January 30 WOD: Bells and burps

A. BBG

Every 2 minutes for 12 minutes:
Clean + Front squat (80-85% across all sets)

B. Metcon

"Tabata" Bells and Burps

6 sets, max reps:
20 seconds KBS (24/16 kg)
10 seconds rest
20 seconds burpees
10 seconds rest

Well, that wasn't so bad. What WAS bad was when I ate pizza and crepe cake after the WOD. Maigirl and Jason were celebrating their birthday and had brought food. And Greg brought one of his cheesecake experiments for us to try. Needless to say, it was to die for, and I can't wait for his shop to open near the box!

My half-eaten slice of coffee cheesecake crepe cake

Anyway, my score: 95# (clean complex); 76 reps Rx

January 2 WOD: Tabata Something Else

I'm glad today's workout wasn't as punishing as usual. The duration and intensity was just right for people like me who had been eating and being fat the past two weeks.

Tabata Something Else (20 seconds on, 10 seconds off for 8 minutes)

Pull ups
Push ups
Sit ups
Squats

We'd already done this last year and I did ring rows instead of pull ups. Well this time I did semi-real pull ups (semi-real because some of my reps were semi-reps). And now I feel like dozing off.


My score: 255

Aug 29 WOD: Cleans and abs

I'm not feeling 100% today due to a cough and a dull headache (sugar headache from all the cake I've been stuffing my face with probably).

A. BBG

5 minutes EMOM
2 cycles of two-point power clean to front squat (60-70%; pause below the knee and above the knee)

5 minutes EMOM
2 cycles of two-point squat clean

Then 10 minutes to find 1RM squat clean

B. Metcon

Tabata abs
4 rounds candlestick rollup
4 rounds bicycle
4 rounds hollow rocks
4 rounds plank hold

I attempted 115 lbs while trying to find my 1RM squat clean, and while I was able to rack it I couldn't stand up.


My score: 75 (two-point cleans); 105 (1RM squat clean)

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 17 WOD: Tabata style

The site said that today's WOD was Hope, but when I got there the WOD on the board was different. And Nickey said it was worse than Hope!

Tabata style:

Thrusters (65/45)
Tuck jumps
Hang squat clean (65/45)
Sumo dead lift high pull (65/45)
Snatch balance (65/45)

When you do a tabata workout, you do each movement for 8 sets of 20 seconds working/10 seconds rest, so that's a total of 4 minutes each movement. Since there were 5 movements the workout was 20 minutes long. That's 20 freakin' minutes of intensity, because you don't really get to rest during the 10 seconds in between. You're still catching your breath when the coach yells, "Next round! Get ready!" And you're like, what??

I used the prescribed 45 lb weight. Tuck jumps almost killed me. This is one of those WODs where a pinprick of self-doubt creeps in while you're doing something that hurts, and it makes you want to throw in the towel. But I found out that those voices could be silenced by picking up the bar and just going back to work.

Thanks to Rhona for the photo

Post-WOD, we rewarded ourselves with the shepherd's pie I'd brought and the assorted cheesecakes that Greg brought. He's the guy behind Cheesecakes by Guy and he brought chocolate, blueberry, and layered apple spice cheesecake. He had us road test the blueberry and apple spice cheesecake he'll be introducing soon, and we were his happy guinea pigs.

My score: 234 total reps (Rx)

May 3 WOD: Tabata Something Else

Must be one of those benchmark weeks. No biggie. What's so bad about doing a benchmark workout everyday? Absolutely nothing!

Today, we did Tabata Something Else:

Pull ups
Push ups
Sit ups
Squats

Anything tabata is painful and today's WOD was no exception. I did ring rows instead of pull ups and did the others as prescribed. You'd think the ring rows would be easier than band-assisted pull ups, but no. The first set was okay but I started to really feel the burn on my shoulders after several more sets.

My score: 276

After the WOD, we celebrated Coach Jordan's CrossFit Level 1 certification with pancit, pichi-pichi, and chicken lollipops. We have an L1 ninja coach!

Nov 12 WOD: 10RM OHS + Wendler

Strength: Shoulder press

Week 2 of Cycle 3.

Warm up: 3 x 35

3 x 80% = 3 x 45
3 x 85% = 3 x 50
3+ x 90% = 7 x 55

What was my 1RM last May is now my 7RM!


WOD

For the first part of the workout, we were given 15 minutes to find our 10RM overhead squat. I only did 3 sets:

10 x 25
10 x 45
10 x 50 (OMG, 50!)

I opted to snatch the bar instead of doing a clean and jerk, then settling the bar on my back, then adjusting my grip, then pressing it overhead - it just takes too many steps.

Then for the metcon we did Tabata vertical jumps, where we had to jump and touch with both hands the target that's 12" higher than our outstretched hands. We did 8 minutes of that, and our score was the lowest number of reps. My score: 10 reps.

Oct 10 WOD: Fat Tabata + Wendler

Strength: Shoulder press

Last day of Week 3 - hurrah!

Warm up: 3 x 35

75% x 5 = 5 x 40
85% x 3 = 3 x 45
95% x 1+ = 3 x 55

My 1RM is now my 3RM. Yayyy! I'm starting to love them shoulder presses.


WOD: Fat Tabata

So called because instead of doing 8 sets of 20 seconds on and 10 seconds off, we did 3 sets of 40 seconds on and 20 seconds off. Brilliant. There were 4 exercises to do:

- Ring dips
- Box jumps (Rx: 20")
- Hand release push ups
- Chest-to-bar pull ups

I did jumping ring dips and used a blue band for the pull ups; the other 2 exercises I did as prescribed. The score is the total number of reps for all 4 exercises. My score: 167.

After the WOD, Rachelle, Lady and I did a crazy ab routine that Coach Jordan gave. It made my whole mid-section hurt.

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."

- Lisbeth Darsh

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.

May 9 WOD: Split jerks

It's Wednesday, and we did a strength WOD again today. I have to say, since the coaches moved strength day to Wednesdays, I'm starting to love this day of the week.

It was my first time to do split jerks. I was nervous because when I looked at the board, the lowest score was 60#. My fear was starting to get the better of me again when I thought about all the shoulder to overhead lifts I'd done, because the maximum was 45 or 55# -- I'm not so sure now. It's a good thing Tere and I were sharing a bar because she gave me the push I needed.

We warmed up with the 35# bar, then worked our way up. Finally, we reached 85#... and I did it! I tried going further up to 95# but I couldn't push it up anymore, and there was a fraction of a second when I was sure the bar was going to hit my head. Good thing I was able to bail or I'm pretty sure it would've been a bloody day at the box.

After the SWOD, we did alternate tabata push ups and sit ups. That is, 20 secs push ups, 10 secs rest, 20 sec sit ups, and so on until the end of 8 mins. Overall good day today!

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.

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.