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Monday, January 30, 2012

January 30 WOD: Clusters

Lesson for the day: simple is not the same as easy. And what is up with these thrusters? I see them every week!

The WOD today was 21-15-9 of:

- Clusters (squat clean + thruster)
- Burpee to plate (jump onto a 25 lb plate)


Initially, I'd wanted to use the 25 lb bar, but Miggy suggested that we go a bit heavier since the workout is shorter than usual. Fine. I got the 35 lb bar. There was a 15 min cap but I was able to finish in 12:07. I know I still need to work on my form. If I'd had the energy, I would've done the skill WOD after. I actually like doing the Burgener warm-up.

Anyway, I'm slowly prepping myself for the Paleo Challenge, which starts on Feb 15. I prepared my lunch last night before going to bed: leftover roast chicken and cucumber. I also packed 2 bananas and an orange for snacking. And now I realize I'll have to do better than that or I'll quickly get bored with the diet. I'll make sure to put in more effort next time!

Sunday, January 29, 2012

Sh*t CrossFitters say


I couldn't resist. I just had to share this. Let me just say that the guys I've met at the box aren't as douchy as they ones in the video. :)

Friday, January 27, 2012

January 27 WOD: Filthy 50

Is it just me, or are the workouts at the box getting harder and harder?! Today's WOD is called "Filthy 50," and for good reason. One of the first people I met at the box was there for the class too, and he told me that the first time he did this, he met Pukie halfway through the WOD.

Anyway, the Filthy 50 is 50 reps of:

- Box jumps (Rx for girls: 20")
- Jumping pull ups
- Kettlebell swings (Rx for girls: 12 kg)
- Walking lunges
- Knees to elbow
- Push presses (Rx for girls: 35 lbs)
- Good mornings (Rx for girls: 35 lbs)
- Wall balls (Rx for girls: 14 lbs)
- Burpees
- Double unders

But. We were given non-Rx options, so we could choose to do Dirty 30 or Terrible 20. I chose to get dirty.


I used the 12" box for the box jumps, 8 kg kettlebell for the swings, 25 lb bar for the push presses and good mornings, 10 lb medicine ball for the wall balls, and did 120 single unders (can I call it that?). My time: 23:52.

And the guy who DNFed his first Filthy 50? He did it Rx and finished with the fastest time. Way to go, Chad!

Image from CFMNL's tweet

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

January 25 WOD: Anti-"Taba(ta)" Wednesday

Thrusters, my old friend, we meet again.

Following Monday's crazy WOD was today's almost equally crazy WOD. Today we did a Tabata workout, which means you do a particular exercise for as many reps as you can in 20 seconds then rest for 10 seconds, and you do 8 rounds of this. For the Tabata, we did:

- Kettlebell swings
- Push ups
- Medicine ball Russian twists
- Thrusters

Insanity Part 2
The catch is, at the end of each exercise you record the lowest rep count you got for the 8 rounds. When you're done with the WOD you add them up, and that's your score.

I used the 8 kg kettlebell for the swings, did the push ups on my knees, used the 10 lb medicine ball for the twists, and used the 25 lb bar for the thrusters.

My score: 27. It was like the Kung Hei Fat Choi WOD all over again!

Monday, January 23, 2012

January 23 WOD: Kung Hei Fa Choi!

Today's WOD was special, since it's the Chinese New Year (I guess). It was special, and it was hard! It was a partner WOD, which meant we worked in pairs completing the workout. I was paired with Jia, who's a newbie too, like me. We had to do:

- 160 thrusters (80 each)
- 160 push ups (80 each)
- 400m buddy run
- 160 sit ups (80 each)
- 160 air squats (80 each)
- 400m buddy run

Insanity
We used the 25 lb bar for the thrusters and finished in 28:07.

But wait, it didn't end there. It was another member's birthday, and since Jia and I finished last, we had to do 25 burpees for the celebrant. Happy burpee?

Sunday, January 22, 2012

January 22 WOD: More plyo

I arrived early again for the WOD. I'm such a nerd, I know. While waiting for more people to arrive, Pau helped me with my wall balls. He taught me the movement step by step, and although I still can't hit the red line, I can do them better now! Yay!!!

For the WOD, first we did 5 mins dynamic warm up indoors. A lot of jogging in place, high knees, butt kicks, and jumps. After that, we went outside to do hurdles, sprints, and different kinds of jumps. Then we went inside again to do tabata squat jumps. That's 8 sets of 20 secs squat jumps and 10 secs rest. My quads were on fire after that. Finally, we did a 1-min plank and another core exercise that looks like the bridge pose in yoga.

When I came home I had a cupcake and banana pancakes. Happiness.

Saturday, January 21, 2012

Test run

I must confess that I couldn't really call myself much of a runner these days. The last time I had an honest-to-goodness run was October 27 last year. I did 4.03 km in 33:14 (8:15 mins/km pace). In fact, last year I wasn't really that into running. And since I started doing CrossFit, I hadn't had the energy and the time to run. Plus, I'd feel so sore the day after a WOD that I'd rather just lay in bed until it was time to go to work.

But since I didn't go to the box today, I decided to run in the afternoon. I started slow - at least that's what I thought until I looked at my watch and saw I was going at a sub-8 pace... wow! I'd planned to do 5 km but my knees started feeling a little strained so I stopped after 4 km. Truth to tell, it wasn't that I was afraid I won't be able to run if I hurt my knees - I was more concerned that I won't be able to do CrossFit if I did. Yeah, I've had a drink of the kool aid and I'm hooked!

Anyway, I ended up doing 4.01 km in 29:37 (7:23 mins/km pace). My core and legs felt strong, and I wasn't as out of breath as I used to be.

Mighty pleased about this
My biased conclusion: CrossFit works! It just does. :)

Changes

Since I made a conscious effort to be more active, friends and family have been saying that I don't need to run or work out anymore because I'm already thin. I know they mean well, and I love them for that, but sometimes I just want to tell them that I'm not doing this to get thinner... I'm doing this to get stronger!

When I first started going to CrossFit MNL in November of last year, I felt so weak. I was so nervous about the WODs that I would get a tummy ache and would want to hurl every time I walked into the box, but I sucked it up. Every. Single. Time. I took it one exercise at a time, starting from the warm up. By the time I'm warmed up, I'd almost always be ready for the WOD.

Two months after joining, sometimes I still can't believe the changes I'm seeing. My tummy is a wee bit smaller, my arms are a wee bit firmer, and my leg muscles are a wee bit more defined. And it's not just the physical changes that are motivating me to keep going. I've also noticed an improvement in endurance and strength, both physical and mental. I still question myself, especially when doing a particularly challenging WOD, but I'm better able to push through mental barriers now. All that matters is that I don't quit (or die, hah).

I know a lot of people are intimidated by CrossFit but I've since learned that it's useless to try to convince them about its effectiveness unless they try it themselves. I think I've turned off quite a number of family members and friends with all my CrossFit talk so now I don't talk about it unless they ask (but you know deep inside I'm like, "Ask me! Ask me!").

Friday, January 20, 2012

January 20 WOD: Weaver

We did another Hero WOD today -- Weaver. But for newbies and learners there was Weaver Jr., which is 4 rounds of:

- 6 L-pull ups (Rx: 10)
- 10 push ups (Rx: 15)
- 12 chest to bar pull ups (Rx: 15)
- 10 push ups (Rx: 15)
- 16 pull ups (Rx: 20)
- 10 push ups (Rx: 15)

Menu for the day: Weaver, Mrs. Weaver, Baby Weaver, or Weaver Jr.
For the L-pull ups, I had to do 10 pull ups first then 6 knees-to-chest. I did knee push ups and used the green band at first for the pull ups, but Pau made me use the black one after the second round (which made it sooo much easier).

Time cap for non-Rxers was 25 mins and I finished in 21:36. My arms are shot.

And in other news, I must be crazy... because I just signed up for the Paleo Challenge! I don't have a partner yet but they said they can look for one for me.

That's my name in green, see?
I've been reading up on it, and one of the things that intimidates me is the high probability that I would need to shop wisely for food and prepare my meals myself -- two things that I've always been too lazy to do. Let's just see how this goes...

Wednesday, January 18, 2012

January 18 WOD: Wittman

Today was one of those "Hero" WOD days. In CrossFit, when we say Hero WOD, it means the WOD is named after a fallen soldier who was killed in the line of duty. Hero WODs are more difficult, more ardous, and they serve as a memorial for these brave people.

We did "Wittman" today, which was 7 rounds of:

- 15 kettlebell swings (KBS)
- 15 power cleans
- 15 box jumps


Being the newbie that I am, my workout was scaled way down. I used the 8 kg kettlebell for the KBS, the 35 lb bar for the power cleans, and the 12-inch box for the box jumps.

I finished in 21:31. That was hard! 105 box jumps!!!

Anyway, I weighed myself after the workout and saw that I've gained but my body fat percentage is down from 23.3% in December to 21.5%. I sure hope the gain is from muscles.

Monday, January 16, 2012

January 16 WOD: Clean the plates

Since I am on leave and have the luxury of time just for today, I attended the 12:30 class. I arrived too early, as usual so to keep my body warmed up I practiced doing double unders. I get the instructions and in my mind I have an idea of how to do it, but my body doesn't want to cooperate. During the whole time I practiced I was able to do maybe 4 or 5, but not consecutive ones. Bah.


Anyway, we did strength today. First we had to do 2-2-2-2-2-2 (6 sets of 2 reps):

- Power cleans

For this, we started light and added weights till we had to squat clean them. That's how you know you've maxed. First set, I did 45 lbs; second set, 55 lbs; third set, 65 lbs. After that, I couldn't even squat clean 75 lbs.

After that, we did 8 rounds of the following, Tabata style:

- 20 sec plate taps (you clean the plate and jerk it overhead)
- 10 sec rest
- 20 sec lateral plate jumps (with the plate on the floor, you jump from one side to the other)
- 10 sec rest

I used the Rxed 25 lb plate. Total reps: 95.

Sunday, January 15, 2012

January 15 WOD: Lots of plyo

I attended the 4 pm class today, not knowing that Sundays were plyo (short for "plyometric exercise") days. There was no prescribed number of rounds or prescribed time duration for the entire WOD.

We did 5 kinds of exercises:

- Running drills (like butt kicks, high knees, etc.)
- Square jumps
- Sprint with an elastic band (you wear it around your waist and your partner pulls on you while you run)
- Tennis ball push ups (toss the ball, do a push up while it bounces once, and catch it)
- Squat jumps

Needless to say, I was breathless and sweating like a pig by the end of the WOD.

Friday, January 13, 2012

January 13 WOD: Journey

Today's WOD was called Journey. We had to do:

- 100 overhead squats (OHS) for time, and 3 burpees on the minute every minute


That means, I realized belatedly while we were already at it, that the longer it takes for you to get those 100 OHS in, the more burpees you do -- gotta love those burpees. There were only 4 of us today, and Pau and Matt kept count of our reps. We had to tell them how many reps we did just before we do the burpees.

I used the 15 lb bar and finished in 8:49 mins. Hello, jello legs!

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

January 11 WOD: "I wish it was just Cindy"

While I was warming up, Miggy approached me and said he had bad news for me: they're doing away with the 10 am class. NOOOO!!! I think they're still trying to figure things out, but I hope they keep my class!

Back to the WOD. Just by looking at the warm up (which included a 250m row and 200 jump rope, among other things), I knew it was going to be a challenging WOD. And when I saw that they called it "I wish it was just Cindy," that confirmed it.


We had 10 mins to do:

- 50 kettlebell swings, then AMRAP of:
- 5 chest-to-bar pull ups
- 10 hand-release push ups (feet on 35/45 lb plate)
- 15 front squats

Then at the end, we counted how many reps we were able to do in total. I used a 12 kg kettlebell and a green band for the pull ups. Before starting, we were told that the squats were regular squats with no weights. But just as we finished, Miggy realized that we were supposed to have used weights, and would we like to do it again? Nobody agreed. Just doing those kettlebell swings almost did it for me. Who invented those things anyway?

My total score: 124. Fail. On the board, I saw someone was able to do 215, and a girl I know did 180. Wow.

Anyway, Paleo Challenge Partner Edition is coming up at the box, and I'm toying with the idea of joining. The prize is a trip to somewhere. I've been wanting to try Paleo but I'm afraid to let go of bread, pasta, and sweets.


I shall think about it veeerrrry well.

Monday, January 9, 2012

January 9 WOD: Good to be back

My last workout was one week ago. I had fully intended to go to the box yesterday for the afternoon class but my son got sick.

Anyway, today we did another descending ladder workout. We had to do 10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 sets of:

- Squat cleans (Rx was 65 lbs)
- Pull ups
- 4-count mountain climbers

So actually, for the mountain climbers, we had to do 40 for the first set of 10 reps, then 36, then 32, and so on. It looks like this, but you have to do it fast, as if you were running:
For the squat cleans I used the 25 lb bar, and for the pull ups I used the green band.

My time: 15:07.

Monday, January 2, 2012

January 2 WOD: Starting the year right

The family is leaving for Boracay on Wednesday, so I won't get to work out until maybe Saturday or Sunday. Today's WOD was quite simple, and the coach explained that's because he wants to ramp up the intensity. We were asked to choose if we were doing WOD A or B. The exercises were the same, except that there were more reps in B. Of course, I chose A. :) We did 15 mins AMRAP of:

- 3 pull ups
- 6 push ups
- 9 squats
- 20 double unders (or 40 singles)

I did band-assisted pull ups using the green band, push ups on my knees, and 40 singles. Part of the warm up was scap pull ins, where you start from a dead hang position and push your shoulders down then raise your chest. I think that helped me with the pull ups, and -- dare I say it -- I think I'm getting better at it. It's just putting on the band that's difficult.

Anyway, I was able to do 9 rounds + 3 pull ups. Yay, me!