Dead(tired)

I felt like I slept really well last night, but I was so tired when I woke up this morning. Regardless, I always get pumped for going to the box. I get even more pumped when I know I get to lift heavy things.

Here's what was on the board today.

That's my break down next to it. Instead of doing 5x3, I only did 3 reps in the last round so that I could go for a 1RM. It's been awhile since the last time I found my deadlift max. So long in fact that the last time I found it, my max was 180. Today, I did 185 for 3 reps, so I knew that PR was long gone. 
I kept loading up the weights to see what I could manage. For me, it's all about getting the weight off the ground. The first inch is the hardest. Once it starts moving though, I can almost always get the weight up. 
By the time I got to attempt 205, everyone in class was done and put away and watching me. It was a little nerve racking. Maybe it helped though, because I got the weight up. I was stoked at breaking the 200 barrier. We'll see where I get next.
On a side note, have you seen the Moist Chocolate Zucchini Bread from PaleOMG?? It's divine. I made it last night and ate half the loaf by myself today. Seriously, go to the store, get the stuff, and make it. You won't regret it.

Happy (Belated) Birthday!!

Missed a few days again... sorry!!! Somedays just get busy you know? I've actually spent most of that time in the kitchen. I'm gritting my teeth and making a wholehearted attempt at zoning my meals. I had a few too many cheats during the past week and am trying to get back on track. I've tried (not very hard) in the past, but I'm always intimidated by the amount of measuring. Plus, I cook a lot of things that are complex (paleo spaghetti, beef stew, etc). How do you figure out zone portions for that? Nevertheless, here I go. So far my first full day is going well. Hopefully this time it will last and maybe I'll see some differences.

Anyways, on to the WOD.

I was excited to see this. I have a new fondness for box jumps. Don't ask why, I just started to like them. Weird. Whatever. And who doesn't love deadlifts? The only thing I didn't like about this WOD was that the reps increased. That just takes a toll on you mentally. Time to grit and bear it.

I loaded the bar and got ready to work. The first 10 DLs were good, but I knew by the end of that set that I wouldn't be able to do the next set unbroken. That was fine with me, I was using decent weight. The second set went by 10's and the last set by 5's. I had to concentrate really hard at the end on not sacrificing form. I kept wanting to pull with my back instead of my legs. I did on a couple and I can feel it in my back now. Not so enjoyable. 

My time: 9:09


On a side note, I celebrated my birthday on Saturday. Great day! It was a little ugly out, but still made the best of it. It was better than being on deployment last year for sure!

Here's some shots.

Pre-birthday dinner. It's not paleo, but it was gooooddddd.

And of course some oysters. Yum!

My birthday present! It's awesome.

Celebratory German Chocolate Cupcake. 

Pull and pull some more

Do you ever have those days when you just feel... bleh? Today was that day for me. At least in the morning. I got plenty of good sleep last night, about 7.5 hours, but for some reason I just wasn't feeling it this morning.

Thank goodness it was a lifting day.

Deadlifts are fine by me. They make me feel strong. They also scratch my legs and thighs, but I won't hold a grudge against that. 

Strict pull-ups though, they DO NOT make me feel strong. They make me feel like a wuss because I can strain and try with all my might and not get my chin over that bar. Well, at least I could get a few out with the red band. 

Here's how the rounds worked out for me:

1. 6 pull-ups; 125lb DL

2. 5 pull-ups; 135lb DL

3. 5 pull-ups; 145lb DL

4. 5 pull-ups; 155lb DL

5. 5 pull-ups; 165lb DL

Not bad weights. I was really trying to focus on form for this WOD. I was happy with it. Too bad it just didn't get me going for the day.

On a happier side note, this little ball of love comes home with me tomorrow!!

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.

(Good) Friday Fun

I don't know what it was about yesterday, but I was wiped out by 8 o'clock at night. I struggled to keep my eyes open during Missing and Grey's Anatomy (two of the few tv shows I actually try to keep up with). Afterwards, I immediately dove into my bed and knocked out.

Woke up this morning not looking forward to my long day of duty (means I have to stay late at work), but still looking forward to the WOD. At this point I was also crossing my fingers that there wouldn't be overhead anything today... my shoulders didn't feel up to the challenge again.

Luckily, my wish came true and we arrived to this.



I was hoping for a semi-fast time on this (less than 10 minutes) and still a little tired from the heavy lifting earlier in the week so I opted to go a little lighter on the DL weight.

I grabbed a 45# bar and slapped 15#s on each side... eh, it was a little too light. I added another 10# to take the weight up to 85#. Christa was suggesting 95# to 115# or something in the bodyweight range. Hahahaha. Right. I'll stick with my 85#. Right now, I could prolly 1RM my bodyweight, not 20 of them.

Turns out that sticking with 85# was the right choice. It was just heavy enough that I had to push myself, but I made it through the first two rounds unbroken with the last round in sets of 10.

I also made it through all the sets of pullups unbroken, kipping with the blue band of course. I'm pretty proud of that. Practicing the kipping technique has really been paying off. I'm hopeful of meeting my June goal of kipping with no bands.

Now if only my short, little legs would run a bit faster. I was the second person out the door in the first round and ended up coming back in the door at sixth. I know I'm not the fastest runner and I need to work on that. It just seems that everyone else has a much easier time going faster. I find it a little disheartening hearing someone trudge up behind you and pass you. Ugh. Did I mention that I hate running?

My time: 8:39

Not too shabby... but as always, could be better.

BUT

I did get a new PR today!!!!!!! After the WOD, I decided to do 5 rounds of "let-me-see-how-many-I-can-get" double unders. I've been working these for a couple weeks now. Up until now, I've only been able to get 3 before failing.

Today though... I GOT 11! My average today was also 7.

I'll take a PR when I can get it and progress is an amazing thing. Hard work pays off!



My veggies from dinner last night: spinach salad and roasted asparagus

2 in 1

Happy Tuesday!

I forgot to post yesterday's WOD, so this will be for yestserday and today. I made the decision over the weekend that since my body has (seemingly) gotten used to the beatings a bit, I felt that I could start going to classes everyday. I may regret this decision later, especially because now I'll be getting up everyday at 5am and I don't know how I feel about that yet.

Anyways, here we go. What a way to start the week:



Mind you, the date does say 04MAR but I think it's because our brains weren't working properly yet.

I got through it deadlifting 95#. It was a bit heavy, by the last round I was only getting about two lifts unbroken. It's cool, this was supposed to be a heavy WOD. The pullups though! Those are the bane of my existence. All my life I've never been able to do an unassisted pullup. It's not happening yet, but one day. In the meantime, I'll stick with using the bands. By the end, I was so tired that I had to rig the green band. I was only getting about halfway up with the blue. Did I mention that I hate pullups? Thought so.

Not a super horrible time of 10:52... but there's always room for improvement.

Then there was today. It's a little surprising that we haven't been doing as much running around the block lately. Not that I'm complaining! I hate running, almost as much as I hate pullups. When I walked in and saw Mark, I was a little frightened. Last time Mark opened in the morning, I swear he tried to kill us. Not today though, phew! Today was shoulder day:



Me and Hilary started at 35# then worked our way up to 65#. I needed help at the end. It was tough getting that up. More so, because you naturally want to to a push press and use your legs to help get the weight started moving, but you can't. Big no no for shoulder press. This WOD I will definitely be feeling later.

I'm sure tomorrow will be the biggest struggle to get out of bed. Looking forward to it.