February 4 WOD: BS and Mini Cindy

A. SWOD

Back squats

Set 1: 6 x 60% x 75#
Set 2: 4 x 70% x 85#
Set 3: 2 x 80% x 100#
Set 4: Max reps x 85% x 105#

Rest 3 minutes in between sets.

B. Metcon

Mini Cindy

8 minutes AMRAP:
5 pull ups
10 push ups
15 squats

You know that brief period of amnesia when your mind is a total blank and you can't remember what the WOD was the day before and why you feel sore? I don't know if it's an age thing or I'm just really forgetful. Sometimes I can't tell anymore which movement made whichever part of my body sore. Or maybe it's just a CrossFit thing.

I feel like my pull ups are finally coming together. But I need to remind myself to keep my feet together the whole time when I'm hanging on to the bar, even when kipping (maybe especially when kipping).


My score: 105# (8 reps back squat); 5 + 8 push ups Rx

January 21 WOD: Back squats and a quickie

A. Strength

Back squats

Set 1: 6 x 45-55%
Set 2: 4 x +10%
Set 3: 2 x +10%
Set 4: Max reps x -5% of Set 3

B. Metcon

AMRAP 2 minutes

6 thrusters (115/75#)
6 box jump overs (24/20")
6 hand release push ups

Rest 4 minutes, then repeat.

The strength part of the WOD was exactly the same as last Tuesday's, except that we were supposed to go heavier.

My score: 12 reps (90#); 2 rounds + 3 thrusters; 2 rounds (55#; 18")

January 14 WOD: Another deadly couplet

A. SWOD

Back squats
Set 1: 1 x 6 (45-55%)
Set 2: 1 x 4 (+10%)
Set 3: 1 x 2 (+10%)
Set 4: Max reps (-5% of Set 3)

B. Metcon

For time (12 minute cap):

20 thrusters (95/65#)
10 toes to bar
15 thrusters
8 toes to bar
10 thrusters
6 toes to bar
5 thrusters
4 toes to bar

I shared a bar with Amie for the back squats. We did 65# for Set 1, 75# for Set 2, 90# for Set 3, and 85# for Set 4. As for the metcon, you can probably tell just by looking at it that it was nasty. I did knees to elbows instead of TTB and I'm proud to say that most were legit reps. It was only during the last set of KTE that I wasn't able to make my knees and elbows meet (sorry, Coach!).


My score: 15 reps (85#); 9:27 (55#)

Nov 14 WOD: BS

A. SWOD

5 x 3 back squats (rest 3 minutes after each set; stay within 75-85%)

B. Metcon

For time (8 minute cap):
21-15-9
Pull ups
Burpee to 45# plate

I did the first set of pull ups Rx'd but by the second set I'd decided to do jumping pull ups instead. Still DNFed though.


My score: 115# (back squat); 7 burpees to plate (yes, 2 reps shy of completing!)

Oct 25 WOD: Back squat

A. SWOD

Back squat
1 x 5 x 95#
1 x 3 x 110#
1 x 1 x 135#
1 x 5 x 110#
1 x 3 x 135#

B. Metcon

Ring dips (100/70; 15 minute time cap)

It's been too long since I'd done back squats and at first the bar felt awkward on my back but I got my groove back after warming up. I failed the last rep of the last set! Argghhhh. And about the metcon, those scaled ring dips were hard! Coach Jordan set up the rings close to the floor and what we did looked like parallette dips but with the rings. My triceps died.


My score: 11:16

Aug 27 WOD: Leg WOD

A. Skill (10 minutes)

Sitting box jump for height

B. SWOD (10 minutes)

5 x 2 box squats (70-80%)

C. Metcon

Buy in: 200m sprint, then

At exactly 1 minute: 10 rounds tabata box jumps (over 70% of max box jump)

Cash out: 100 double unders (2 minute time cap)

The sitting box jump is when you sit on a box (12" box in my case) then you do a box jump from that position without pausing when you stand up. The box squat is like a regular back squat, but instead of bouncing from the bottom you sit on a box (12" again for me) and pause in that seated position then stand up.


My score: 32" (max box jump); 110 (box squats); 59 BJs (24" box); 30 DUs

Aug 22 WOD: Team WOD

Teams of 3 (20 minute time cap)

21-15-9

Back squats (155/105)
Kettlebell swings (32/24)
Pacer holds plate OH (45/25)

Today, Helen, Rhona, and I teamed up. What happens is, one person does the back squats while one does the KBS and the third one holds the plate overhead. If the person doing the overhead hold must rest, the other two have to rest too. For the first set, I did the KBS while Rhona did the OH hold and Helen did the back squats. The three of us rotated until we all completed the set of 21, and we did the same for the set of 15 and 9. My aching quads!

Our score: 10:00 (75 lb back squat/16 kg kettlebell/25 lb plate)

Aug 13 WOD: Hang squat clean couplet

It was a rainy long weekend, which I spent reviewing my son for his first quarterly exams. I ate nothing but junk (think fluffy, glutenous pancakes and waffles, hot chocolate, and cookies) so it's no wonder I was feeling sluggish this morning. I wanted to workout yesterday but since classes were suspended due to the typhoon, I stayed home and reviewed my son some more. So, today is the start of my "eat clean, train mean" month.

A. SWOD

High bar back squat 3 x 5 (70%)

B. Metcon

21-15-9

Hang squat clean (135/95)
Burpees

I shared a bar with Rhona for the back squats. I felt like such a sissy because I kept complaining that the bar hurt the back of my neck. Coach Jordan let me wrap a towel around the bar to cushion the area. Can't help it if I have a bony neck!

As with any WOD with a 21-15-9 rep scheme, the metcon sucked. I used a 65 lb bar and divided my sets. And I may have rested too much. But can I just say how much I love the hook grip? I believe it saved my forearm from fatiguing too soon. I wonder when I'll feel confident enough to use Rx'd weights though.

After the WOD, Rhona and I practiced doing sprints, which apparently isn't as easy it looks. Coach Jordan taught us how to move our legs and we practiced doing that for 2 laps (400m).

My score: 105 (HBBS); 10:59 (65)

(Again, one of the many Ryan Gosling
CrossFit memes floating around on Pinterest)

Aug 8 WOD: Triple WOD

I don't have work today because the company had set today as a holiday. Yay! I still went to the 10 am class though. Can you believe I was at the box from 8:45 am to 3:30 am?! That's a darn good PR in hanging out.

A. SWOD

EMOM x 10

2 x two-stop high pull (55 - 65% of 1RM power clean)

B. Metcon (10 minute running clock)

1. 400m run (3 minutes)

2. 10 rounds alternating tabata (5 minutes)

Back squat (135/95)

Front squat (135/95)

Rest 1 minute

3. 200m run

The high pulls were somewhat new, but I get why they wanted us to do it. You're supposed to pull the bar slowly from the ground until just below your knee, pause for 2 seconds, pull it again just above your knee, pause for 2 seconds, then do a high pull from that position.

I was the only girl in the 10 am class so there was an extra push to run as fast as the boys -- or at least not lag very far behind. And I did it! Successsss.

For extra work, I did 10-20 double unders on the minute for 10 minutes. That's what Coach Pau prescribed when I told him that DUs are one of the things I need to work on.

My score: 75 (high pulls); 1:48; 47 (at 65 lbs); 1:00

Jul 30 WOD: Chipper sandwich

Why am I seeing more and more of these chippers?!

For time (30 minute cap):

Buy in: 50 double unders

50 front squats (Rx: 95/65; Elite: 115/85)
40 push press (Rx: 95/65; Elite: 115/85)
30 back squat (Rx: 95/65; Elite: 115/85)
20 strict press (Rx: 95/65; Elite: 115/85)
10 thrusters (Rx: 95/65; Elite: 115/85)

Cash out: 50 double unders

I think the buy in and cash out of DUs are the coaches' way of telling us to practice them consistently. Something that I know I must but don't do. Which makes me all the more nervous about the throwdown.

I'm teamed up with Ian and Jerwin, who I might mention are total beasts. Like they could go Big Rx if they wanted to. And I don't like the pressure that being teamed with really strong guys puts on the lone girl member of each team! I get anxiety attacks every time I see a facebook post or a tweet by CFMNL about the throwdown.

Gulp!!!
(Image credit: @CFMNL on twitter)

Anyway. My score for the WOD: 23.21 (55 lbs)

Jul 5 WOD: Squats and burpees

There was no SWOD today. What we did have was a PWOD -- partner WOD. I guess the WOD-maker figured we'd need a break from the past 2 weeks' 1RMs.

For time (23 minutes time cap)

30 back squats (70% of 1RM)
40 burpees
30 back squats (60%)
40 burpees
30 back squats (50%)
40 burpees
30 back squats (40%)

Only one person at a time should be working, and we could divide the reps any which way we wanted. I got paired with Helen and we agreed that we'd split the number of reps evenly. I was able to do the 20 burpees unbroken only on the first set. Those goshdarn burpees! It didn't help that the squats had made my legs heavy. Although I did have an epiphany while doing those burpees (apparently, that's possible)... it's possible to ride out your tiredness by letting your breathing dictate your rhythm. Wow. Must experiment on this further.

Our score: 18:36 (85/75/60/50)

And in other news, another box throwdown is looming on the horizon.

CFMNL team throwdown

I'd been thinking about joining the Med RX division, but I knew I had to work hard on getting those knees to elbows down. I initially thought they'd require toes to bar, but since they scaled it to a more doable movement my apprehension has somewhat abated. My only other issue is the venue, which is in Alabang... which is like the province for me since I live way up north. We'll see. Diane had already put my name down on the sign up sheet, but nothing is final until I've paid (P3,000 per team, so that's P1,000 per team member).

The details are here.

Jun 24 WOD: Snatch couplet

Considering that I had been gorging myself all weekend long, today's workout wasn't so bad. But my weekend eating habits have so worsened that I'm considering doing the 21-Day Sugar Detox. Considering is the key word. I need to read up more on that before plunging into it.

A. SWOD (12 minutes)

Back squat 1RM

B. Metcon

10 minutes AMRAP

15 power snatch (75/55)
30 double unders

Trish and I shared a bar for the SWOD and on our last set we did 135 lbs. No PRs were set. For the metcon, I kept the long bar for the snatch and used the prescribed weight.

Been waiting to use that meme for such a long time, and now I can!

My score: 135 (back squat); 2 + 3 DUs

Jun 17 WOD: DNF Monday

I'm not feeling the WOD love this month. Nevertheless, I shall continue to "trust the programming," as Coach Pau likes to say.

A. SWOD

3 x 3 back squats (85 - 90% of 1RM)

Rest 3 minutes

EMOM 4 minutes

8 front squats (95/65)

B. Metcon

3 rounds

15 dead lifts (185/135)
400m run
Max reps toes to bar

Trish and I shared a bar for the back squats and we did 120 lbs. After that, we used the prescribed weight for the front squats. Then for the metcon, I used 115 lbs and did sit ups instead of toes to bar. I was able to finish only the first round, with about 30 seconds to spare for the sit ups. And then I couldn't finish the last 2 rounds anymore in 4 minutes.

My score: 120 (back squats); 65 (front squats); 8 sit ups

Jun 10 WOD: Burpees and plates

Looks like it's going to be another tough week ahead.

A. SWOD

Back squats 5 x 5 (75 - 80% of 1RM)
Partner glute ham raise 4 x 10

B. Metcon

2 RFT (18 minute time cap)

30 burpees
40 plate ground to overhead (45/25)
50 plate overhead lunges

Helen and I shared a bar for the squats and we used 100 lbs. The partner GHR felt a bit strange, but that's how it is when you do something for the first time. For the metcon I used the prescribed 25 lb plate. It was painful! I felt the sweat streaming down my face and I kept imagining that I would have to go through worse if I were seriously training as regional-level athlete. The trend at the box seems to be for athletes to work towards being able to join the CrossFit Asia Regional competition next year. That's for the serious ones. Me, I'm happy just getting PRs and improving on my lifts.

My score: 100 (back squat); 1 + 35 plate ground to OH

Jun 3 WOD: On the road to thunder thigh highway

I love squats. You know I love squats. I'm a squatter at heart. But today's SWOD was really yucky.

A. SWOD

5 x 12 back squats at 65 - 75% of 1RM (15 minutes)

B. Metcon

4 RFT

10 burpees
20 kettlebell swings (24/16)
30 two-hand kettlebell chest to overhead

Trish and I shared a bar for the back squats and initially we thought about doing 85 lbs. But doing 5 reps of 85 lbs is very different from doing 12 reps of 85. So we stuck to 75. And even that was awful.

We did Russian swings (swing up to eye level) instead of the usual overhead swings for the KBS. I used a 12 kg kettlebell because I didn't feel confident about doing 30 chest to overhead at 16 kg. Still DNFed though.

My score: 75 (back squats); 3 + 10 burpees (metcon)

(source)
Indeed!

May 30 WOD: Upper body stuff + Wendler

Strength: Shoulder press

40% x 5 = 5 x 25
50% x 5 = 5 x 30
60% x 5+ = 10 x 40

I was supposed to do back squats today but the WOD already includes those so I did presses instead.


WOD

A. Strength: Back squat

In 20 minutes, work up to a 3RM.

B. Metcon

3 RFT

8 thrusters (135/95)
6 muscle ups

Coach Jordan wanted us to focus on the timing of our squats. He said we should start by bending our hips and then slowly going down, and then just before breaking parallel we should go faster and bounce to help with coming up. Trish and I shared a bar for the back squats and we worked our way up to 120 lbs. Well, it was actually 122.5 because she'd mistakenly put a 2.5 lb plate on one end of the bar. Tee hee.

For the metcon, I used 55 lbs for the thrusters, and instead of 6 muscle ups, I did 12 seated muscle ups.

My score: 120 (3RM back squat); 10:03 (metcon)

After the workout, most of us stayed around. I tried working on my pull ups, which are still a fail. But I have to admit that I'm often too lazy to practice. It's just so much more fun to hang around and talk with boxmates! Anyway, I did get around to working on my handstand. It turns out, you're supposed to let your left leg lead, and after that it's like taking a leap of faith that your feet will find the wall. Coach Jordan spotted me and I was able to do handstand holds in order to get comfortable with the upside-down position.

Thanks to Smacky and Dingdong for the photo

And here's what most of the 10 am class looks like upside down (that's me in the lower left corner!).

May 16 WOD: Squattalotta

I can't decide if I love squat day or not. I just know that I feel great whenever I finish and that I love what it does to my butt. Today's workout:

Against a 30 minute running clock:

First 10 minutes, 3RM overhead squat
Second 10 minutes, 3RM front squat
Third 10 minutes, 3RM back squat

I shared a bar with Trish so we had the same score. We started with an empty 45 lb bar (long bar again, yay!) for the OHS and ended up with 120 for the back squats. Since we used a rack for the OHS, we had to jerk the bar up in a snatch grip, which I couldn't do well. I need to work on that and make sure that my elbows automatically lock out overhead. Coach Jordan also said I need to be conscious about standing tall after coming up from the back squat because I tend to stay hunched over.

Our score: 60 (OHS) / 110 (front squat) / 120 (back squat)

I am so not looking forward to having a sore butt tomorrow.

Mar 26 WOD: Triplet + Wendler

Strength: Back squat

70% x 3 = 3 x 90
80% x 3 = 3 x 100
90% x 3+ = 5 x 115

I did this before the 12:30 pm class so I didn't have time to do assistance lifts post-WOD.


WOD

5 RFT:

20 burpees
15 hang power cleans (135/95)
40 sumo deadlift high pull (24/16 kg)

I used a 55 lb bar and a 12 kg kettlebell (I know, I know! Sandbagger!). All that sandbagging didn't help, though. I still DNFed. I think I rested too often and too much.

My score: 3 rounds + 11 hang power cleans

Mar 13 WOD: Running and wall balls + Wendler

Strength: Back squat

So it turns out this Wendler thing works. Because I checked my log and saw that what I could only do 5 reps of last month, I was able to do 7 reps of today.

65% x 5 = 5 x 80
75% x 5 = 5 x 95
85% x 5+ = 7 x 105

Assistance 1: Walking lunges (15 lb plate)

5 x 10

Assistance 2: Overhead squats

1 x 10 x 35
2 x 10 x 45
2 x 10 x 55

The heat was suffocating! I really felt those beads of sweat dripping off my nose in that last set. Summer has truly arrived.


WOD

I sucked at the WOD! We had to do 3 rounds of the following against a 3 minute running clock:

- 400m run
- Max reps wall balls
- Rest 3 minutes

That means you'll have to finish the run faster so you can do a lot of wall balls. I was able to finish the runs in 2 minutes or so, but I always had to take a breather before going at the wall balls. Hence, my very poor score: 35.

In other news, Open workout 13.2 will be announced tomorrow! I'm excited about it because I can't wait to see how my boxmates do, but at the same time I dread it because I know it's not going to be a walk in the park. Either way, there's no escaping 13.2.

Um, actually, 13.1 crushed me. But whatever.
One down, 4 to go!

Mar 6 WOD: Team WOD + Wendler

Strength: Back squat

40% x 5 = 5 x 45
50% x 5 = 5 x 60
60% x 5+ = 10 x 70

Assistance 1: Good mornings

1 x 10 x 35
2 x 10 x 55
2 x 10 x 75

Assistance 2: Overhead squats

1 x 10 x 35
3 x 10 x 45
1 x 10 x 55


WOD: Team WOD

I got teamed with Smacky and Jan. For the first 6 minutes, we had to do max reps wall balls (only one person working at a time). Then after a 1 minute rest, we had to do max reps burpees over box. I used a 10 lb ball for the wall balls and an 18" box for the burpees over box.

Our total score: 227

We got one of the lowest scores but I'm happy that I seem to have finally gotten the hang of those wall balls. It does make a difference when I pop out my hips first before throwing the ball up. Finally, after more than a year!

In other news, CFMNL has this cool new video (and no, it's not the Harlem Shake -- although the Fort box did do their own version), about the box.

Crossfit Manila, The Box. from Francisco Guerrero on Vimeo.

It reminds me of Under Armour's "I Will Protect This House" commercial series. Goosebumps!