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.