Jun 29 WOD: KMN* triplet

Nah, the workout didn't really have a name. It just said on the board that we had to do 21-15-9 of the following:

- Front squats (Rx: 65 lbs)

- Burpees

- Pull ups

 

I used 55 lbs for the front squats and the blue band for the pull ups (I wish there were such a thing as an assisted burpee!). Can I just say that I wanted to punch the wall after the first set? But I survived. And I was happy that I'd stuck with the 55 lb bar and hadn't scaled down to 45 lbs after the first set.

My time: 13:50.

After the workout, I worked on my double unders yet again. I kept working on them until my knuckles were bruised and I had welts on my arms. It was worth it because I could string up to 5 together now!

Can you see the red marks? They don't look this bad anymore, though.

*Just in case you don't know, KMN = Kill me now!

Favorite fitness pins

I love Pinterest. It never fails to give me a perk during a blah, monotonous day. I have a fitness board onto which I pin motivational quotes and photos. Thought I'd share some of my favorites:

Do work!
(source)

I admit I'm afraid to step out of my comfort zone.
(source)

Repeat AMRAP: Make the mind run the body.
(source)

Stop the BS.
(Internet file photo)

I love this community!
(source)

Jun 27 WOD: Good day to tabata

Today is a milestone in my short CrossFitting life: I did double unders during an actual workout! I didn't really have much of a choice because it was either double unders or squat jumps, and I sure as heck would rather no rep doing DUs than do those.

We did another tabata workout today with these 4:

- Kettlebell swings (Rx: 16 kg)
- Box jumps (18")
- Toes to bar / knees to elbows
- Double unders

Again, I did all as prescribed except the knees to elbows because I used a box for jumping off. Jordan still considered them Rx'd, though, and he put a tiny little "Rx" beside my name on the board. I felt so proud!

The breakdown

My score: 231. I was in the lower bottom of the class and I've never felt prouder. I think this line from a post by one of my favorite paleo bloggers helped me:

Think before you lift. Concentrate and vizualize what you want from that workout. And listen to your body with every pull of the bar. With every squat. With every swing. Your brain can do wonders for you. So let it.

Jun 25 WOD: Some days are good; others aren't

It must've been all the bread I ate during the weekend. Well, the bread and all the other non-paleo stuff I had, too (pasta, coffee float from Jollibee, among others). What? I can't resist pandesal with butter and/or peanut butter! Anyway, I shouldn't make excuses for my shoddy performance today.

The workout was 5 rounds of:

- 10 overhead squats (baby Rx: 45 lbs)
- 10 burpee pull ups

I went with the prescribed baby Rx of 45 lbs but after 2 rounds I scaled down to 35 because I'd dropped the bar a couple of times and... I was just afraid I wouldn't be able to finish within the 15 min time cap. I scaled down further after the 3rd round and did front squats instead.

For the burpee pull ups, Jordan told us we could do 10 burpees first, then 10 jumping pull ups.

My time: 13:58.

As if that wasn't enough, I let myself get talked into joining the boot camp class by Tricia and Lady. The workout was a 3-person team workout, and we had to do 20 mins AMRAP of:

- 100 jump rope
- PVC overhead squat
- Medicine ball sit ups

The score is the total number of reps for the OHS and MB sit ups. We scored 509, and so my legs feel a little bit like jelly now.

Jun 22 WOD: Almost Rx'd!

I purposely went to the box early to work on my double unders. Yes, again. And you know what? It paid off! Because now I'm able to string together 3! I'm not able to do it consistently yet, but I will soon.

After 20 mins of practicing, I was already drenched in sweat and it was time to warm up for the WOD. It was 15 mins AMRAP of:

- 15 elevated hand-release push ups (with feet on a 45 lb plate)
- 12 kettlebell swings (Rx: 16 kg)
- 9 knees to elbows
- 6 box jumps (Rx: 18")

I did all but 3 exercises as Rx'd. Heck, yeah! I just couldn't do knees to elbows yet. I dared to do push ups with my feet on a 2" plate and no longer on my knees for the first time -- and it felt great! For the knees to elbows, Jordan had us stand on tall boxes so our arms would be bent when we hold the bar. He said we should push off of the box then bring up our knees to touch our elbows. I was able to do it only several times. Le sigh. Always new things to learn.

My score: 5 + 9 kettlebell swings.

Jun 20 WOD: CFMNL Throwdown 3.2

I was actually excited to go to the box today because I wanted to work on my double unders. Lala had posted a video of herself finally doing it after days and days of practicing, and I was so inspired!

(source)

She said she just kept practicing everyday, and Jordan was there to help her. She's living proof that persistence trumps talent!

Anyway. Today's workout was a little different. We were given 10 mins to do sets of 15-12-9 of:

- Thrusters
- Chest to bar pull ups

After completing that, we were to do AMRAP lateral burpees (do a burpee, jump over the bar, then jump back) with the remaining time until the 10 mins is over. The number of burpees done is the score.

I used a 45 lb bar for the thrusters and the green band for the chest to bars. My score: 23.

After the workout, I continued working on my double unders with Jordan. He kept giving me pointers, and finally I was able to string 2 together!!! So happy!

I was very hungry by the time I got to the office so I had my simple paleo lunch of sweet potato hash and seasoned ground beef with fried eggplant slices. Now all I need is coffee.

Jun 18 WOD: CFMNL Throwdown 3.1

Everyone seems obsessed with double unders these days, and it probably has a lot to do with the throwdown. Whenever I look at the board to check the workout, people have to do DUs either during the workout itself or the warm up. So I shouldn't have been surprised to see that we had to do it again today.

The workout was 12 mins AMRAP of:

- 5 squat cleans
- 25 double unders

I know this is just me being a wuss again, but even though I can already do a few double unders, I still chose to go with 125 singles (Coach said we have to do 25x5 singles) because I didn't want to NOT finish a round. I need to keep working on it so I can one day Rx a workout! For this workout, I used a 55 lb bar.

My score: 5 rounds + 25 singles.

On Wednesday, I think I'll be ready to start the Wendler 5-3-1 program. But first, I need to figure out exactly what weights to use and how to go about it. It sounds simple enough, though.

Jun 15 WOD: Tabata FGB

What do you get when you mash up 2 challenging workouts? Twenty minutes of torture.

We did a combination of the Tabata and Fight Gone Bad (FGB), and it was 8 sets of 20 seconds on, 10 seconds off of the following:

- Wall balls
- Sumo dead lift high pulls
- Box jumps
- Push presses
- Double unders

I did the workout as Rx'd except for the double unders (darn them). For those who did singles, the score is divided by 5. The final score is computed by adding the total number of reps you did for each exercise.

The breakdown

It was SO hard (but then, don't I say that every time?). A lot of CrossFit movements hinge on what they call "explosive hips," which basically means having powerful hip extension. The coaches keep saying that we get power from the hips, which makes sense when you hear it but is more difficult when you try to apply it. Now I know that I have to start being aware of these hips when I perform movements.

Anyway. My score: 277.

Jun 13 WOD: Gwen

I'm not sure if the WOD was a benchmark workout because Gwen doesn't appear on the list of Girls on the main site. Anyway, Gwen is sets of 15-12-9 reps of clean and jerks. The catch: once you pick up the bar, you have to keep going until you complete the set. You cannot re-grip the bar when it's on the ground, and you also cannot clean the bar from the hang position.

So many instructions! I think the box needs a bigger board.

I used 45 lbs for the first set, 50 lbs for the second set, and 55 lbs for the third set.

My score: 1,770.

A couple of throwdown athletes joined us in the workout today and they absolutely killed it! The Libis box is in the lead and we might take Workout 2.2 as well!

Jun 11 WOD: Pick your poison

Level unlocked: blue band for the pull ups. I am stoked! I know I kept putting off moving up to the blue band, but seeing all the changes in those around me who are so focused on and obsessed with the throwdown, I guess their enthusiasm rubbed off. And I felt like today was a good day to do it. I mean, what better way to start the week than doing something you thought you couldn't?

Today, we had another ascending ladder workout similar to what we did last time. We had to choose 2 of the following exercises and do them every minute on the minute:

- Chest to bar pull ups

- Toes to bar

- Knees to elbows

- Burpees

- Box jumps

I chose the CTB pull ups and knees to elbows (and then eventually knees to chest). I also combined the pull ups and box jumps for a few rounds, but I stayed away from burpees. As I was using the blue band for the first time in a workout, the coaches agreed to let me do regular pull ups instead of chest to bar pull ups. I tried to put my head up over the bar as much as possible, but I started having difficulty going into the 7th round. I'm still glad I finally got the guts to move up one color. Progress!

My score: 9 rounds + some reps (I didn't know we were supposed to remember how many reps we did in the failed round -- not paying attention to the coach).

Jun 9 WOD: CFMNL Throwdown 1.3

It's Day 3 of the CrossFit MNL Throwdown, and when I got to the box for the afternoon class, preparations for the throwdown were in full swing. There was ice, 2 water stations, and even "photographers" (a.k.a. people who brought cameras) for the event. Everyone was in high spirits and just a wee bit nervous about the workout. Okay, they were tense, anxious, and maybe taking the throwdown too seriously! Then again, that's what we do. We always take workouts very seriously (even if the coaches say it's just another WOD).

We had to do:

- 400m run
- 21 dead lifts (Rx: 95)

I used only 75 lbs for the dead lift. My time: 18:34.

So I had an epiphany while doing today's WOD: I suck at running. While Coach Pau was explaining the workout earlier, he said that if we suck at running, we should recover when we do the dead lifts; if we suck at dead lifts, we should recover during the run. Apparently, I suck at running because I found myself looking forward to the dead lifts at the end of the run.

While running, I kept asking, "Why do I do this to myself?" But now that I have my rose-colored glasses on and I'm sitting comfortably in my air-conditioned room, I can say that was a fun workout.

Jun 8 WOD: Hope

Today's workout is the same one that's on the main CF site today. It's called "Hope," and athletes are doing it as a fundraiser for a children's hospital in the US.

We had to do 3 rounds of the following exercises, trying to put in as many reps as we could in one minute:

- Burpees
- Snatches (Rx: 55 lbs)
- Box jumps
- Thrusters (Rx: 55 lbs)
- Chest to bar pull ups

You add up all your reps, and that's your score. Since we'd only ever done snatches with the PVC pipe, we practiced doing them using 25 and 35 lb bars. I didn't feel too confident about my form so I went with the 25 lb bar. For the box jumps, I used an 18" box, and for the thrusters, I used a 35 lb bar.

My score: 172. Well, more or less. I lost count somewhere in the 3rd round.

The workout uses the same format as another CrossFit workout called Fight Gone Bad. I haven't done that yet, but this Hope workout sure hecka feels like a fight gone bad (if I were into MMA or BJJ or any of those sports).

Jun 6 WOD: Partner Angie + Throwdown fever!

I'd been dreading the workout ever since I heard from Tricia and Tere that we were doing Angie today (another benchmark girl). We had to do the following for time:

- 100 pull ups

- 100 hand release push ups

- 100 sit ups

- 100 squats

Turns out that it wasn't so bad because they made it a partner WOD. I was paired with Tere, and only one partner at a time could do the exercise.

My weaknesses are push ups and sit ups so I made sure I did good on the pull ups (using the green band, of course). Our strategy was we did as many as we could, and when we felt like we couldn't do any more the other one would take over. I don't think it worked as well as we hoped it would because of the 3 teams, we finished last. Our time: 11:14.

When we were done, it was the throwdown athletes' turn to workout. First pair up was Jobett and Joanna (who did really well), and after them came Gerard and Hansel, then Ann and Yoshi.

A lot of girls came out to show support for Gerard, who was dying of nervousness from the immense pressure of having to do pull ups with no band. In the end, he was able to do 3 and Hansel did the rest.
Gerard went from using the beginners' black band to using none -- how amazing is that?!

All smiles as we wait for the show (photo grabbed from Tin F.)

We were fairly confident that Ann and Yoshi would do great, and of course, they did. While they were at it, all of us were going wild cheering them on. They absolutely crushed Angie to bits. It was like watching an exciting game up close. This is, after all, the sport of fitness.

Jun 4 WOD: Triplet

Seeing tweets about the throwdown between the Libis and Fort boxes makes me regret not having joined. I think CrossFit has awakened the competitive side of me. Anyway, I didn't join because one of the requirements was that you have to be able to use the blue band for the pull ups, and we all know that I haven't quite graduated from the green band yet. Also, I was too chicken.

Yesterday's workout was 10 rounds of:

- 3 dead lifts (Rx: 70% of 1 RM)
- 6 burpees
- 9 toes to bar

I would've done this workout as prescribed if I had been able to do toes to bar. But I can't even do knees to elbows yet, so I had to settle for doing knees to chest. My 1 RM for dead lifts is 170 lbs, so 70% is 119 lbs but I chose to do 115 lbs instead.

My score: 14:40.

I had paleo "cereal" this morning. Inspired by CupcakesOMG's post, I assembled sliced bananas, raisins, and chopped walnuts in a bowl. Then I poured coconut milk and about a tablespoon of coconut nectar. It made me miss regular cereal less. And really, you can "paleo-fy" regular recipes with a little bit of imagination.

Coconutty coffee

I started taking my coffee black with no sugar when I went paleo, but I discovered something that allowed me to have (somewhat) creamy coffee again: coconut cream!

Creamy looking coffee

Don't be fooled by the photo above, though. The cream doesn't integrate that well with the coffee so it rises to the top. But I like it because I taste the coconutty flavor whenever I take a sip.

I've tried putting a few tablespoons of Ayam coconut cream and a couple of teaspoons of coconut sugar in my coffee and I liked how it turned out. And just today, I tried putting powdered coconut cream instead of liquid coconut cream in my coffee. It tasted just as good. This was the brand I tried:

Kara coconut cream powder

When I was at the grocery, I checked the ingredients of all the available coconut creams and milks there (both liquid and powdered), and none of them were wholly paleo, so I chose the one that had the least number of ingredients.

Contains 80% coconut extract, which isn't bad

This is the coconut sugar I put in my coffee. I also use it for baking paleo goodies.

Benevita organic coconut sugar

A look at the back label:

Coconut sugar is also great for diabetics

Coconuts are my best friend. It's amazing how many food products can come from just one plant. Think about it: coconut sugar, coconut milk, coconut cream, coconut butter, coconut water, coconut meat, coconut flakes, and coconut nectar. It makes me thankful that I live in the Philippines where coconuts are in abundance.

I just wish that producers would make their products widely available locally. As it is, I've had to search far and wide to obtain these products. Like you wouldn't believe. Coconut butter and coconut nectar were more complicated to find, but I was able to source them eventually. The producers probably don't think that the market is big enough here so they prefer to export their products, and that's just too bad.

Jun 1 WOD: Death by couplet

I know the WOD name sounds scary, but really, it's not. The workout took less than 10 minutes and not a few complained that it was bitin. We're masochists, we are.

On the board, the workout looks complicated, but it's really just an ascending ladder workout in 30-second increments. So, on the first 30 secs, you do 1 squat and 1 burpee. On the second 30 secs, 2 squats and 2 burpees. On the third 30 secs, 3 squats and 3 burpees. And this goes on until you're not able to complete a set.

My score: 6. I was done in 3 mins. Lame. The warm up took longer than that!

So after the workout, Soleil and I tried doing yesterday's WOD, which was hang squat cleans. I was disappointed when I maxed out at 75 lbs, since my PR is 95 lbs.

We took a class picture by the pull up bars...

Top row: Isabelle, Ann, me, Soleil, Tin
Bottom row: Doray, Tricia, Gerard, Tere
(photo thanks to Tin)

... then we went to have coffee at Starbucks. Good way to end the work week!