, and two or three classes between Saturday and Sunday.  That means that during the week, I usually end up eating dinner around 9 or 9:15 once I'm home from the gym and have had time to throw something together.

This week, I'm shuffling my meals around so that I'm done eating for the day around 5:30 or so.  That gives me a couple hours before I work out - I don't do well working out on a full stomach.  And then, just before class, a little hit of this stuff:

 

Yes, experimenting with chocolate as actual fuel.  Instead of just "something that tastes goddamn delicious."  The idea is to break the emotional, mental, "OMG TREAT" connection, and consider chocolate, like anything else I eat, as something with [potential] benefits aside from just being tasty.

So, we'll see how this goes.  I do know I've been putting up some good numbers and have been feeling pretty lean, so if this week is a bust I can always go back to my 9pm dinners and indulgence-only chocolate.

Log (aka "HANDSTAND PUSHUPS FOR DAYS"):

Saturday May 5: first running metcon in a while.  We did some POSE running drills on the way to Washington Square park, looking like total tools the entire time.  At the park: 800m run, then 10 rounds of 10 HSPU/10 pistols, then 800m run.  I scaled the pistols to 20 walking lunges; did the first 10 HSPU's against a tree, but it took me forever so I scaled those to regular pushups.  I was pretty damn tired when it was over, but as usual wish I'd sucked it up. 25:51. I didn't track my time too closely but am fairly sure I kept my 800s under 4 minutes each, which is just fine with me since that's the longest distance I've run in a REALLY long time.

Sunday May 6: double session Sundays.  Gymnastics - strict HSPUs, 8x3 with band assistance: 1x3 average/light band; 4x3 light/light; 1x3 light/mini; 1 mini/mini (one HSPU only - failed on the second); 1x3 light/light.  Metcon: 5 rounds for perfect form of 5 ring v-outs, 5 strict L-raises, 5 handstand walkups from plank, 5 pike v-ups. Scaled to 3 rounds since I planned to stay for the regular session.  Ass whooped regardless.  Abs not so strong.  

Regular session: "Hope."  A variation on Fight Gone Bad. 

uh, woof.  Especially those thrusters.  Score: 171, as RX'ed.  

And I thought I was lousy at Fight Gone Bad.

Monday, May 7: more fun with double sessions.  Back squat, peak of 3. 95-125-145-165-180.  We haven't back squatted in a WHILE - other than the Total and a random day where we did sets of 20, I can't find anything in my log on this since December or January.  Feeling pretty confident about my goal of 200.  Metcon: AMRAP in 3 minutes of back squats (225/135), immediately followed by max unbroken kipping pullups. 21/9, as RX'ed.  And then...gymnastics...for more work on kipping handstand pushups.  I did a few sets with a full ROM and, while everyone else was doing the metcon, did 30 more to an abmat in sets of 3-5 each.

Oh Hey There Fran

What's up peak week?

Oh, we're going to end with Fran? OK.

What's that?  I just PR'ed Fran by three minutes?

I see.

For realz: prior Fran times here (10:24, mini band assisted pull ups) and here (9:47 as RX'ed).  Stringing pull ups together makes all the difference in the world.  I still have a lot of room for improvement there - for the set of 21, I strung together 6/5/5 and then 2's and 3's for the last few.  I didn't string together more than 3 at a time during 15 and 9.  Thrusters - unbroken 21 and 9; broke up 15 into 8 and 7.

This has been a REALLY good couple of months for me.

6am class courtesy of PhillyGuy, who pointed out before bed last night that going to the 6am class would let us get an early start on Friday Night Couch Time.  Chose not to try to PR my bench press - did 65x3, 85x1, 95x1, 105x1, 115x1 (real ugly - wasn't tight enough and my left arm lagged way behind), 120x1 easy and fast.  I decided not to attempt 125 and "saved it" (whatever "it" is) for Fran.  6:46 as RX'ed.  Boom.

Weekend plans: Friday Night Couch Time (pork chops on the grill!); field trip to Reading Terminal Market tomorrow morning with a bunch of CFCCers; postponed steak night on Saturday (also with CFCCers); seeing what else I can PR this week (currently going for a record on "time laundry is left unfolded on floor of hallway in front of dryer").

Somebody's Getting STRONGER

It's only Thursday - which means I'm only three workouts into the five-day peak week - but I couldn't resist.

Operation: Get Strong Without Getting Fat seems to be going pretty damn well.

Monday, April 30: front squats. 85x3-115x2-135x1-150x1-160x1-170x1.  PR.  Previous PR was 155 for two.  Fond memories of when I couldn't get 115 out of the hole...now I'm front squatting over my bodyweight. Metcon: tabata burpees (laaaaaaame).  Score - 55.  Meh.

Tuesday May 1: snatch. 53x2 ugly, 53x2, 63x2, 73x1, 83x1, 88x1.  Pressed it out because I didn't get all the way under, but PR nonetheless.  I have added 20 pounds to my max snatch in the last couple of months - I was stuck at 68 for a while, and then stuck at 73 for what seemed like forever.  I am still FAR from good at this, but am feeling things come together.  Metcon: 5 rounds for max reps of 60 seconds single-arm snatching (30 seconds strong arm/30 seconds weak arm) with 30 seconds of rest.  Implement was up to us.  I really dislike kettlebell snatches, and I find it awkward to hold a dumbbell with plates on it, so I decided to use a barbell.  My first round was a little awkward while I settled into a rhythm, but then it got kind of fun.  35lbs (training bar with bumper 10s) - 67 total reps.  This was a good training move for me, since it forced me not to pull with my arms and to use my hips instead (you know, like you're supposed to).

Wednesday May 2: deadlift day. I was looking forward to this all day long. 135x3-175x2-215x1-245x1-275x1 (PR)-285x1 (PR!).  285 was a little slow and I could feel my back rounding JUUUUUUUST a bit, but there was no doubt in my mind I was getting it up.  SO HAPPY about this. I have 55 days, give or take, to add 15 pounds to that number.  Metcon: 21-15-9 american kettlebell swings (1.5/1pood)/pull ups. 6:53 as RX'ed.  Kettlebell swings were really fast and easy; grip and forearms were destroyed and my pull ups were STUPID slow, since I did them in sets of 1 or 2 and dropped off the bar in between.

So...I'm three for three in terms of PRs this week, and I'm really fucking happy with my deadlift.  But I know why you all come here.

For pictures of dogs in raincoats.

CFCC BCCC AGAIN

You know, I wasn't going to do this again.  I've learned so much from the last two BCCCs - how to eat for leanness and for maintenance; how certain foods make me feel; how eating to cut fat is NOT helpful to my strength levels; how fantastic greens are; how a tablespoon or so of grassfed heavy cream in my morning coffee is unbelievably delicious AND makes me a very, very happy person.

So when I saw that the BCCC (Swimsuit Edition) was coming up, I really didn't think I'd do it again.  Especially since I'm not really feeling the need to lean out more.  I mean, if I woke up one day with another inch off of my waist and hips, I wouldn't cry about it, but I'm happy with how I look, and I'd rather have cream in my coffee and chocolate on the weekends than drop more weight.

But...PhillyGuy is doing it this time.  And it's supposed to be all new and improved and stuff.  And when everyone started posting pictures of their meals in our facebook group...I just got too jealous.  So yesterday over brunch at Cafe Lift...

(prosciutto frittata. baked eggs with roasted peppers, prosciutto, onions and gorgonzola cheese. side of hot sauce.) ....I bit the bullet and decided I was in again.

So here's my goal for this one: meet my primary strength goals of a 300lb deadlift and 200lb back squat by June 30, WITHOUT getting fat.  I took a couple of my own measurements this morning and then met Meghan at the gym before classes today to get measured, both of which confirmed I'm just about the same if not a touch leaner: just under 29.5 inches at the smallest part of my waist (my tape) and 30.25" a little higher up (Meghan's tape); 38 and 1/8 inch hips (Meghan only - down almost 2 inches from my post-winter-BCCC measurements, but that could be just due to tape placement).

(For the sake of convenience, I'd also like to keep my weight below 150 so that my 300 pound benchmark will also be a 2x bodyweight deadlift.  But I don't actually care how much I weigh...I just want to deadlift double whatever it is.)

So...those are my goals for BCCC, round 3.  I'm REALLY, REALLY hoping to meet my strength goals.  With just about 60 days to go, it's time to train hard.

Log:

Thursday, April 26: cleans. 63x2, 83x2, 103x2, 113F (WHAT) - rested 30 seconds and power cleaned 113. Took 113 again for a single and got under it this time.  Ended with 118, which got up really easily, but again I barely got myself under it in time. Woof.  What happened to that magical week I just had where I PRed both of my oly lifts?  Fark.  Metcon: 60 yard shuttle runs - 6 total, rest 90 seconds between. Rounded to seconds, since we don't have a clock with smaller increments: 16/16/16/16/15/15.

Friday, April 27: beach muscle Friday. Bench press, peak of 2: 65-85-100-110-115-120.  Definitely a PR, since we never bench and back when I did, I always did sets of 8.  Metcon was REALLY fun - a team workout where everyone on the team had to do at least one 30" farmer's walk with the handles, plus the entire team had to get 100 strict pull ups. 15 minutes total.  Score was our average farmer's walk weight, based on everyone's heaviest carry.  I realized we cannot do math - we initially thought we killed this, but then someone realized we were counting the handles as 50lbs each, rather than 50lbs total.  Womp womp.  (This means that last week, when I thought Amber and I carried 320lbs, we actually only did 270.)  Still - I walked with 230 and then 290.  Tried and failed to get 330 off the ground.  Also contributed 10 pull ups.  I LOVE partner workouts.

Sunday April 29: double-session Sundays.  Started with gymnastics, doing some skill work for the muscle up. Ring dips (1 bodyweight; 4 or 5 with a mini band...these are still really hard for me); jumping muscleups; band-assisted muscleups - 2 or 3 with light band; 2 or 3 with two minibands, plus a couple of failures where I couldn't get up out of the dip all the way.  Metcon: 15 minute AMRAP of 5 jumping muscleups, 7 burpee tuck jumps, 12 hollow rocks.  7 rounds total.  

Regular session: turkish getups.  Having a lot of fun with these now that I'm using a barbell.  33lbs, 43lbs, 53lbs.  I shared a bar with Amber and told her my goal was to get bumpers on there because it looked cool.  We succeeded.  I had planned to skip the metcon but then got peer-pressured into doing it anyway.  Karen - 150 wallballs for time (20/14), with an 8:00 cap.  I kind of half-assed this, using a 10lb ball and completing 133 wallballs at the cap.

And then I ate steak and eggs.

Mixto - skirt steak, two eggs over easy, mixed greens.  Fabulous.  Here's to challenge number 3.

highs and lows

I reached a new low this week.  I'd been pretty bad about maintaining my hands over the last week or two - usually, I take a pedegg to them two or three times a week to keep my calluses thin and avoid tears.  Apparently, the air has been dry lately, because on top of my usual calluses, I was getting very minor rips on my palms and fingers.  Tuesday afternoon, I saw that the scheduled gymnastics workout involved plenty of ring work. I want a muscle up this year, which means I need to seriously focus on my ring dips. 

And that is how I found myself sitting in my office on a Tuesday afternoon after a quick trip to Walgreen's, shaving down my calluses at my desk.  At least I closed the door.

Turns out that my brand new office pedegg is a great deal sharper than my older at-home pedegg.  I shaved off way too much of my calluses, and my hands are now soft, like a baby's.

Babies don't do a lot of kipping pull ups.

During yesterday's metcon (50 handstand pushups and 100 pull ups, to be completed in as few sets as possible), I couldn't hang onto the bar for more than 5 or 6 pull ups. By some miracle I made it through without any tears, but my little baby hands are really tender today.

#crossfitproblems

Training log:

Monday April 23: I was pretty geeked out to work out with PhillyGuy, since this was his first regular session at CFCC.  Front squats, peak of 2 - 85-115-135-155 (failed on second - bottomed out)-155 easy.  I think I have 165 or 170 in me for a single, but we'll see.  Metcon: "Crushing Helen" - a crossfit football workout.  8 rounds for time, 60 yard sprint, 8 russian kettlebell swings (2/1.5p), 5 plyo pushups to a 45lb plate. 8:37, as RX'ed.

Tuesday April 24: baby's first advanced class.

Diane. 21-15-9 deadlifts (225/155), handstand pushups.  I've done Diane twice before - "scaled" both times because I thought the women's RXed weight was 185lbs. According to the regionals events, though, we were wrong.  With partial range of motion handstand pushups to a small medball, 10:22.  Based on my prior Diane times (6:36 with 135lbs and regular pushups, 8:00 with 155lbs and regular pushups), this is really slow, but meh.

Diane aftermath:

My knees started to visibly bruise during the workout.  Today, it looks like somebody nailed me over the kneecaps with a baseball bat.  I had planned to stay for gymnastics, but I was spent after that and headed home.

Wednesday, April 25: imagine my delight at seeing, the day after a metcon involving handstand pushups and deadlifts, regular session programming involving handstand pushups and deadlifts. I knew I was probably not going to PR anything, but it's still disappointing when it happens. Conventional deadlift, peak of 2 - 135-175-205-235-255F.  I got 255 up once and felt my back start to crank when I came out of the bottom on the second one, so I bailed and called it a day.  Frustrating, because 235 went up like it was bodyweight and I was hoping to get 275 in.  Womp womp womp.  Metcon: 50 handstand pushups and 100 pull ups, in as few sets as possible.  Come down out of a handstand, that's a set; come off of the bar, that's a set.  I finished the handstand pushups in 12 sets; would have done fewer but I kept falling out of the handstand.  However, my little baby hands could NOT hang onto the bar, and I did my pullups in sets of 3 to 8...guh. 35 sets total, using kipping HSPUs to an abmat and kipping pull ups.  Please kill me.

Vietnam, Varga, Vici

so I'm a big fan of LMFAO, at least while I'm working out...but seriously, "I'm runnin' through these hoes like Drano" is disturbingly vulgar.

Just...ew.

We headed to Chinatown for dinner with some friends last night.  I love Vietnam, but the last time I was there was the night before the Broad Street Run back in 2010.  I remember carb-loading with a crap-ton of rice with my usual salt and pepper squid.  My, how times have changed.

Started with an extra-dirty martini upstairs at Bar Saigon while we waited for our table.

It's pretty easy to stay generally Paleo here.  I wouldn't be surprised to find out the sauces contain a decent amount of cornstarch and soy, but I'm just not strict enough to worry about something like that when I'm only eating it once every couple of months (or, in this case, once every couple of years).  I didn't snap a pic of my appetizer, but I started with grilled octopus (topped with crushed peanuts...see previous sentence).  Entree was the pork claypot.

That shit was fucking delicious.

After a short and overwhelming stint a couple doors down at Yakitori Boy (holy seizure-inducing lights, batman), we headed home...since I had an early date for a double session at CFCC, followed by an essential refeeding session at Varga.

Steak and eggs for protein, potatoes for leptin refeeding, bloody mary for essential horseradish replacement.

I've spent most of the rest of the day lazed the fuck out on my couch.  I just watched three episodes of Khloe and Lamar (not even remotely ashamed of this) and am on my second King of Queens now.  Something about the rain makes me plant my butt under a pile of fleece and refuse to move...except to do this.

Judge away.  Matching yellow raincoats may be undignified, but it beats the hell out of trying to dry Sophie off before she runs upstairs and rolls around on my beautiful silk rug.

Workout log:

Monday April 16: My quads were very sore and tight after the 80 medball slams at the Rumble, so I spent an extra 10 minutes or so before class making sweet love to a foam roller and lacrosse ball.  Box jumps for height - worked up to 33" - which may not seem like much, but it's more than half my height, so I'll take that.   Front squat for a peak of three. 85x5 to warm, then sets of three: 85-115-140-155x2, dumped the bar on my third.  Metcon: 100 American kettlebell swings for time.  My left shoulder is still a little wonky, so I did russian swings instead.  With a 24kg kettlebell, 4:27.  I don't suck at kettlebell swings.

Tuesday April 17: snatch.  Getting much, much better at this. 53x2, 53x2, 63x2, 73x1, 78x1, 83x1 (PR).  I still pull with my arms a little bit, but I'm actually dropping down under the bar, so that's a big improvement.  Metcon: Four Leaf Clover. For time, four rounds of 20 jump squats/250m run.  My legs were still sore and were absolutely screaming for this.  6:44.

Thursday, April 19: squat cleans. 73x2, 88x2, 103x2, 118x1, 128F, 128F, 128F.  GAAAAAAH.  I was so close on this - it would have been a five-pound PR - but I just CANNOT stop myself from cranking with my arms.  Next week this is mine.  Metcon: For time, five rounds of 30 walking lunges with a plate overhead (45/25), 15 burpees to a plate.  I started this barefoot, since I just ripped off my oly shoes.  Surprisingly, the burpees and the lunges were kind of murderous on my toes, so I wasted a good minute after finishing my second rounds of lunges putting my other shoes back on.  15:23 as RX'ed.  Woof.

Friday April 20: beach muscle Friday.  Bench press, peak of 3: 45-75-90-100-105-110F (two reps, then stuck at the bottom of the third).  Metcon: 5 rounds of 30 unbroken double unders followed immediately by max strict pull ups.  Lynne-style, so no time component, and score was total pull ups.  Uhhh...yeah.  I intended to do this RXed, but after being unable to complete more than 20 unbroken DUs during my first three attempts, I decided to call it a day and scaled to 15.  Score - 15 total pull ups (supinated grip; 3/3/2/4/3).

Saturday April 21: Mindy.  20 minute AMRAP, 3 strict handstand pushups - 6 strict pull ups - 9 pistols.  Scaled with partial range of motion HSPUs and single-leg squats to a white box.  8 rounds plus three pull ups.

Sunday April 22: gymnastics followed by regular session.  Gymnastics - handstand walking.  I don't really do this well, but I managed to get a few steps a couple of times.  Metcon: 

15 minute AMRAP of 20' handstand walking, 5 toes to bar and 5 candle rolls to tuck jump. 

Score: 5 rounds plus four toes to bar.  

This was fun, but I was saving it a little bit for the next metcon.  Regular session - farmers walk.  My grip was a little weak from the toes to bar, but I completed three 30' passes - 200lbs, 280lbs and 320lbs.  I dropped the right handle twice during the 320lb walk, which is frustrating, but whatever.  

Metcon:  

Took a third crack at the Open WOD 12.5 - an ascending ladder of thrusters and chest-to-bar pull ups.  On my first date with 12.5, I no-repped a crapton of pullups, mainly because I got high enough but didn't touch my chest to the bar.  On our second date, I figured out that the tiny amount of energy I expended doing a second kip to make sternum-to-metal contact was far more efficient than doing extra pullups, and got 51 total reps, or through the round of 9, plus 12 thrusters and 3 pull ups.  

Today?

I managed to beat my actual score from the open by four reps - making it to 7 pull ups, for a total of 55 reps.  I earned my brunch, bitches.

south philly rumble

how i think i look when i work out



how i usually look



thanks for the great shots, hookgrip.

edited to add workout log...

- Monday, 4/9. shoulder still funky. Front squat, peak of 5. 85-105-120-135. Metcon was supposed to be a crapton of pushups for time (150 men, 100 women) - I subbed 100 box jumps (20") - 7:09. meh.

- Tuesday 4/10. Shoulder feeling better. Snatch, focusing on sitting and getting into a full squat. 53-63-68-73. Decent night. 1K row before and after...woof. 4:18.2, 4:19.7. WHAT. My best time for this is about 3:57, so that was...craptacular.

- Wednesday 4/11. Really light weighted glute bridges - sets of 5, up to 165lbs. My favorite metcon: 5 rounds of 5 deadlifts (275/185), 10 burpees. 5:52 as rx'ed, compared to 8:00 even last time.

- Thursday 4/12. Squat cleans, with some jerks thrown in to practice for the Rumble. 64x4-78x2-88x2-98x1-98x1-100x1-113x1-118x1-123x1 (PR). Stayed for gymnastics (this was stupid) - single-armed handstands and bridge ups. Shoulder was not having it.

- Sunday 4/15. South Philly Rumble. Overhead squatted 115 - dumped 120. Did 80 medball slams and a handful of 95lb squat clean & jerks. Ate like a champion afterwards.

Totally Compliant

Whole30? LULZ.

Yeah, in addition to all that cream in my coffee, I really threw this concept out the window this weekend. First, there were a couple glasses of a fabulous supertuscan.



PhillyGuy and I spontaneously decided to have dinner at the bar at Amis. We enjoyed some fantastic preparations of a baby lamb that clearly died of natural causes. sausage over polenta, mixed grill with a lamb chop and some ribs, sal's meatballs, grouper. Lots of non-Whole30-approved bits, but in general, great choices.

And then this happened.



More than Just Ice Cream. That monstrosity in the front was my selection - banana chocolate ice cream (tasted exactly like circus peanuts), hot fudge, crushed peanuts, marshmallows, whipped cream. In the back, apple crumble (far superior to their much-overhyped apple pie...but then I'm not really a pie or crumble person).

We walked off the diabetes on our way back to the car.

And then it was Easter. And this was my Easter dinner, eaten on the couch over a couple games of Scrabble, several episodes of Mythbusters alternated with the Masters, and Mad Men.



I bet eating deconstructed Reese's is precisely what made Betty the size of a small house.

I skipped the gym on Sunday because I managed to bruise my left rotator cuff Saturday afternoon, somewhere during back-to-back gymnastics (many handstand pushups, a little one-armed handstanding, and some attempts at handstand walking) and regular session (turkish getups). I turkish-get-upped a barbell for the first time, starting with a ladies' bar and then adding weight. Happy with my 43lbs, but I'm thinking that's where the impingement happened. Metcon may not have helped - seven rounds of max strict pull ups (any grip) alternated with 15 hollow rocks, no resting between rounds. My score was 20 pull ups, using a supinated grip - 4 in the first round, so that's bringing me ever closer to my goal of five strict pull ups by the end of June.

This is the same shoulder I injured back in the fall. It's already feeling much, much better, but I'm still trying to be cautious with it so that I'm in decent shape for this weekend's South Philly Rumble. I'm generally awful when it comes to working out injured, and I can already tell this week is going to be a struggle - snatches are on the schedule for tomorrow, and I'm really feeling like I'm on the verge of a breakthrough with dropping under the bar. BUT. I'm already our team's weakest link, so, you know, it would be helpful to have functioning joints so that's not working against me as well. So, here's to being patient (GAH) and happy Monday, all.

Good Friday Indeed

My office is closed today. And, while we had been planning on heading up to visit PhillyGuy's family this weekend, he's been knocked on his ass by a really nasty cold, so I think we're going to stick around here. So...it's kind of a bonus day for me.

This means that, even though I had to get a couple hours of work in this morning, I got to do it from the comfort of my own bed. And then leisurely make some eggs and leftover pork, and watch the entire Today show, and feed the dogs some sorbet...

...and then eventually cleaned myself up a little bit and headed to CFCC for the noon class.

After I seriously PR'ed today's metcon (more than two minutes faster than my prior time - which was scaled) I grabbed an iced coffee and wandered around the city for a bit until I started to get hungry.

(Incidentally...I'm not really doing the Whole30. I've been having heavy cream in my coffee every day. I haven't had anything processed at all, or anything with added sugars, or chocolate, so I guess there's that - but yeah. Not so much the Whole30. Sorry I'm not sorry.)

It was beautiful out - sunny and a little warm - and I drifted in and out of Macy's, Banana Republic and Lululemon. I've been working on clearing all of the too-big stuff out of my closet, which has left me with some pretty limited options, but for some reason I'm having trouble finding new stuff to replace it with. (Talk about first world problems.)

By the time I made it home around 3, I was definitely ready for lunch. And some daytime TV.

In the mix:

small head of romaine lettuce, an entire can of sliced black olives, half an avocado, a bunch of rotisserie chicken shredded up, and about a quarter of a jar of Green Mountain Gringo roasted chili salsa. (God, I love that stuff).

So, yes. A good Friday, indeed.

Workout log:

- Tuesday 4/3: front squat, peak of 2. 80-120-130-130-140. Metcon: 21-15-9 front squat (155/115), russian kettlebell swings (2/1.5pood). 10:25 as RX'ed. WOOF.

- Thursday, 4/5: I had a hot date with some lady friends Thursday night, and we were planning to travel this weekend, so I sucked it up and went to the 6am class. Longer metcon - Christine. 3 rounds for time of row 500m, 12 bodyweight deadlifts, 21 box jumps (24/20").

15:24, as RXed.

Two things: my bodyweight deadlift is now 145 (!), and I shaved almost three minutes off my previous time, which I scaled to 115lbs or 50% of my then-max. I still hate rowing and am not really good at it.

- Friday, 4/6: overhead squats, peak of 5. Couple sets with the bar to warm up, then 65-80-80-85. Meh. Metcon: Jeremy. 21-15-9 overhead squats (95/65) and burpees. Last time I did this was in mid-October. I used 55lbs then and finished in 9:19. Today? I did it RX'ed in 7:10. AND I snatched into the first rep each set - the very first was probably one of my best snatches to date, actually, since I managed to get all the way under the bar. Too bad I couldn't quite replicate that for 15 and 9. Anyway - beastmode.

Upgrade Monday

Nothing like ending your Monday with grassfed ribeye grilled with truffle salt.

Truffle salt courtesy of Fab.com, my new favorite "flash sale" site.

Also pictured: mushroom salt and magic unicorn salt...which I realize is basically just expensive, fancy Season-All, but damned if it's not delicious on everything. Kind of like regular, cheap, non-fancy Season-All.

It wasn't even a particularly rough Monday - work is manageable, no crises came up today, and I did 42 strict pull-ups in today's metcon. Really, I guess it was a pretty decent day. Regardless, I'm happy to upgrade it with some cowshare steak.

Workout log:

Tuesday 3/27 - front squat, peak of 3. I must have tweaked my left hip flexor doing single leg squats the day before, because I couldn't get below parallel without a crazy tightness on that side. Did three sets and then stopped, spending the next 5-10 minutes of class with a kettlebell and lacrosse ball, trying to ease the tightness. 85-115-125. Metcon - three rounds, Lynne-style, of max pronated strict pull ups immediately followed by max ring dips. 3/1-3/1-3/0, as RX'ed. That last attempt at a ring dip was REALLY bad.

Thursday 3/29 - freestanding handstand work. I couldn't do the regular metcon due to hip pain, since it started with 100 air squats and 75 walking lunges, so I did a special snowflake workout: 5 rounds of 60 second handstand hold, 15 hollow rocks, 15 superman rocks, 10 American kettlebell swings with 1.5pood. HOLY SHOULDERS. 15:15, including about a minute or so of time at the beginning spent dicking around to figure out a substitute workout.

Friday 3/30 - DEADLIFTS. My favorite. Peak set of 3: 135-165-205-225-235. We played red light/green light for the metcon. Ridiculously fun.

Saturday 3/31 - some practice with the squat clean and thruster. I was fine with just the 45-lb bar, but once I added tens, my hip was screaming again. Metcon was a Fight-Gone-Bad style AMRAP - 3 rounds of 60 seconds each, row (for calories), hang squat clean (95/65), thruster (95/65). Subbed hang power cleans and push presses; total score was 118.

Monday 4/2 - strict press, peak of 3. 43-63-73-83F-78. Metcon: descending ladder of thrusters (45/33) and strict L pull ups, 50/15-40/12-30/9-20/6. Subbed strict supinated pull ups for the L pull ups. 16:51. The fact that I can do 42 bodyweight pull ups without failing a single one - no matter how long it took me - still kind of blows my mind, since I was so unspeakably bad at pull ups just a couple of months ago.