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.

Goal Setting and Constant PRs

Today was a beautiful day for a partner metcon.

And a beautiful day to walk there.

One of the great things about starting something new is that you get a PR almost every time you work out. This week's crossfit skillwork:

- Tuesday: Overhead press, peak set of 2. I did 35-45-55-60-65-70. PR over last week's peak of 60 for three (with awful form). Metcon: 5 rounds, max reps of strict OH press (55lbs) followed by max reps of strict (i.e. dead hang, no kipping) pullups. Pull ups are getting a little better, but still not my best.

- Wednesday: Sumo deadlifts, easy peak of 1. I did 95-115-135-155-165. Having never done a sumo deadlift before, this was an automatic PR, and also 30 pounds over last week's peak of 135 for a standard deadlift. Metcon: 100m row, three attempts. My time improved from 26.8 seconds to 22.4 seconds over the three attempts. I SUCK AT ROWING.

- Friday: Back squats, peak set of 2. 45-65-85-95-105-115-125. PR over prior peak of 85 for 3 (with bad, but not awful, form). Metcon: tabata weighted planks. (Fuck that. 8 sets of 20 second planks, 10 seconds rest, with a 25lb plate on my back.)

- Sunday: team workout. Burpee sprints, tuck sits and rowing 10 minutes.

Sprinting is strong for me. Rowing is not.

Anyway. Every week so far I've been able to improve my peak set. This is due to two things: one, I don't know what I'm capable of, so I start low and run out of time before I can get really heavy. Two, I started with kind of lame form in most of the big lifts, so my strength is improving exponentially as my form improves.

Friday's back squats are a perfect example of this. Two weeks ago I did back squats for a peak (i.e., fast out of the bottom, not your max) of three. I started with the bar, but had to repeat weights a few times throughout the workout because I wasn't keeping my abs tight, or I wasn't going deep enough, so I didn't have time to get above 85lbs. Friday, with a somewhat smaller class and a much better sense of how the weight was going to feel, my form was much better and I had time to get in a ton of sets. I'm confident I could have done at least 135 or 145 without my speed suffering, but seven sets is a lot of sets, so Liz had me stop.

While it's lots of fun killing my prior weights every single time, it makes it a lot more difficult to set goals. I don't know what to focus on, what's reasonable or easy or arbitrary or foolish. I need to get some insight on this, because I'm really interested in what my potential is.

How do you set your first goals with something new?

Barefoot Metcon

Today was my first-ever team/partner metcon at CFCC. On the board:

In teams of 3, for time:

- 50 handstand pushups (if no HSPU, assisted HSPU or regular pushups)

- 100 deadlifts (225/135)

- 150 pullups

- 200 box jumps (24"/20")

Reps could be split up any way we wanted, but only one person could work at a time, and each exercise had to be completed before we moved on to the next task.

There was six teams. One went completely Rx'ed, four went "as Rx'ed as possible," and then my little beginner team went super-scaled. Regular pushups, 75lb deadlifts, and we used a band from the start to assist our pull ups.

I had started the day feeling awfully pleased with myself, because PhillyGuy and I managed to get up and out of the house with enough time to hit Costco, Target, Wegmans AND Starbucks and still have me at CFCC by 11:45. I felt slightly less self-congratulatory when I realized I forgot a headband.

I did the metcon barefoot, which actually wasn't that bad. I was a little wigged out at first doing barefoot box jumps, but I quickly got over it and got into a decent groove.

Since I'm strongest at deadlifting, I did 50 while my two teammates did 25 each. We started the pullups with the plan of doing splits of 10 each, but I quickly realized that was beyond my capabilities. Leila rocked the pullups, knocking out at least 10 at a time, while Tina and I kicked in 5-7 each for our turns. A little more than halfway through, we had to add a second resistance band, which made the last chunk of pull ups much easier.

All together, we did it in just over 23 minutes. Even with our crazy scaling, I was dripping with sweat by the end. My hair was soaked with sweat and probably spraying whoever was unfortunate enough to be nearby, since I had nothing to contain it. My forearms were seizing up. My shins are tender and will likely be bruised by the end of the day. And my feet - well, they're filthy.

But holy crap that was fun. I think I'll show up on Sundays more often.

When I got home, I wasn't starving, but I was very aware that it was almost 2pm and all I'd consumed all day was two iced coffees and a pecan pie larabar. I chugged a coconut water while making myself some bacon and eggs.

Three eggs, seasoned with Traders Joes 21 Seasoning Salute and scrambled, covered with salsa. Hard to see are the two slices of bacon I tore into pieces and tossed under the eggs. Not pictured is the last of my (very oxidized) guacamole that I mostly ate with a fork, but sort of topped my eggs with.

I just might spend the next 45 minutes or so joining Sophie in my bed.

...but before I do, quick recap of this week's workouts:

- Monday - front squats at CFCC. Peak set was 85lbs for three. Metcon: five sets, for time, of 5 front squats at 50% of weight from skillwork, followed by 100ft sprints. Time: 6:23, squatting 45lb bar.

- Tuesday - kettlebell swings and strict presses. 60lbs for three - nasty form. Skipped the metcon because I tweaked something in my left hip flexor between Sunday's hot yoga, Monday's squats and Tuesday's KB swings, so I took a lacrosse ball to it while I watched everyone else do three rounds of single-armed KB presses, american KB swings and double-unders.

- Wednesday - deadlifts and "neural recharge." Easy sets of 1 - I worked up to 135. I aspire to pull at LEAST 200lbs for my max by the end of the summer...let's see if I can get there in a month. Metcon - 6 sets of single-armed medball throws. 30 seconds weak arm, 30 seconds strong arm, 30 seconds rest. I used a 15-lb ball.

- Saturday - hot yoga. Tough and frustrating but still felt good afterwards.

- Sunday - partner workout at CFCC. 23:something, super-scaled, and we earned every second of it.

I'm really liking this whole CrossFit business. I picked up a jumprope for $5 at Target this morning to practice (read: attempt) double-unders.

ouch.

i am SORE.

Friday was back squats - I didn't go over 85lbs, but, well, my form kind of sucked and since I had a light weight (i.e., just the bar) for the metcon, I did a bajillion of them. Over 60 during the metcon and probably 5-6 rounds of five during the class.

As a side effect, the back of my neck is bruised from the several sets I did with improper bar placement. AND the FRONT of my neck is sore - the muscles in my freaking neck are sore - which PhillyGuy speculates is an extension of my form. He's probably right.

Handstands yesterday went well. Forward rolls less so, sort of, since I got stuck at the bottom of nearly all of them during the metcon. So I have a bruised lower back from that.

And - I'm just freakin' sore. During yoga today, we had what felt like the longest warrior sequence imaginable. Warrior one to two to reverse warrior back to two, and then some extended side angle, and I think maybe some twists in there, though that might have been another sequence. While it probably took less than 120 seconds per side, holding my lunge felt impossible.

Tomorrow's skillwork is front squats. Metcon is going to involve sprints and squats. The idea of doing more work with my tender legs is beyond me...

...but I could learn to clean.

So.

Should I be patient - since I will clearly have many more opportunities to learn to clean - and not push my sore legs?

Or should I just suck it up, foam roll like a good girl, and figure that by the time 6:30 rolls around tomorrow, I'll have all of the strength I need to get this done?

(Patience is not my best virtue. And I'm never sure when I'm making an excuse [which, believe me, I make PLENTY of] or when I'm being appropriately cautious.)

in the meantime...ouch.

Steak Night

Friday night in my house is frequently steak night.

And not just steak - it's the best night ever, because I get to sit on my couch in sweatpants, eat steak AND watch Ghost Adventures on the travel network.

(Side note: does anyone else watch that show? What is the DEAL with Zack Bagans? He looks like the skinny nerd from high school who read a book on how to be awesome, but can't quite get the execution right. He's kind of jacked, but he carries it awkwardly, and OMG OMG THOSE SHIRTS I CANNOT LIVE.)

I had a couple of sweet potatoes to use up, so I made some "fries." I sliced them up lazy-style, into rounds:

And gave them a bath in olive oil, chili powder, cinnamon, paprika, cayenne pepper and kosher salt.

I baked/roasted them for about 20 minutes at 425, along with some broccoli, while PhillyGuy manned the grill.

I LOVE STEAK NIGHT.

As a second bonus, PhillyGuy spent some time in Gettysburg yesterday, so he was able to replenish our (pathetic little) fruit supply. This week's treats included a buttload of cherries...

...some super-fat blackberries...

and a bunch of peaches.

All of which I dumped into a bowl for breakfast this morning along with a giant dollop of almond butter.

CrossFit Update:

So, I finished my six On-Ramp classes, and last night was my first "big girl" CrossFit session. Here's a recap of the skills I picked up in On-Ramp:

- Overhead squats (no weight yet) - metcon involved one-armed overhead squats and burpees

- Russian kettlebell swings - metcon involved KB swings and goblet squats

- One-armed KB press, double-unders (disclaimer: I have not actually 'picked up" this skill yet, and have yet to really do a double-under) - metcon involved presses and single-unders

- Pullups (WOMP WOMP WOMP) - metcon involved tabata pullups, pushups and air squats

- DEADLIFTS - metcon involved short runs and deadlifts

- more deadlifts (no weight) and broad jumps - metcon involved broad jumps and medball slams

Last night's session focused on the back squat. Since it was my first time squatting with anything besides, well, nothing or a broomstick, the focus was mainly on form. I did probably five or six sets of 5 squats, building up to 85 pounds. I could have gone heavier if I wasn't so sloppy...yet another reason to work on my abs.

Metcon was three sets of AMRAP in 60 seconds of back squats, pushups and knees to elbows. Squats were definitely my strength in this - I got to use only the bar, and was able to do close to 30 squats in the first round and still managed to do more than 20 squats each of in the second and third. Pushups were OK, but it should come as no surprise that my weak point was knees to elbows. MY GRIP STRENGTH BLOWS.

I'm probably going to hit up this morning's on ramp class - I'm not limited to onramps anymore, but they're working on handstand and handstand pushups, both of which I'm eager to learn. In the meantime, I've been googling "how to build grip strength" and let me tell you, I've found some fascinating contraptions out there.

Happy Saturday!

Kettlebells 1, Chrissey 0

One of the reasons I love my job is that, once in a while, when I've been busting my butt or have had a particularly brutal stretch, my boss insists that I take a day off.

So, here I am, sitting on my couch at 10am in my sweats with my dogs. I'm getting ready to get out and get my hair cut, nails done, and maybe pick up some stuff at the Fourth of July sales. This is totally worth the nuttiness of this month.

I got to make eggs this morning, since I didn't have anywhere to be:

Scrambled eggs with red/orange/yellow peppers, portobello mushrooms, grape tomatoes, turkey lunch meat, salsa and plain greek yogurt.

Last night's skill work at crossfit was Russian kettlebell swings. They're supposed to look like this:

When I got there, I was assigned a 12kg kettlebell. That's the smallest, lightest weight they have. All of the girls in the class got 12kg bells; the guys got 16kgs. I looked at that little thing on the ground and I was like "PSHHHH, that's going to be way too light. This is going to be easy."

False. I'm super uncoordinated, so it took most of the skillwork period and half the metcon to figure out exactly how to put together the swing and the hip thrust. I'm still not really sure what my legs are supposed to be doing in the bottom of the swing. And because my abs are pretty weak, I arch my back a TON at the top of the swing. Which means my lower back freakin' HURTS this morning.

Metcon was five rounds of as many reps as possible ("AMRAP") in 1 minute each of kettlebell swings, goblet squats, and then rest...blissful rest. So, swing like a mofo for 60 seconds, squat like a mofo for 60 seconds, and rest for 60 seconds...and then do it four more times.

My rep count was good (218 reps total, including both swings and squats, for all five rounds), but my form for the swings BLEW until the last couple of rounds. Which is probably why I was able to do so many. Squats were my stronger move - my legs are pretty diesel. But my grip strength SUCKS, and by the second or third round I had to put the kettlebell down a few times to shake out my wrists and hands.

Once again, 14 minutes of "real work," and I was pouring sweat and ready to collapse. This crossfit thing is no joke. I definitely need to work on my abs - my back strength is OK, but my abs are much, much weaker. Looks like I know what I'll be doing on my non-class days.

Time to get out and enjoy my day of freedom! Happy holiday weekend!