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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Hybrid Strongman Recap

That was FUN.

I started off my first competition ever by meeting up with the rest of team CFCC at Hybrid in Stamford, CT, around 8am. We weighed in, drank coffee, ate primal pacs (ok, well, I ate a primal pac - those things are GOOD), and did some general people-watching while we warmed up.

(Let me tell you...there were definitely some great people to watch. Everyone was ridiculously strong, but...yeah. Sometimes people take themselves real seriously. And sometimes they wear Tapout gear and use epic amounts of chalk for things that I didn't realize chalk could be used for...like front squats. But whatever.)

I was all suited up with my new tiger knee socks, hoping they'd help me PR my clean & jerk.

Things started off very promptly, and I was pumped for the first event. I was in the women's middleweight class - 131-155lbs. First event was a "carrying medley:" 50' farmers' carry (125lbs each hand/250lb total), 50'' keg carry (125lb), 50" backwards tire drag (90lb). Don't let the relatively light weight of the tire fool you - that shit was TOUGH. This event was in the 50% or so of the day that I felt confident about, and I loved it.

YEAH KEG.

There was a 90-second time cap - my back hit the wall in the tire drag around 1:12. In retrospect, I wish I'd run with the farmer's carry, since I definitely think I could have - but that's for next year.

Next up - yoke walk. My yoke was loaded with 320lbs. 90 seconds to get max distance.

It wasn't that heavy, but I felt a really sharp pinch in between a couple of vertebrae near the top of my spine/base of my neck. I'm not familiar with yoke walking at all, and I have no sense of whether that was an uncomfortable-but-not-serious pain, or a sign of possible injury, so I voluntarily backed out after my first 50' walk. I tried varying my setup per a teammate's recommendation, but the neck pinch was still there, so I left it alone after that. I do this shit for fun - I'm not going to risk real injury. Since I was very unsure of this in general, I consider it a success.

Third event was Atlas stones. As I mentioned last week, I trained with stones ranging up to 115 and 135lbs. I got the 115lb stone up to my shoulder easily, but could NOT MOVE the 135lb stone. So, the 130lb stone I needed to move for Hybrid was about a 50-50. Either the adrenaline would kick in, and that 5lbs would make a difference and I'd get it up (probably for reps)...or I'd struggle mightily and not budge it.

I stared that fucker down HARD.

And tried and tried and tried to get it up...and didn't move it.

My no-rep was not unexpected so it didn't get me down. Our fabulous coach Erin bought a bunch of stone molds while we were there, so you better believe I'm going to get that 130lb stone...and the 145lb stone...real soon.

Next up was the press medley - 60 seconds to get five implements ground-to-overhead however you could. I faced up with an 85lb sandbag, a 65lb dumbbell, a 105lb axel/fat bar, a 115lb log, and a 145lb barbell. Of these, I was confident about the 65lb dumbbell and knew I stood a solid chance at the sandbag, the axel and maybe the log. The barbell was 27lbs over my max clean & jerk - hence my prayers to the tiger-sock-god.

Turns out I should have asked my socks to help me get under that sandbag. I spent the entire 60 seconds trying to get it over my head. Motherfucker.

Finally, it was time for the front squat ladder. AMRAP in three minutes, racking after every round - i.e. - 1, rack, 1-2-rerack, 1-2-3-rerack, etc. My bar was 125lbs, and even though that's a pretty significant percentage of my max to date (155lbs), I felt real good about this.

And bam. Even though I gave up my belt halfway through to share with a teammate, which ate up a little time, I still got through 5 rounds + 4 reps, for a total of 19 125lb front squats. Not too shabby.

The CFCC team, post-competition and pre-stuffing our faces with beer and french fries:

Thanks to PhillyGuy and Erin for the pics of me looking strong and generally beastmode.

And then we drove home and I slept forever. Didn't wake up until almost 8:30 this morning - a solid hour later than I usually sleep. Hamstrings were REAL sore, my quads were all kinds of jacked up with scrapes and bruises, and my shoulders were bruised from the yoke...but I didn't feel like total death.

PhillyGuy and I started our day slowly and fabulously. We ate take-out eggs from Famous Fourth Street (my omelet was the size of my head and stuffed with veggies - I added some smoked salmon for extra protein), watched Kevin James standup, and played scrabble.

And then it was back at it. Off to CFCC for some really light oly (clean & jerk only, focusing way more on form than weight and never getting above 93lbs), followed by my seven-minute AMRAP burpees for the open.

I could swear I did more, but my official score is 75. When my judge called out 50, I wanted to cry - I thought I was at 60, and I was feeling really good...but it wouldn't be the first time I screwed up counting. That was kind of a gut-check. But 75 isn't anything to sneeze at - particularly since I did it the day after Hybrid.

Next on the agenda: training up for the South Philly Rumble team competition at Crossfit South Philly. Go team!

Fran Again

I know I must be unbearable these days, since pretty much all I ever do is brag about how much progress I've made, both strength-wise and body-comp-wise. But this is my blog, and I get to do whatever I want.

So we're going to brag again.

From my workout log: here are the six-month goals I set for myself in January, aiming to achieve by the end of June - approximately a year since I started at CFCC.



We haven't deadlifted in a while so I have no idea how I'm progressing to pulling 300, but I'm feeling good about most of them - though maybe 5 deadhangs is ambitious. That shit is tough. But anyway - there are two goals there related to Fran, both made on the heels of my last Fran about a month ago. That time, I completed it in 10:24 using a mini-band for the pull ups.

Last night, we Franned again. And I decided to go RX'ed. There was a 10-minute cap, so I figured that I probably wouldn't finish, but at least I'd give it a shot. You know what's coming.

I FINISHED, BITCHES. 45 thrusters and 45 pull ups in 9:47. And it wasn't that bad - I have a lot more in me, especially once I can string together more than two or three kipping pullups. Sub-9 next time.

I am so goddamn proud of myself. I've gone from taking over 13 minutes to do this with a green/"average" band - and being unable to complete more than one pull up at a time with that band - to RX'ing it in just a few months. AND I killed both of my Fran-related goals months ahead of "deadline." Dear everyone: eat Paleo, do crossfit, and be super-badass.

And now a few gratuitous pictures, since I have no further content at all.

On Sunday, I was all bitter because I had to spend the afternoon at work after intro to oly. And the heat isn't on here on the weekends. So there I sat, at my desk, in an earflap hat, flashdance-style cutout t-shirt, and super-baggy sweatpants, praying that no one else was in. (And wow, my eyebrows need a weed-whacker.)



Breakfast this morning (and almost every morning): chicken sausage (found a great brand at Costco - roasted red pepper and spinach flavor, no added sugar or funky ingredients), two over-easy eggs, and a handful of raw spinach.







BAAAAH I rock.





Workout log:





Tuesday, 2/14: Skill work with strict muscle ups. False grip bodyweight pull up; got a muscle-up with two mini bands; many attempts with one mini band and mini+micro bands. GOD THESE ARE SO HARD. Metcon: 30 burpee pull ups for time, 3:40.





Wednesday, 2/15: Front squat to peak of one. 65x3, 95x2, 115x1, 130x1, 145x1 (PR!), 155x1 (PR!). I have more in me - starting heavier next time. FRAAAAAAAN. 21-15-9 thrusters (95/65) and pull ups. 9:47, as RX'ed.

Done, Done, on to the Next One

It's almost embarrassing, the ego this whole BCCC thing has given me.

Funny story. This weekend I was a bridesmaid for one of my best friends. We ordered our (super-cute) dresses back in August - at that point, I had been eating paleo about 80-90% of the time for a month or so, and I was down a little bit of weight, but not much. On top of that, I'm pretty hourglassy, and as usual, my bust size fell two sizes about my waist size on the chart. Long story short, I ordered a size 14, which had plenty of room to accommodate my chest, and I figured I'd just get it taken in.

Fast forward through five more months, two 30-day challenges, quitting diet soda and other artificial sweeteners cold turkey, and a whole lot more consistency. I waited as long as possible before I took my dress to get altered. My lady took that shit in FOUR INCHES in the chest, and as much as possible in the waist without messing up the pockets (yes, a dress with pockets - so fabulous). And still, on the wedding day, when I put that dress on, it hung off of me, somewhat like a sack. As luck would have it, one of the other bridesmaids ordered down a size, and wasn't loving the fit of her dress either...so we switched. And her size 8 was still too big for me.

So, yes. I've been channeling Ron Burgundy. "HEY EVERYONE! COME AND SEE HOW GOOD I LOOK!" And now that I'm close to where I want to be, body composition-wise, I'm ready to shift my focus.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I've signed up for a good old-fashioned strongman competition.

("You people have held me back long enough! I'm going to CLOWN COLLEGE!" "...I bet none of us expected him to say that.")

In less than two weeks, I will be carrying a keg, walking with a yoke over my shoulders loaded with 320lbs, heaving a 130lb Atlas stone, and - gulp - clean & jerking 145lbs. Which, incidentally, is 27lbs more than I've ever cleaned OR jerked before. So, my focus has shifted away from fat loss and to maximizing my strength. Which could really use some maximizing.

I've loosened things up a bit, but am still keeping my nutrition pretty strict while I train. I'm having cream in my coffee regularly now, but am limiting chocolate (or other sugary treat) to the weekends only. I'll probably be OK with more fibrous veggies (cauliflower and green beans and whatnot), but recently I've been having only greens (spinach, kale, collards) out of sheer laziness, so that might continue. I'm also trying to include more lean meats, since I have a tendency to eat mostly pork chops and red meat, but I'm not actively avoiding them.

Example: my post-workout dinner last night.



Two salmon burgers with mustard, small sweet potato nuked and topped with cinnamon, chipotle chili, paprika and salt, salad with raw spinach, cherry tomatoes, handful of bacon crumbles, olive oil, balsamic vinegar and granulated garlic. Side of food and workout log.

Speaking of workout log...boy, it's been a while since I've caught this blog up.

Thursday 2/2: Greasing the groove with supinated strict pull-ups, on the minute for 10 minutes. Started with 2 each minute, failed on the second starting with the fourth minute, so backed down to one. 13 total. Split jerk, up to peak of 1. 55-70-85-100-110 push press -110 (PR!)-115 (PR!). Metcon: 4 rounds for time, 8 push press with 75% of max (for me, 85lbs), 8 toes to bar, 8 single leg squats to a box. 11:35 as RX'ed. Push press could have been faster, but I felt strong and never failed, so that's good.

Saturday 2/4: Gymnastics skills class, handstand pushups. Strict with bands - up to light bands for a couple reps. Kipping - REAL CLOSE. Need to learn to push with my arms. Stayed around for regular session. 3 rounds for time of 10 deadlifts at 65% of max, 50 doubleunders. 16:04 as RX'ed (165lb deadlifts). I could have lifted 50 more pounds and still taken just as long, since my DUs go to shit when I'm fatigued.

Sunday 2/5: Oly. Snatched up to 68.4lbs (weird weight due to combo of pound and kilogram plates); cleaned up to 49kg (about 108lbs).

Tuesday 2/7: Skill work with strict muscle ups. Bodyweight false grip ring pull up (god, that shit is SO HARD) (TWSS). Band assisted muscle ups with two mini bands. SO HARD. Metcon: "Sammy's Day Off." AMRAP 12 minutes, 4 chest-to-bar pull ups, 4 ring dips, 4 handstand pushups, 4 kettlebell snatch (1.5/1pood). 4 rounds + 2 pull ups; scaled with mini band for pull ups, light bands for HSPUs, and push ups for ring dips.

Thursday 2/9: Greasing the groove with supinated pull ups. Same as 2/2 - two for first three minutes, one for last 7. Split jerk - warmed up with 45x3; then 65-85-105-115 push press -115. Metcon - 21-15-9, overhead squats (95/65) and wallballs (20/14). 8:37 as RX'ed. Wallballs super slow, but squats great - did first 21 unbroken and split into 4's and 5s for the rest.

Sunday 2/12: Gymnastics fun - cartwheels, roundoffs, iron cross ring work. Oly: snatched to 73lbs (PR!), clean & jerk to 118lbs (PR!). My form REALLY started to come together for me this week, particularly with the snatch. SO HAPPY.

Monday 2/13: Greasing the groove with pronated pull ups, one bodyweight each minute (up from 2 with mini band last time). Legit. AMRAP doubleunders in 5 minutes: 54 (FAAAAAARK - last time we did this I got about 120). I knew then that the metcon was going to be ugly for me. "Big Jim:" 3 rounds of 400m run, 9 thrusters (135/95), 12 box jumps (30"/24"), 15 double unders. A whopping 26:06, as RX'ed - and the last 15 DUs took me SIX MINUTES. SIX! I bet I spent 12 minutes of that workout on double unders. Like I said...they go to shit when I'm fatigued.

More Beastmode

Things that prove that I am awesome:

- Last weekend, I hit up Sammy's gymnastics skills class to spend some time refining my kip and learning to string kips together. I sort of succeeded - I can kip with ease, and I know what I need to do to string them together. I definitely need to practice, but soon I'll be Franning with the best of them (or, to be more accurate, I'll be Franning with the worst of those who can complete Fran RX'ed, but whatever - huuuuuge improvement over Franning with the worst of them who could NOT go RX'ed, which is where I started just a few short months ago).

This is less awesome, but still one of those weird things that crossfitters tend to brag about, so I feel like I should save this for posterity:



My first hand tear, which I got while practicing kips. I lost my grip with my left hand, which led to me pivoting around on my right hand. And ripping up a big fat chunk of callus while I was at it. It's pretty much healed now.

- Last night, we did weighted chin-ups (supinated grip). For the first time ever during a class, I (i) did an unassisted deadhang pull up, and (ii) did unassisted deadhang WEIGHTED pull ups. I am embarrassingly proud of that little 5lb change plate hanging from my weight belt. BAM. REMEMBER THAT TIME THAT I SUCKED AT PULLUPS?

- I found these convenient containers that come with tiny cups that snap into the lid. This means I can have my favorite olive-oil-rice-vinegar combo on my lunch salads without worrying about sogginess.



See?



- I HAVE AWESOME ORANGE SHOES.



I figure between my hand tear and orange chucks, I am GUARANTEED to put up some big numbers at tomorrow's total.

Recent workouts:

Saturday, 1/14 - Gymnastics skillwork only. Worked on kipping pull ups with great success. Had planned to stay for fight gone bad right afterwards, but frankly, I was tired, not feeling so great, had a party to go to in AC and just wasn't feeling it, so I used my torn hand as an excuse and headed home.

Sunday, 1/15 - Gymnastics. Kipping handstand pushups and skin-the-cats. I'm getting much more stable in doing headstands (starting from the floor, yoga-style, as opposed to kicking up to handstands from a standing position), and much stronger in punching up with my hips. Skin-the-cats felt SUPER weird at first, but got more comfortable after a few reps. Kept the rings low so I could land on my feet at the back. Metcon - AMRAP 10 minutes, 3 kipping HSPUs, 3 skin-the-cats, 5 tuck jumps. HSPU to plank position; 5 rounds + 4 HSPU attempts (couldn't get my feet up, let alone back down and out).

Monday, 1/16 - Back squatting for an easy peak of 3. 95 - 125 (not low enough on the first 2) - 135 - 145 - 155. It's feeling much smoother and easier to triple 155, so I'm hopeful for my performance this weekend. Metcon - tabata box jumps (24/20). 67 total, plus 3 or 4 no-reps where my hips didn't get fully extended at the top.

Tuesday 1/17 - Strict press, easy peak of 3. 45-55-65-70 (very slow)-75 (ugly - went up on toes on my third rep). Felt kind of slow and grindy, but meh. Metcon: 21-15-9 kettlebell snatch (1.5/1 pood), pull ups. Subbed russian swings because snatching really irritated my hand rip. even taped up. With mini band, 9:38. Couldn't even remotely rep pull ups after the first five or so. Grip: annihilated.

Thursday 1/19 - Weighted supinated grip pull ups, easy peak of 1. Mini band - micro mini band (seriously, that thing is pointless) - bodyweight - +2.5 - +5. SO HAPPY with this. Metcon: AMRAP 10 minutes, 60 sec renegade rows, 60 second dynamic lunges (out and back in to starting point without moving your non-lunging foot). With 12kg kettlebells for the rows and a 25lb bumper plate for the lungers, 204 total...I think. It might have been 214 or 224, because I THINK I counted the 140s and the 160s twice (like...when I got to 149 reps I think I started back over at 140...). I really suck at counting reps.

Fran.

Fran is pretty much THE crossfit baseline workout. 21-15-9, barbell thrusters/pull ups. RXed weight for women is 65lbs, for men it's 95. Ridiculous people do this in under three minutes. Really jacked people do it in under 5. Most others are somewhere in the 6-11 minute range, with appropriate scaling and all that jazz.

Before tonight, I had never done Fran. I've done Sandy Fran, which was an unmitigated disaster (over 13 minutes with an average band and a 40lb sandbag). I've done Heavy Fran, which was...well..heavy (15-12-9 of thrusters (135/95) and deadhang pull ups (+45 for men, bodyweight for women).

Since the last time we did any variation of the deadly thruster/pull up combo, I have been working REALLY hard on my pull ups. Every single day, I do at least one or two pull ups on my guest room closet door mounted bar. At first, all I could do were jumping pull ups. They got easier and easier, and I started messing around with my grip. Now, chin ups are almost easy, and I can do a couple pronated grip pull ups. And that, my friends, brings us to today's Franathon.

This may not be the most flattering picture anyone's ever taken of me, but it's fast becoming one of my favorites. In my last couple reps of thrusters:

YOU SEE THAT TIME?

10:24, 65lbs/mini band. MINI BAND. That's over three minutes off of my Sandy Fran time - and I used a substantially stronger band for Sandy Fran. I am so happy with this. Fran, you and I are going RX'ed next time. Promise.

Post-Fran, I was ravenous. (OK, PRE-Fran I was ravenous. The last of my BCAAs staved off the "I'm going to barf" hunger headache, but that shit is NOT food.) Observe the laziest dinner ever: 4 ounces of smoked salmon and an entire avocado (halved and sprinkled with kosher salt and pepper) over a "salad" comprised of the last of my container of baby spinach, a bunch of grape tomatoes, a little handful of crumbled bacon, delicious olive oil, rice vinegar and granulated garlic. Served right in the container, so as not to dirty a dish.

And after I inhaled this and I was still hungry, I ate a leftover pork rib. CFCC BCCC, day one down.

Yesterday's stuff: gymnastics (! hooray), followed by intro to oly (frustrating!). Gymnastics was freestanding handstand practice followed by iron cross ring work. I'm getting much better at ring support, and was able to move my hands out the tiiiiiniest bit. Skipped the metcon to conserve energy for oly, where I spent the entire hour and a half working on my snatch. (I don't even have the energy to make a joke there, because the third pull of the snatch is such a source of frustration for me. it's my latest nemesis.) Couple sets at 53lbs, a whole bunch of sets at 63lbs, and then a lot of drills (snatching from blocks and snatch balance) with 53lbs.

Seriously

I mean - seriously.

I have made some ridiculous gains in the last three months.

So...I've lost about 20 pounds, give or take, since late summer - at least 15lbs since October 1. In short, I've gotten a whole lot LESS fat by eating a whole lot MORE fat, which is pretty damn good. That has a lot to do with things like, say, how much progress I've made on my pull ups.

But then there's my major lifts. Last Friday, we did strict presses for the first time in months, and I did my previous max - 75lbs - for four reps, and came really close to a fifth.

Today? Today, we deadlifted. My previous max was 235 - 230 at the total in August, and then during the next cycle, I hit 235 sumo. And today - in bare feet, since I forgot shoes - TODAY, I did 235 for three.

Yeah, I tripled my previous max. WHAT IS GOING ON?!?!?!

The next total is January 21. I'm shooting for 525 -- 55 pounds over my last total score of 470. I'm thinking deadlift 255, press 85, squat 185. I can do it.



Does this sweatshirt make me look strong?

Workout log:

Skipped Tuesday & Wednesday - had to work late.

Thursday: DEADLIIIIIIIIIIFTS. Peak set of three. 115-145-175-205-225-235. WHAT NOW BITCHES. Metcon: 3 rounds for time of 15 deadlifts (135/95), 30 air squats, 15 pullups. RX'ed for the deadlifts (and holy shit 95lbs felt light that first round), light band for pull ups. I was way slower than I needed to be on the air squats. 7:25.

GOAL: SMOKED.

I killed my goal for the total.

By 35 pounds. (And no, that's not my bar.)

Squat 165. Deadlift 230 (!!). Press 75.

And then I went to costco and restocked on protein and veggies, since I was down to about a quarter of Friday night's rotisserie chicken and a head of romaine.

Now that I have 9 pounds of chicken thighs, 4 pounds of steak and an entire smoked salmon, plus those 24 figs hiding in the back...I'm good for a couple days.

More on the total later. I need to do something about the tumbleweeds of dog fur that have gathered in my corners before they turn on me.