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.

OK, Maybe Not EVERYTHING

One of my halfway-there-CFCC-BCCC-observations is that everything I eat now is delicious.

I mean...really.



I have steak almost every Friday night, with sweet potato rounds baked with cinnamon, paprika, chili powder and cayenne pepper. I call them "fries," but they're not - they're just fricking delicious.



And then the salmon wraps. This was a great discovery.



Smoked salmon, avocado, grape tomatoes and crumbled bacon. If you don't like this, you have no soul.



But...okay. Maybe not EVERYTHING is delicious.

Starting on Saturday - the halfway point - I added in a supplement. Erin made this recommendation at our first meeting, but I just didn't get around to picking them up until this past weekend.



BCAAs (branched chain amino acids) are, for chemistry and biology dummies like myself, three of the nine essential amino acids necessary for the body to function. They are metabolized in muscle, rather than the liver, and once broken down into their individual components (leucine, isoleucine and valine), are either burned as fuel by the body, or used by the body to build new proteins. BCAAs are a popular supplement in crossfit and in bodybuilding and olympic weightlifting in general for their ability not only to increase energy during a workout, but to assist in recovery. (Let's be clear: this is obviously not my independent scientific study, but just the understanding I've developed based on a whole lot of internet research. Take it with a grain of salt and do your own research, internet-based or otherwise.)

So, starting with Saturday's intro to oly, I've been taking 5 grams of BCAAs dissolved in about 6-8 ounces of water before and after each workout. Let me tell you something about BCAAs.

They taste awful.

A lot of articles describe it as a bitter taste, but I think it tastes exactly like that cheap-ass Barton's vodka we used in well drinks at TGIFriday's. People recommend adding citrus, but I'd rather just get used to the taste and deal with it, I think. Also, once they dissolve, you end up with something that looks like a bottle of water with glitter floating in it. It's far too early to make any real observations about what they actually DO, but I can say that - coincidentally or not - I'm not really that sore from the past three days of workouts.

Speaking of which:

- Friday. Some skillwork on the snatch, which is still not my best lift but is getting better. I need to just practice this a lot until muscle memory starts to kick in so I can get the form correct. Worked up to 65lbs, which isn't much, but it's something. Metcon: Jeremy. 21-15-9 of overhead squats (95-65) and burpees. I wanted to do it RX'd, but when your first three reps feel heavy, it's not good...so I dropped down to 55. Arms were like jelly by the end. 9:19.

- Saturday: intro to oly. Clean & jerk. I started with just the training bar to work on the form for the split jerk; tried the push jerk but that's just not me. 15-35-45-55-65-65-75-75-85, mostly doubling up the jerks with some singles towards the end. This is much, much stronger for me than the snatch.

- Sunday: gymnastics. Forward rolls (speed rolls with two connected, dive rolls) and handstand walking. Getting much better at shifting my weight and working towards the single-arm handstand, but haven't walked on my hands yet, despite many attempts. Metcon: death by handstand thigh slaps (handstand against the wall, shifting weight to one arm and bringing opposite arm off the floor to slap your thigh - one rep is both sides). One in the first minute, and then adding one more each consecutive minute until you can't finish the prescribed amount in the minute. 7 full rounds plus 6 thigh slaps.

- Monday: power cleans, starting with doubles and working up to a peak of one. 65x2-65x2-75x2-85x2-85x1-95x1-105x1. Metcon: death by thrusters (95/65). One thruster was OK; my shoulders were NOT having me rep them. Rather than aggravate my weaker rotator cuff muscles, I substituted front squats after the first minute. Starting with three thrusters in minute 1, 10 rounds + 8 front squats at RX'ed weight.