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Friday, September 28, 2012

Sep 28 WOD: Isabel and lunch with the moms' class

It's another benchmark day! We met Grace's best friend, Isabel today. We were given a time cap of 15 minutes to do:

- 30 snatches (Rx: 95 lbs)


I set up a 45 lb bar and practiced and decided that I was going to stick with that. Then Coach Jordan encouraged me to add a little more weight since he said I got the technique right (aww, he's so nice). So I did, and worked with a 50 lb bar.

My time: 5:38.

For the cash out, we did Turkish get-ups. Well, more like practiced doing them. I got the lightest kettlebell (8 kg), but I couldn't do the step-by-step movements so Jordan had us practicing the movements instead. We balanced a shoe atop our fist, and we had to make sure that it stayed balanced.

After that, we all hurried to get to Pao's house, where he had the most sumptuous (non-paleo) lunch prepared for us. He served asado, beef brisket, poached salmon, chips with homemade salsa, and teppanyaki ice cream (vanilla ice cream with fruits sautéed in butter). Sooo good!

Teppanyaki ice cream
The "moms' class" with honorary moms Dorothy, Tin, and Pao
(photo grabbed from Tin)
What a great way to end the week!

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Sep 26 WOD: Team WOD + Wendler

Strength: Shoulder press

Well, this caps the second week of my second cycle. So far, so good.

Warm up: 3 x 45

70% x 3 = 3 x 40
80% x 3 = 3 x 45
90% x 3+ = 7 x 50



Team WOD

I almost flaked on this WOD. It was posted on the website last night and I got a sinking feeling when I saw that it was a team WOD. And when I got to the box, all I could think about was how I mustn't screw it up. As you can see, I tend to take CrossFit a tad too seriously. :)

For the workout, we were split into teams of 3, and I got teamed with Hansel and Lady. As a team, we were to do 15 sets of the 3 exercises (that's 5 sets each):

- 15 wall balls (Rx: 14 lbs)
- Kettlebell swings (Rx: 16 kg)
- Box jumps (Rx: 18")



Here's how it worked: One person does the wall balls while one does the KBS and the other does the box jumps. Whoever does the wall balls was the pacer, and as long as the pacer was working, the other 2 need to keep going. The score is the total number of KBS and box jumps. The catch was, we had to do the 15 reps of wall balls unbroken. We did it, though!

Our score: 342, done in 12:32.


Monday, September 24, 2012

Sep 24 WOD: Snatch balance + Wendler

Strength: Back squats

Lazy Monday back squats...

Warm up: 3 x 45; 3 x 65

70% x 3 = 3 x 80
80% x 3 = 3 x 95
90% x 3+ = 4 x 105


Sometimes I wonder what my face looks like when I'm working out. Then again, maybe it's better not to know!


WOD

1) Snatch balance. We were given 20 minutes to find our 1RM. My sets:

1 x 35
1 x 45
1 x 50
1 x 55
1 x 60

Snatching is another thing that scares me. There's something about having a wide snatch grip that makes me feel insecure and vulnerable. I often feel like I'll lose my balance and I'll get bonked on the head by a heavy barbell. Anyway, I only made it until 55 lbs. I tried snatching 60 lbs twice and failed. Coach Jordan said it was because I wasn't fully extending my hips before I drove the bar up. Hips, hips, hips. Everything is about the hips!


2) 10 mins AMRAP of:

- 7 thrusters (Rx: 95 lbs)
- 7 burpees


I used 45 lbs for the thrusters and I'm so happy because I was able to do the sets unbroken! Even though towards the end my form had gone out the window and my legs were burning! For this workout, I don't know which sucked more - the thrusters or the burpees.

My score: 6 + 3 burpees.

Friday, September 21, 2012

Sep 21 WOD: Triplet AMRAP + Wendler

Strength: Dead lifts

For the first time since starting on Wendler, I was scurred to do dead lifts. It's my 2nd week into the 2nd cycle and the weights keep getting piled on. Well, you know what they say...

(source)
Warm up: 3 x 45; 3 x 65; 3 x 85

70% x 3 = 3 x 115
80% x 3 = 3 x 130
90% x 3+ = 4 x 145


Pre-CrossFit, I thought lifting meant simply picking up something heavy. Now I know better. You need to engage your brain the entire time to make sure you don't do anything dumb. You need to visualize what you're going to do so your brain can tell your body what it's supposed to do. Not so simple.


WOD

Another TGIF workout! Woooohoooooo!!! On the menu today was 12 mins AMRAP of:

- 7 bar-facing burpees
- 7 power snatches (Rx: 80 lbs)
- 7 front rack lunges (same weight as snatch weight)


I'm sure someone before me has already thought of calling bar-facing burpees "barfees". Blech! Before the workout, Jordan emphasized that both feet should leave the ground and land at the same time. For the lunges, it was one leg = one lunge). I used 45 lbs for the snatches and the lunges because I'm not super confident and happy about my form yet. I still can't get the shrug! Grrr.

My score: 4 + 3 snatches.

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Easy peasy pancakes

Don't laugh, but I went on a special trip to the grocery just to get bananas for my new favorite, two-ingredient pancakes (whose recipe I got from Carrots 'n Cake, remember?). The first time I made them, they didn't look so pretty because I couldn't flip them well. But I'm able to do it better now.


Two-ingredient Pancakes
(makes 2)

1 medium-sized banana
1 egg

  1. Preheat a little bit of coconut oil in a nonstick pan over low-medium heat.
  2. Mash the banana very well.
  3. Crack the egg into the mashed banana and mix thoroughly. Like, really thoroughly. Otherwise, you might end up with a banana omelet.
  4. Pour half of the batter in the pan and cook for 3-5 minutes, then flip and cook for another 3 minutes. Cook the rest of the batter.
I like topping it with coconut butter.

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Sep 19 WOD: Cindy + Wendler

Strength: Shoulder press

I finally was able to push the laziness aside and continue with the Wendler. My sets:

65% x 5 = 5 x 35
75% x 5 = 5 x 40
85% x 5+ = 10 x 45



WOD

We've done the "Mini-Cindy" and "I wish it was just Cindy" in the past, and today I met the real Cindy. It's 20 mins AMRAP of:

- 5 pull ups
- 10 hand release push ups
- 15 squats


I used the ever-reliable blue band for the pull ups. I was able to do man push ups for the first 4 sets or so, and after that my arms started getting fatigued so I did girl push ups... and in the last set I started worming it.

My score: 12 + 10 HRPU.

In other news, I signed up for the Brave Mudders trail run on Oct 21 at Nuvali. Gulp, and double gulp!

(source)
I haven't run for the longest time. For the longest time! The only time I run is when the WOD calls for it. So signing up for this was kind of a big deal for me. One of the biggest issues I have is the shoes I'm going to wear!


It was announced that we'll be divided into different teams. I only hope I won't let my team down!

Monday, September 17, 2012

Sep 17 WOD: Power cleans

After being away for 4 days, I'm back with a vengeance! And I loved today's workout! Well, the first part at least. We were given 20 minutes to do 5 x 1 power cleans (you know how I love to clean). My sets:

1 x 55
1 x 65
1 x 75
1 x 85
1 x 95
1 x 105
1 x 100



I was already done with the 5 sets and saw I still had time, so I thought I'd keep going. I tried cleaning 105, and when I wasn't able to do it, I went down to 100. I tried and failed twice. Then Coach Jordan told me not to hurry and try one more time. So on the last minute, I tried again -- and I did it! Maybe it's the Wendler at work!


After that, it was time for the cash out, which was the Freddy Krueger WOD: 21-15-9 of:

- Kettlebell swings (Rx: 24 kg)
- Burpees

I used 16 kg for the KBS and finished in 5:35.

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Sep 12 WOD: EMOM + Wendler

WOD

The WOD came first today, and I did Wendler after the workout. On the menu: every minute on the minute (EMOM) for 10 minutes of:

- 3 muscle ups
- 5 box jumps (Rx: 18")

After that, there's a 3 minute rest, then tabata abs:

- Sit ups
- Russian twists (Rx: 14 lbs)


I did 6 kneeling muscle ups instead, and used an 18" box. For the Russian twists, I used a 15 lb plate.


My scores: 10/7/8.


Strength: Back squats

So Coach Jordan shared a back squatting tip with me today because I told him I sometimes have trouble coming up from the squat (or, as I learned it's called, "getting out of the hole") when doing heavier weights. He told me to use the momentum coming down to create a little bounce when I get to the bottom... and it worked!

Warm up: 3 x 45; 3 x 65

65% x 5 = 5 x 75
75% x 5 = 5 x 90
85% x 5+ = 6 x 100

I just love the feeling of finishing a challenging strength workout!


"Feeling alive is way more fun than being scared."

Monday, September 10, 2012

Sep 10 WOD: Triplet love

Sometimes I think it's better that I don't check the WOD before going to the box. On one hand, I like knowing what to expect, but there's a tendency for me to overthink what I'm supposed to do for the workout. And what's the use of stressing out over the inevitable?

Today's workout was 40-25-10 of:

- Wall balls (Rx: 14 lbs)
- Pull ups
- Double unders

I used a 10 lb ball for the wall balls and the blue band for the pull ups. Also, I've lost my DUs -- has anyone seen it??! This workout was a mess. I kept missing my wall ball target, and most importantly, I couldn't string double unders. WTH!? Am I being punished for not practicing as often as I used to (and should have)?

Mercifully, I finished just under the time cap of 20 minutes with 19:52.

I'll take today's workout over the paleo challengers' any day, though. They had to do 1000 burpees! No, I didn't make a mistake and typed an extra zero. When I arrived at the box at 9 am, they were maybe halfway through it, and when I left at around 12 pm, they were still at it. That makes me glad I didn't join this edition of the challenge!

Friday, September 7, 2012

My new favorite paleo snack

Now that singkamas is not available anywhere anymore, my new go-to snack whenever I have the munchies is carrot sticks. I get baby carrots because they're sweeter, and I probably consume about 4 everyday. So when one day I get 20/20 vision you know it was the carrots that did it. :)

Just today, I discovered something that makes it even more of a pleasure to eat. I brought a small tub of coconut butter because my big jar of coconut butter was languishing in the pantry and I thought I could eat it by the spoonful when I got bored at work. Then I remembered my carrots and tried dipping a stick in coconut butter. Y-U-M-M-Y! Then again, they do say that coconut butter makes everything yummy.

You have to try it.


Sep 7 WOD: Bar complex + Wendler Day 13

Strength: Dead lifts

After some dilly-dallying, I finally started my 2nd cycle of the Wendler 5/3/1. I did what I read on some websites and added 10 lbs to my working 1RM (that is, 90% of my 1RM).

Warm up: 3 x 45; 3 x 65; 3 x 85

65% x 5 = 5 x 105
75% x 5 = 5 x 120
85% x 5 = 7 x 135


People started coming in as I was finishing up and I totally forgot about doing assistance lifts.


WOD

I noticed that I complain too much. I complain about everything. It's become a habit and sometimes I don't even notice that I'm doing it. So I've resolved to stop complaining and just do what needs to be done because complaining won't get the job done.

Today's workout was fun, although a little bitin.

Buy in: 7 muscle ups

Then, 5 rounds of:

- 5 hang power cleans (Rx: 115, the same for all 3 exercises)
- 4 front squats
- 3 shoulder to overheads (press, push press, or push jerk)

Cash out: 7 muscle ups


Since nobody in the class could do muscle ups yet, we did 14 kneeling muscle ups and 14 jumping muscle ups. (Are muscle ups the new double unders at the box?) I like how the coaches are slowly easing us into more challenging exercises. My WOD-mates and I were just talking about how before the prescribed height for girls' box jumps used to be 18", and now it's 24"! And the prescribed weight for girls' overhead lifts used to be 95 lbs, and now it's 115 lbs.

I used a 55 lb bar for the exercises. It was too light for the cleans and front squats, but just right for the push jerks. Although I could've gone a tad heavier - maybe 60 lbs? Shoulda, coulda, woulda. Bah.

My time: 5:52.


Gerard (aka G) is celebrating his birthday today, and as if to make a statement, he went Rx! Good job, G!

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Sep 5 WOD

Today's workout went much, much better than last Monday's. True, I felt like dying many times while doing it (I've lost count now how many times I've associated workouts with dying -- and of course, this won't be the last!), but I did it!

(image from wordboner.com)
Nothing like the fear of DNF-ing to propel you through a WOD, huh. I loved today's workout, though. We had to do a combination of ascending then descending ladder workout. Can I call it a pyramid workout? Anyway. The sets were 4-6-8-10-12-10-8-6-4 of:

- Kettlebell swings (Rx: 24 kg)
- Box jumps (Rx: 24")
- Burpees


I used a 16 kg kettlebell and the prescribed 24" box. I thought the burpees would get me, but I managed to finish within the 20 minute time cap. My time: 17:29.


I had planned to start the second cycle of the Wendler, but traffic was sooo very bad and I got to the box at 9:30 -- too late for a strength workout.

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Sep 3 WOD: Back squats

Yesterday's workout was disappointing. We were given 20 minutes to find our back squat 1RM. My sets:

- 3 x 45 lbs
- 3 x 65 lbs
- 1 x 85 lbs
- 1 x 105 lbs
- 1 x 115 lbs (failed)

I tried the 115 lbs twice and failed twice. And after that there was no more time for a third attempt.

Note to self:
(source)
I'll be back for you, back squats. Just you wait.

Cash out was 5 mins AMRAP of:

- 8 laps shuttle run
- 4 laps bear crawl
- 2 laps broad jump

The bear crawl was fun! No, actually, the cash out was fun. My score: 1 + 3 laps bear crawl.