From Russia With Love... and a new PR!

Today was a bit of fun. We got to play with kettlebells for the entire class. Well, at least the part that came after the warmup.

I was actually pretty stoked about this workout, it sounded like fun. At the end, I thought it was fun... except one part. That was when I lost a bit of focus, banged the kb off my thigh on the way up and then almost whacked myself in the head with the thing. 

That would not have been enjoyable.

I am pretty happy with myself for being able to complete this using the 25# kb. A month ago, I was using the 25# kb in wods that required both hands. Now, one handed... yeah, I'm awesome. Not really. Still happy that I was successful today. 

Granted, I did have to stop a couple time and grab a small bit of chalk. 

Am I the only person that uses chalk for pretty much everything that involves lifting/swinging something?

Maybe it's just that my hands get sweaty when gripping the kb. I'm pretty sure that I'm the only one who used chalk today. Maybe I'm just becoming a chalk whore. Maybe it's because chalk just makes me feel stronger. Whatever, I lifted a decent weight with it today. 

My time: 9:20

After the wod, I still had some extra time and decided that I would do some deadlifting. The last time I pr'd I had already done over 35 reps. This time I worked my way up only doing 5 reps total. I had already gotten a pretty good warmup with all the kb work.

So with Laura watching and urging me on (and to make sure that I didn't have crappy form) I got up 195#!

 I really wanted to try another at 200# but Laura and I both new that while I most likely would have gotten the weight up, my form would have gone to crap and I would have lifted that too much with my back. 

I'll give it a couple weeks and see what happens. 

That it for now folks!

Tuesday Shoesday

Not really, cause I didn't buy any new shoes, but I did get to wear my Chucks to the box again this week! I love working out in my Chucks. Don't ask why... I don't know, I just do. Like it makes me feel cool or something. Which I, most assuredly, am not.

Anyways, deadlifts today so definitely a Chuck Taylor kind of day. One of these days I'll do my shoe post, but for know just know that I do all my heavy/OLY lifts in my Chucks. They feel the most stable. Wwwaaaayyyyy better than running/generic athletic shoes. If you still lift in your running shoes, better go barefoot. You don't know the power you're missing out on. Then go get you some flat shoes pronto!

On to today's WOD!



DEADLIFTS! I heart deadlifts. They make me feel strong. Maybe it's because I'm short and the weight doesn't have to travel as far, I don't know. I like them... almost as much as I like cleans.

This looks like a short workout, but I did a fair amount of "warm-up" sets of 5 reps before Laura (my personal training nazi) would let me move on to 4 reps, much less 3. Even when Laura isn't coaching, she's still the little voice in the back of my head telling me "that looks a bit light for you" or "that was too easy, add more weight." Heh. It helps, I lift more than I think I can with her urgance.

At the end, I topped out and hit my 1RM at 180#!!

I was super stoked. I thought it would have been somewhere around the 150# range. Considering that the heaviest I've gone in a metcon has been 95# and even that has sucked at times. Maybe I'm short changing myself? I'll have to find out the next time DL shows it's face in a metcon.

Here was the road to 180#:
5 reps: 95, 105, 110, 115
4 reps: 125, 135, 145
3 reps: 155
2 reps: 165
1 rep: 170, 175, 180

And then my hands were nice and tore up from the knurling. I used a mixed grip, but it still sucks. DLs tear my hands up more than pullups I think. So at lunch I went and replenished my supply of hand lotion to keep in my work drawer and cuticle cream (not so much for my torn hand, but my not-so-awesome cuticles).



Ahhhhh. Much better now.

backlog

Apparently, days off from work equals days forgetting to post my WODs. Here's the backlog from the past couple of days. Even though I haven't had work, I still got my butt out of bed at 5 am in order to keep up with my regular 6 am class. That's some dedication in my book!

Here's Thursday. Not too bad, mostly a WOD to get a 1RM for clean:


My weight progression and chalk logging on the mat:


I know I started really light, but that's 55 reps when you add everything up. I didn't want to burn myself out too early.

Clean 1RM: 80#

I tried to get 85# up twice, but didn't make it. Oh well, something else to add to the list of goals. Luckily during the DU warmup I didn't whip my legs too bad. I can't wait for Rx Jump Ropes to open up their San Diego store! I figure if I get properly sized for a rope, it'll make the DUs that much better. I can't quite get them sequential right now, more like every other. Practice makes perfect!

Now here's Friday:


I woke up to my alarm and checked the website... that was what I saw. I seriously almost rolled over and went back to sleep. I blogged earlier this week about my aversion to running and that was only 600m! This was a whole mile. Not just once either, twice! I couldn't let it get in my way though. I pulled myself up and went in. I set a goal of finishing in under 40 minutes. I'm not a very fast runner, especially when I don't specifically train for it. Ugh, was a dreading getting started.

Off we went and yep, I got lapped by a couple of the guys. No matter, at least I was still trucking along. Finished the first mile right at 10:00 and got to the rowing. My pace was pretty much 2:30/500m, not a very good time, but I was consistent and that's the best pace that I could keep without burning out. Got that done at was out the door for the last mile at 21:15. Oh boy, my
quads were not happy to be running again. After a lap (a mile is 5 laps around the block) they seemed to be ok again and I was focused on just keeping one foot moving in front of the other. By the time I got three laps done, I was the only one still running. I had my goal to meet and I was doing my darndest to beat it. Pushing myself for those last two laps and back in the door. Finished. At last.

My time: 30:34!!!

Yes! Ok, so yeah. I was the slowest... but I exceeded my goal of 40 minutes. And the even better part? My second mile was faster than my first! I was shocked. So glad that I got up and pushed myself this morning. It was definitely worth it, even if this wasn't my favorite WOD to see on the board.