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#)

January 6 WOD: Burn

A. Skill

Work up to a heavy full snatch (12 minutes)

B. Metcon

3 RFT (25 minute cap)

10 lateral jumps
15 thrusters (95/65#)
20 knees to elbows

Plate overhead hold (45/35#) after each round -- duration must be the same as the time it took to finish the preceding round. There is a 3-burpee penalty every time the OH hold is broken.

The plate OH hold was pure agony. Sweat was streaming down my face and I was just holding the darn plate up. My shoulders were very much burnt after that -- literally hot to the touch. To think they're still achy from last Friday's WOD. I finished the 3 rounds but I still had a 2 minute OH hold to do when the time expired.


My score: 55# (full snatch); 3 rounds + 2 minute OH hold (55# thrusters; 15# plate)

Mar 28 WOD: Open 13.4

Today and tomorrow are holidays here but CrossFit Open don't care. Life goes on for CrossFitters and the box is open today so athletes can have a shot at 13.4. I watched the live announcement again, and this time it was Spealler vs. Holmberg. I think it's such a testament to these elite athletes' mental and physical training that they are able to do these workouts at the drop of a hat. They know when to push, when to pull back, and how to pace themselves. They are ready for anything.

So, 13.4 is:

Grabbed from the CF Games site

I was rooting for Speal (I love underdogs), and at first I thought he'd lose because he got a few reps behind Holmberg in the C&J, but then he started catching up in the toes to bar. I love his heart and the way he gave the workout his all. In the end he won with 110 reps to Holmberg's 102.

Whew. Anyway, this is the scale for the CFMNL Open competitors:

Grabbed from CFMNL

My score: 66

Jan 18 WOD: Filthy Friday at the box

We did the benchmark WOD called Filthy Fifty today. It was the second time for me to do it, although when I did it the first time last year, I'd scaled and did the "Dirty 30" instead.

So this is the Filthy Fifty:

50 box jumps (Rx: 18")
50 jumping pull ups
50 kettlebell swings (Rx: 12 kg)
50 walking lunges
50 knees to elbow
50 push presses (Rx: 35 lbs)
50 good mornings (Rx: 35 lbs)
50 wall balls (Rx: 14 lbs)
50 burpees
50 double unders

I did everything except the wall balls as prescribed -- you know how attached I am to those 10 lb balls. Anyway, it started out well and I was making good time until I reached the wall balls. It was all downhill from there. I had a hard time with the burpees more than anything else. If it weren't for Amie who kept count for me and cheered me on, I would've given up then and there. And even though I DNFed I still did the 50 DUs and finished in about 37 minutes.

The thing I love about long workouts like this is it makes me feel so alive after! Good way to kick off the weekend.

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 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 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).

May 14 WOD: The Seven

I'm on vacation the whole week so instead of going to the 10 am class, I attended the 12:30 one. I missed the camaraderie in my "Moms' Class," but the people I worked out with today were also cool.

Anyway, on to the WOD called The Seven. I know, it sounds ominous, right? Like the Seven Deadly Sins kind of ominous. Apparently, it's a benchmark workout that was created in honor of seven CIA officers and one Jordanian officer who were killed in Afghanistan in 2009.

It is 7 rounds of:

- 7 handstand push ups
- 7 thrusters (Rx: 135/95)
- 7 knees to elbows
- 7 dead lifts (Rx: 245/165)
- 7 burpees
- 7 KBS (Rx: 32/24)
- 7 pull ups

Seven reps for each of the seven exercises, done for seven rounds. Whew! Since I was doing it non-Rx'd, we were given a 25 minute cap. I used a box and did the HSPUs on my knees; used a 45# barbell for the thursters; did knees to chest; used 95# for the dead lifts; used the 12 kg kettlebell for the KBS; and used the green band for the pull ups. At the end of the 25 mins, I'd done 5 rounds + 3 burpees. It was so hard! Somewhere in between the 4th and the 5th round, I started feeling faint but I willed myself to keep going. I survived!

And now, I leave you with this image, taken after the WOD:

CrossFit hands!

Post-challenge Day 31 + Apr 14 WOD: AMRAP-ing

Today's meals

On second thought, let's forget about today's meals. All I want to say is that it wasn't a clean day. At all. I tried to be as paleo as possible, but in the evening I went to a party. Although I didn't eat rice, I did have dessert. Oh, and before going to the party I had a scoop of cookie dough ice cream (which I don't regret at all).

WOD

I went to the box with a friend who wanted to do the trial. Trial class on Saturdays is at 2:30 pm so we had to be there a bit earlier. Watching the trial class made me think of my trial session. I'm quite sure they'd all be getting to know DOMS pretty well tomorrow.

Anyway, on to the WOD. It was 30 mins AMRAP of:

- 3 squat clean to thrusters
- 6 knees to elbows
- 100m sprint

* 45 sec rest

Before the workout, Miggy was telling us to go heavy because it's only 3 reps. Uh, yes, but it's a 30 min AMRAP so no, thanks. Ladies' Rx for the clusters (coz aren't they clusters?) was 95; I used a 45 lb bar. My score: 14 rounds. It wouldn't have been so bad had it not been for the intense heat and humidity. That's probably why the "sprint" turned into a jog for a lot of us.

After WOD-ing, a few of us went to Reebok Eastwood to check if they already had the CrossFit Nanos. We were disappointed to find out that they won't be available till May or June. Bummer.

February 8 WOD: Snatch skills + triplet

Thank God we didn't have to do another benchmark WOD today. We worked on our snatches first before doing the main WOD.

For skills, we did 4 rounds of:

- 3 power snatches
- 3 overhead squats
- 3 snatch balances
- 3 hang squat snatches

I used the 15 lb bar for the power snatches and the 25 lb bar for the other exercises. It made me realize how much work my core still needs.

For the main WOD, we were given a time cap of 15 mins (not 10) to do 5 rounds of:

- 7 dead lifts
- 14 knees to elbows
- 20 double unders

I was supposed to do 95 lbs for the dead lifts, but when Miggy changed the number of rounds from 3 to 5, I went down to 75 lbs. And since I still can't do double unders, I did 80 singles instead.

Exactly 1 week to go before the Paleo Challenge... tick tock, tick tock! I was able to eat clean the whole day yesterday. Let's see if I can do it for 2 days straight. On Friday, some of the girls at the box and I are having a pre-paleo binge after the 10 am class. Can't wait!

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