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.

May 14 WOD: Overhead squats for brunch, anyone?

After 4 long days, I'm back at the box! During warm up, Coach Jordan incorporated some capoeira steps/moves and it was fun. I felt so clumsy, though it warmed us up good.

Today's workout:

OTM (on the minute) x 16

Odd minutes: 3 overhead squats (as heavy as possible)
Even minutes: 5 burpee pull ups

I used 55 lbs for the OHS and did burpee jumping ring pull ups. Also, I used the long bar even though I couldn't add plates yet because the bar is already 45 lbs. The others have been telling me that the women's bar seems too short for me when I'm using the snatch grip, and sure enough, I did feel more comfortable using the long bar earlier.

My score: 16

May 9 WOD: Bar complex

I didn't have work last Thursday and was able to attend the 12:30 pm class. The workout was:

10 mins AMRAP

Dead lift + hang power clean + front squat + push press (115/75)

Then do 5 burpees for every time you readjust your grip while the bar is on the floor or for every time you let the bar rest on the floor.

Note: You can readjust your grip in the hang position.

I used 65 lbs for the complex and did around 4 or 5 sets of burpees. Rhona said I should still be able to get a score of about 20 even with the breaks but I didn't want to rush through the sets (or is that my excuse for getting a low score?). I focused on getting my form right, especially when locking out the elbows during the push press.

On the bright side, doing the burpees, I finally figured out how to jump my feet back before my hands touch the floor. It did feel more efficient.

My score: 16

The King of Lifts

The King of Lifts
by Donnie Shankle
(A free pdf of this article can be found in the CrossFit Journal library)

My favorite parts:

This is what the clean and jerk looks like in training: you go into the gym and put a new personal record on the bar. You begin to pull the thing, and in the back of your mind there is a little fucking gremlin that convinces you it is too heavy. With style points, you just pick it up slowly into your hips, but you are too chickenshit to go under the bar.  

A week goes by, and this time you make up your mind not to look like a nob-head. You get set, pull, finish hard and move under. No chance! The bar shoots your ass back about five feet, sending you crashing into the wall behind you. A few more crashes like this and you are likely to bring the whole damn gym down. 

Another week goes by, and this time you pull it, finish hard, and receive it with your elbows up, but you fail to stand up.  

Two more weeks go by, and this time you pull it, finish hard, receive it and stand up with a struggle. You are so excited at this point you begin to get dizzy, and as you try to jerk you have nothing left in you, so you just dump it off of you and collect yourself as you sit down.  

Another week goes by and this time you clean the weight beautifully. You dip and drive the bar to lockout but fail to gain control in the split.  

Another two weeks go by, and this time you clean it and jerk it like a champion. Your coach says, “Down,” and with a sense of pride you give the air a double fist pump. The last time you felt this good was when your girlfriend whispered vehemently in your ear, "You are an absolute god in bed.”  

Now put on another kilo and do it all over again.

and:

There is something raw about the clean and jerk or just weightlifting in general. There is a great satisfaction in picking something heavy up off the floor and putting it over your head. This satisfaction is intensified if you manage to do it easily. People will come up to you and ask, “How do you make that look so easy?" 

In your mind, you know there were no easy steps.

“Hard work and I am really fuckin’ strong,” is what you say back to them. 

May 7 WOD: Burpee/pull up couplet

For the first 15 minutes, we worked on the snatch. We were to work up to heavy singles.

I did about 3 x 45 lbs, 3 x 55 lbs, and 3 x 65 lbs. Coach Jordan didn't want me to add any more weight (I myself didn't want to either) because he saw that I was doing a little press to lock my elbows in the overhead position, and he wanted me to focus on squatting a bit when I'm throwing the bar overhead.

After the skill work, we had a metcon, which was:

21-15-9

Burpees

Pull ups

As usual, I did ring rows instead of band-assisted pull ups.

When I checked the WOD this morning, I was tempted to cherry-pick again because of the burpees, which made it all the more important that I go. I broke up the sets into two but didn't allow myself to rest too much. After breaking, I'd take 3 to 4 deep breaths then go again. Although my arms still hurt from yesterday's push press workout, it wasn't so bad.

My time: 5:22

May 6 WOD: AMRAP-crazy

Today's workout was 4 rounds of:

2 minutes AMRAP

10 box jumps (24/18")
10 push press (115/75)

Rest 2 minutes

How it works is, you do as many rounds of 10 box jumps and 10 push press as you can in 2 minutes, then you rest for 2 minutes. At the start of the second round, you continue counting where you left off. At the end of the 4 AMRAPs, you count how many rounds you did in total.

I used an 18" box and 55 lbs for the push press. I realized that I could push hard if I knew that there was a rest period waiting in the horizon.

My score: 7 rounds + 2 push press

I AMRAP, yo.
(source)

I could watch this the whole day

This video was posted by CrossFit HQ some days ago. It shows a slow-mo of Olympic weightlifter Chad Vaughn doing a 315 lb clean and jerk. Couple it with beautiful music and you have a fantastic video. The path of the bar is especially fascinating for me. Now I know what they mean when they say "get under the bar." Someday, my form will be half as good as his.

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!

May 2 WOD: Olympic Total

Today I attended the first Thursday 10am class. There were only 5 of us -- the usual suspects. The workout is the Olympic Total, which is the sum of the best of 3 attempts at the snatch and clean and jerk.

First 15 minutes: snatch

1 - 1 - 1

Then next 15 minutes: clean and jerk

1 - 1 - 1

My snatch sets:

1 x 45
1 x 55
1 x 65

My clean and jerk sets:

1 x 95
1 x 105
1 x 115

I had mental difficulties getting under the bar with the 115. I resist squatting. As much as possible, if I can snatch or clean it standing up, I would. I was able to pull the 115 bar up just below my shoulders but I didn't want to have to squat clean it.

I also wanted to work on my full snatch, and I was able to do it with the 55 once. Coach Jordan observed that the weight goes forward and he said I mustn't be afraid of pulling my arms a little further back. After that, since time was running out, I used the power snatch for the last set.

After the Total, the others thought that we needed a cash out and I let myself get suckered into doing tabata abs. It wasn't so bad because we agreed to do only 4 rounds of each exercise.

Also, I can now do pull ups using the underhand grip!

Note to self

I should put up this poster in my room and office cube.

Apr 29 WOD: Nate

I'm experiencing another holiday hangover. I went to the beach again with some others at the box. We went to Smacky's place again and although there were a lot of people at the beach and by the pool, it was still good fun.

The view from our balcony

With Anton, Amie, Albright, Rhona, Gigay, Benjie, Maigirl,
Smacky, and Ken (I grabbed this photo from Rhona)

And now, back to regular programming.

It was benchmark day at the box and I had no idea because the WOD wasn't posted at the site. We did Nate again, which is:

20 minutes AMRAP

2 muscle ups

4 handstand push ups

8 kettlebell swings (32/24 kg)

I did sitting muscle ups, pike push ups with feet on the box, and used a 16 kg kettlebell.

My score: 11 rounds + 1 sitting muscle up

The last time we did Nate I scored 12 rounds, but that was an even more scaled version so I'm quite happy with today's workout.

Oh, and happy news: Coach Matt announced that "due to popular demand," there will now be a 10 am class every Tuesday and Thursday starting in May, and we couldn't be happier!

Apr 26 WOD: Front squats and clean and jerks

Strength: Front squat

5 x 1 climbing

I shared a bar with Tere, Tricia, and Helen, and we all started with 80 lbs. We were told to work up to a heavy single in 15 minutes, and our last set was 120 lbs. Front squat PR day!


Metcon

EMOM (every minute on the minute) x 10 minutes: Clean and jerk x 1 rep

That means at the start of every minute, we were to do 1 rep clean and jerk. We had the option of starting light then adding weight every minute, but I chose to start with what I'd thought was 75 lbs. I say I'd thought it was 75 lbs because it was only after the WOD that I realized that I'd used a 35 lb bar instead of a 25 lb bar. And since I'd put 2 25 lb plates, the weight of my bar was actually 85 lbs... which later became 95 lbs after some prodding by Raul. Shortly after the metcon, I added 10 lbs to the bar and was able to clean and jerk 105 lbs. Another PR for the day!

I think that if I'd known that I was attempting to break the 100 lb C&J barrier, I'd have been more hesitant and unsure. So, thought for the day: What you don't know will get you a PR. :)

(source)

Toes to bar tips

I hit YouTube yesterday for videos on tips for doing the toes to bar and this is the best I've come across so far.

In fact, Again Faster has the best and most detailed video tips.

Apr 24 WOD: The one where the WOD wins

Boo hoo. Another DNF. Today's workout:

3 RFT

400m run
15 burpees
20 toes to bar

My first time to attempt doing toes to bar as prescribed and I failed miserably. I got maybe 3 to 5 good ones, but the others were all over the place. My TTB is a hot mess and I need to work on them fast.

I was the only one who got a DNF (2 rounds + 12 or 13 TTB) in the entire 10 am class which, I might say, 18 people attended today. As the seconds were winding down and I found myself the only person left working, everyone started shouting at me to keep moving, make every rep count, to not give up and all that. And that is why I don't like joining throwdowns. If I'd said yes to replacing one of the female medium Rx competitors last Saturday, I'd probably have died of stress and nervousness.

Just look at the number of people who came to the 10 am class today... 18! I hope CFMNL decides to create a 10 am class on Tuesdays and Thursdays soon!

Apr 22 WOD: 2 AMRAPs and a run

Last Saturday's CFMNL Open Finals was fun! The heat was unforgiving and a lot of people ripped their hands doing toes to bar on the rig that was set up in the field, but it was an unforgettable first in the history of CrossFit in the Philippines. CrossFitters from as far away as Bacolod and Pampanga came to compete and it was just an awesome display of strength and skills... and abs. There were abs everywhere you looked. At the end of the day, you'd think that people who didn't have their abs on display were the exception and not the norm.

See what I mean?
(photo from Gigay G.'s instagram)

The only one from CFMNL who won in one of the categories was Michelle, who was in the female big Rx category. Another person I know who won was my co-parent and Ang Tibay coach Russell, who was in the male medium Rx category.

Who woulda thunk 2 years ago that CrossFit would get so big in the Philippines that there would be such an event like this? Of course, it wasn't a super big event, but it's a start.

Spectators baking under the sun
(photo from Gigay G.'s instagram)

Anyway... It's back to reality and back to the box today. The WOD had 3 parts:

4 minutes AMRAP

5 hang squat cleans as heavy as possible (not exceeding 165/115)
5 burpees

Rest 3 minutes, then 6 minutes AMRAP

4 overhead squats as heavy as possible (not exceeding 135/95)
8 ring dips

Rest 3 minutes, then maximum distance run in 8 minutes

For the first part, I used 75 lbs; my score: 3 rounds + 1 HSC. For the second part, I used 45 lbs and did jumping ring dips; my score: 4 + 1 OHS. For the run, I was able to run 1 mile -- my first time to run an 8-minute mile!

Date a girl who CrossFits

Date a girl who wakes up every morning excited and nervous about going to the box and taking on another WOD. She knows she isn't going to get a PR or the best score everyday, but you can be sure she's not afraid of hard work (and burpees).

Date a girl whose goal is to be strong. She's competitive and will want to beat you at every workout and you might be tempted to let her, but she'll know it and will not like you for it. Instead, go to the box with her, attend the same class, and help her reach her goals. Hand her the PVC pipe and warm up together. In between warm up sets, you'll see her face light up while talking about watching mobility tips on YouTube, or seeing Speal beat Holmberg on 13.4.

A girl who has calluses on her hands is not afraid of imperfection and a little pain. After all, she got those calluses from working on her pull ups and toes to bar. Don't be fooled, though. She may have rough hands but those rough hands still need to be held.

Date a girl who isn't afraid to sweat. She's glad there aren't any mirrors in the box. She's not looking to be complimented on her beauty but she will reward you with a beaming smile when you compliment her on her form. When she's on beast mode, she doesn't care about how she looks because she's focused on making every rep count. This is the moment when nothing else exists but herself and the bar. Don't be afraid if she roars like a lioness when she hits a new PR - just go over and give her a high five or a hug (if you dare).

A woman who does CrossFit loves her body. You will not hear her whining about her thick thighs. On the contrary, the bigger her quads, the better. Tell her she's got thunder thighs and she'll thank you.

Find a girl who can eat as much as, if not more than, you can. All the better if she loves meat and vegetables, and knows that fat doesn't make you fat. When you go on a date, she will order for herself. She will eat with lady-like gusto and you will realize that this is a girl who knows how to appreciate everything life has to offer - provided it's paleo, of course.

You will love that she idolizes women who can front squat, back squat, and snatch twice their body weight, women who never give up, women who have the mental tenacity to keep going when the road gets rough. She appreciates the years of hard work, blood, sweat, and tears that those athletes poured into their craft. She doesn't believe in quick fixes because she knows that success doesn't involve magic tricks - just a ton of hard work and dedication.

Date a girl who cheers on her competitors. One who isn't afraid that her boxmate will finish first or does more reps than her. One who actually wants her friends to do better than her. Her boxmates are her second family so you may have to go through them first if you want to get with her.

The only time you may yell at her is during WODs when you see her struggling to crank out another rep, when she's breathing so hard she feels like passing out, when she thinks she might have to bail because she cannot come up from her squat. She will loathe you intensely for it during that moment, but later on she will thank you and you'll both have a good laugh about it.

She knows it's okay to pause when WODs or life gets too difficult, but she also knows how to forge on. And this is what you will find most beautiful about her. CrossFit may be a big part of her life, but she can always make room for the right guy.

***

I wrote this when I remembered all the great things I read in The Bull Runner's Date a Girl Who Runs. And I thought, why not Date a Girl Who CrossFits too?

Apr 19 WOD: OTM Squat cleans

I'd forgotten to post last Friday's workout so here it is.

OTM x 16 minutes

Odd: 5 squat cleans (135/95)
Even: 6-8 ring dips

I used 65 lbs for the squat cleans and did band-assisted ring dips. I felt dizzy after the WOD and it turns out I wasn't the only one. It must be the heat. Even with the air conditioning, the inside of the box felt so stuffy and made it difficult to breathe. I made it through the 16 minutes though, thank goodness.

Apr 17 WOD: PWOD

It was one of those partner WOD days again at CFMNL.

12 minutes AMRAP

12 wall balls (20/14)
12 burpees

Partners do alternate rounds, so one person does 1 round while the other rests. Then the other partner works while the other one rests. I got paired with Rae, who's really good with burpees. She credited that to all the burpees they'd had to do at bootcamp. Blechhh! Anyway, I used a 14 lb ball and together, Rae and I did 8 rounds and 10 wall balls.

In other news, the CFMNL Open Finals is going to be held this Saturday at the Army Soccer Field in Taguig. Anton and Jerwin from the midday/lunch crew qualified to compete in the Men's Medium Rx category so some of us are planning to go and cheer. Another friend who qualified is a co-parent who owns a garage gym. It's gonna be wild! Fun and wild!

One of the things I cannot say out loud

I say don't knock it till you've tried it -- for at least 3 months. It's just too bad that the typos almost ruin the punchline on this too true ecard.

Apr 15 WOD: Baby McGhee

This means we had to do just a scaled version of the real benchmark, McGhee. In this case, it was:

15 minutes AMRAP

5 dead lifts (275/185)
13 push ups
9 box jumps (24/18")

And am I glad we didn't have to do the real thing, which is 30 minutes AMRAP. I used 125 for the DLs and did the push ups and box jumps as Rx'd (my push ups were a little worm-y though).

My score: 8 rounds + 4 dead lifts

Taking a break

And this is why I missed the Friday WOD...

Dumaluan beach at low tide

Chocolate Hills

Philippine tarsier

Loboc River

Baclayon Church

Sunrise at the beach

Dauis Church

As my mother said, the more I travel around the Philippines, the more beautiful I find it.

Apr 10 WOD: Sprints and DUs + Wendler

WOD

I did the WOD first and did the Wendler while the bootcampers were working out.

For skill work, Trisha and I practiced the muscle up transition while on our feet. I think I'll need to have been doing CF for 5 years before I get this movement.

5 RFT:

200m run
35 double unders

The. Heat. Was. Almost. Unbearable. The temp is almost always around 34 degrees and it's always sunny so you can understand why I did my best to not stop while running. Thank goodness we only had to do 200m sprints (although 'sprints' is a relative word).

My time: 12-ish


Strength: Dead lift

75% x 5 = 5 x 135
85% x 3 = 3 x 150
95% x 1+ = 3 x 170

Dead lifts: the reason why I have perpetual bruises on my shins... and darn proud of them.

Apr 8 WOD: Diane

We did benchmark girl Diane today:

21-15-9
Dead lifts (225/155)
Handstand push ups

I used 115 lbs and did pike push ups on an 18" box.

My time: 9:24

Isabelle and Rachelle came to the 12:30 pm class -- the first time they'd both attended since Open season had begun. I'm sooo proud of them! They've both really improved a lot, and you can't help but respect the discipline they have -- that all athletes have, in fact. Now that the Open is over, they could probably have a little break before they start training for Regionals, which is from May 31 to June 2 in Korea (Korea! I know, right?). If I'm not mistaken, 3 CFMNL teams are qualified to move on to the Asia Regional. Sooo eggzoiting!

Speaking of respect, I saw this on Lisbeth Darsh's twitter timeline:

That is Julie Foucher, who placed 2nd in the 2012 CrossFit Games. She demonstrated the workout standards for each 2013 Open workout and on top of that, she filmed demo video submissions (which meant she had to do all 5 workouts on video). Can you believe she did all 5 workouts in 48 hours?! She's not competing in this year's Games because she's chosen to focus on studying medicine, but I hope she'll come back next year because she has a real chance of dethroning Annie T.!

Apr 5 WOD: Open 13.5

I tried my hand at the last Open workout and you might think it's *just* 4 minutes, but the Fran-ish misery it brings will make you think twice. You wanna do well but you don't know if you wanna do well enough to get a bonus time of 4 minutes and prolong the agony. Dave Castro is an evil genius.

For the CFMNL Open competitors, this was the scale:

I'm glad I looked at the standards for the jumping pull ups. Most important points: the distance from the bar and the head has to be at least 6", and the rep starts from a dead hang position with the arms locked out. Turns out, they're not so easy to do! I finally settled on a double underhand grip, which made it easier to make my chest touch the bar.

My score: 50

And that concludes the Open season for me. I'm sad that there aren't anymore live announcements to look forward to, or articles and videos giving tips on how to go about the workouts.

There is no other community like the CrossFit community

More than reaching my goal of getting fitter and stronger, what keeps me coming back for more at the box is the community. Whenever I open the door to the box, it's like coming home. We all greet one another like old friends and I just love the camaraderie. You compete with everyone else, but at the same time you also support them. That sounds strange, but not when it comes to CrossFit.

There was a double header at the live announcement of 13.5: Camille LeBlanc-Bazinet vs. Sam Briggs, and Rich Froning vs. Jason Khalipa. The workout is:

How it works is, if the 90 reps is completed within the 4 minute time cap, the time cap will be extended to 8 minutes. If the 180 reps is reached within the 8 minute time cap, the athlete will now get a 12 minute cap, and so on.

Sam wasn't able to do 180 in 8 minutes and scored only 175 when time ran out. Camille, however, had to continue, and at the end of 12 minutes she scored 244. I can't imagine what must have been going on in her mind when she saw that her competitor was done and she had to continue working in front of thousands of people.

After catching her breath, Sam walked over to Camille and cheered her on, as you can see below. Where else will you see your competitor egging you on to get in more reps than her? I swear, if everybody did CrossFit, the world would be so much the better for it. After all, CrossFit is a microcosm of the real world (at least, for me it is).

Camille in the yellow top; Sam in the black top
Grabbed from the CrossFit Games twitter feed

 I read on twitter that Jason was hosting Rich and his wife in his house -- how cool is that? Anyway, for their head-to-head, Jason wasn't able to meet the 8 minute cap (he scored 169). And community spirit ruled again as he went over to Rich to talk him through the workout. Rich finished with 226 reps.

Jason in the CrossFit Mayhem shirt; Rich with his back to the camera
Grabbed from the CrossFit Games twitter feed

Now I can't wait for the Games!!!

Apr 3 WOD: Max reps + Wendler

WOD

3 RFT:

1 minute max reps push ups
1 minute max reps kettlebell swings (24/16 kg)
1 minute max reps burpees
1 minute max reps sit ups
1 minute max reps box jumps (24/18")
1 minute rest

I used the Rx'd kettlebell weight and box height, but to be totally honest about my movements, they were not all performed as Rx'd (oopsie -- sorry, Coach!).

I didn't count the reps for each movement. Instead, I kept a continuous count of all my reps until the end of the round.

My score: 275


Strength: Shoulder press

70% x 3 = 3 x 45
80% x 3 = 3 x 50
90% x 3+ = 3 x 60 (broken into 1 rep sets)

Assistance: Good mornings

1 x 10 x 45
1 x 10 x 55
2 x 10 x 65
1 x 10 x 75


In other news... the last workout of the CF Open, 13.5 is going to be announced tomorrow! That would be at 8 am, Manila time. I can't wait to see what Dave Castro will make Froning and Khalipa do. He said it's going to be a "bloodbath" so whatever it is, it must be really baadddd.

If I were depressed...

From my tumblog

... CrossFit would be my Prozac. But more than my Prozac, it would be my happy pill.

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

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 25 WOD: Thruster couplet

I think I'm finally getting the hang of the thruster. I realized that fully extending the hips before pressing the bar up does make the movement easier. It was like having an "a-ha!" moment.

20 minutes AMRAP:

10 thrusters (95/65)

10 chest to bar pull ups OR 10 toes to bar

I have to be honest -- I really wanted to use just 45 lbs for the thrusters. Is it strategizing or sandbagging when you want to use a lighter weight so you can survive 20 minutes of thruster agony? But Tricia convinced me to do 55 lbs (a PR!), and we'd agreed that we'd aim for at least 6 rounds. For the other movement, Coach Jordan recommended that we work on our pull ups. I was reunited yet again with the blue band, and Coach suggested that I use a double underhand grip instead. I found that it did make pull ups easier, and I could also do chest-to-bar more easily.

My score: 7 rounds + 6 thrusters

Mar 22 WOD: Triplet

My butt still hurts from the pistols we did last Wednesday. I arrived at the box early and had contemplated on doing back squats for the Wendler, then I thought I'd better conserve my butt muscles and legs because today's workout involved front squats.

3 RFT (rounds for time):

20 front squats (130/95)
20 burpees
20 toes to bar

I used the long bar and set it up to 65 lbs, and for the toes to bar I was supposed to do knees to elbows but I just couldn't make them meet! I wanted to do V-ups instead but Coach Jordan said I needed to practice the toes to bar. Phooey.

My time: 17:55

Oh, and I want these new inov-8s:

inov-8 F-Lite 182
(source)

Aren't they just the cutest?!

Mar 21 WOD: Open 13.3

I watched the live announcement on the CF Games website again this morning. I feel like such a CrossFit dork for setting my alarm to make sure I didn't miss it. Then again, I'm sure millions of CrossFitters around the world did the same. Well, maybe not millions, but, you know... a lot.

Grabbed from the CF Games site

So it turns out that 13.3 is 12.4. I remember doing this last year. I used a 10 lb ball for the wall balls and I only made it through those. For the CFMNL Open, this was the scale they gave:

Grabbed from the CFMNL site

I've never used a 14 lb ball for wall balls before and of all the days to do it, it had to be today. I told Miggy about it and he said, "Good!" with a big, happy smile. Well, when push comes to shove, there's no other way to do it but to just do it.

My score: 120 (sucks that I wasn't even able to do the double unders with my nifty new Rogue SR-1 rope!)

Mar 20 WOD: OTM + Wendler

Strength: Dead lift

70% x 3 = 3 x 125
80% x 3 = 3 140
90% x 3+ = 5 x 160

Assistance: Kettlebell swings

5 x 10 x 16 kg

I haven't been feeling the Wendler love lately but I still do it. It's probably because of the lack of sleep, so I'll be glad when my shift changes and starts an hour earlier.


WOD

OTM (on the minute) x 20 minutes

Odd: Choice between push ups or dips, 8-12 reps
Even: Choice between max reps pistol squats, 10 kettlebell goblet squats, or 20-40 double unders

My score: 102 push ups; 115 pistols

So another thing to add on my ever growing list of CF stuff to work on: pistol squats. I need to work on doing it with my leg out in front and not letting it stray to the side when I need to balance myself.

In other news, 13.3 is going to be announced tomorrow, 8 am (Philippine time)!

I found this floating around on Pinterest

For me, half the battle is in my mind. I need to just shut up and do the work.

Mar 19 WOD: Running and lunges

Of course there had to be a run today. When the sky is cloudless and the noon sun is high. The lunch class really struggled with the heat, and I'm sure that if it weren't that hot we would all have finished (probably).

3 RFT:

800m run
40m one arm kettlebell overhead walking lunges (24/16 kg)

Grabbed from CFMNL

Before we started, we learned that there will now be running WODs once during weekdays. Groans all around, but whatever. I signed up for CrossFit, and this is part of the deal.

Anyway, I made it to only 2 rounds + 800m run when the 25 minutes ran out but I still did the last set of 40m walking lunges.

Mar 15 WOD: Thrusters + Wendler

Strength: Shoulder press

65% x 5 = 5 x 40
75% x 5 = 5 x 50
85% x 5+ = 5 x 55

I had a lot of difficulty getting the bar up in the last set. I couldn't even do it unbroken. What's up with that?? Maybe my shoulders haven't recovered from 13.2?


WOD

For time:

- 20 thrusters (115/80)
- 8 chest to bar pull ups
- 8 toes to bar
- 10 thrusters
- 4 chest to bar pull ups
- 4 toes to bar

I used a 45 lb bar because I wanted to take it easy today. I also got reunited with the blue band for the pull ups, and I did knees to stomach instead of the toes to bar. I really must find the time to work on the toes to bar.

My time: 4:02

Mar 14 WOD: Open 13.2

I woke up this morning just in time to watch the live announcement of the Open workout 13.2 on the CrossFit Games website.

Grabbed from the CrossFit Games site

On paper, it looks deceivingly simple. But you know these are the ones you should be wary of. I watched the head-to-head throwdown between Annie and Lindsey Valenzuela and it was fascinating. They both started out hard and fast, and while Annie was able to sustain her pace, Lindsey started slowing down a bit until she was a round behind Annie. The latter scored 361 (12 rounds + 1 shoulder to overhead) while Lindsey scored 335 (11 rounds + 5 shoulder to overhead). Which means they did each round in less than a minute. That is insane.

For the CFMNL Open, this was the scale that they gave:

Grabbed from CFMNL

I'm registered under the female medium Rx category so I used 55 lbs for the shoulder to overhead (push press) and dead lift, and got a 20" box for the box jumps.

My score: 201 (6 rounds + 6 box jumps)

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 11 WOD: Couplet + Wendler

Strength: Dead lift

And today marks my fifth cycle.

65% x 5 = 5 x 115
75% x 5 = 5 x 130
85% x 5 = 7 x 150

Assistance 1: Kettlebell swings (16 kg)

5 x 10

Assistance 2: Good mornings

1 x 10 x 45
1 x 10 x 55
1 x 10 x 65
2 x 10 x 75


WOD

10 minutes AMRAP:

- 6 dead lifts (225/155)
- 6 handstand push ups

We practiced doing handstand kick ups before the workout. I'm still too scared to kick up until my heels touch the wall. To think my sisters and I used to do it for fun all the time when we were still kids! There's something about getting old that makes you more afraid to try new things.

I set up a 120 lb bar (even though Coach Jordan was needling me to go Rx) and used a box for the pike push ups.

My score: 10 + 6 dead lifts

Mar 8 WOD: Open 13.1 + Wendler

Strength: Shoulder press

It's deload week anyway, so I figured I might as well get this cycle over and done with. I didn't get the chance to do assistance work, though, because the bootcamp class was full again.

40% x 5 = 5 x 25

50% x 5 = 5 x 30

60% x 5+ = 10 x 35

Boring. The WOD, however, was anything but.

WOD: 13.1

I had mentally prepared for 13.1 yesterday. I read the Coaching Roundtable article on Tabata Times, I watched Julie Foucher's demo video:

I watched Carl Paoli's video breaking down 13.1:

Truth to tell, I wasn't able to focus on anything else because I was too busy checking out facebook and twitter for news about how my boxmates were doing. I was thinking so much about the workout that I'm pretty sure I even dreamt of the snatch last night. I am geeky and obsessive like that.

Well, on to the workout. Coach Matt agreed that I should be moved up to the medium Rx category, so this was the scale I used. 17 minutes AMRAP:

- 40 burpees to 6" target

- 30 snatch 45 lbs

- 30 burpees to target

- 30 snatch 55 lbs

- 20 burpees to target

- 30 snatch 65 lbs

- 10 burpees to target

- AMRAP snatch 75 lbs

I did pace myself on the burpees (not that I could do them fast in the first place) but the sheer number that had to be done before the snatch really does a number on your legs. By the time I reached the second snatch set, my form was suffering and it was getting more and more difficult to get the bar up.

My score: 115 (70 burpees + 30 snatch 45 lbs + 15 snatch 55 lbs)

CrossFit Open Workout 13.1

The first Open Workout of 2013 (more popularly known as "13.1") was announced 12 hours ago and the social media world -- the CrossFitting social media world, at least -- exploded with tweets and posts reacting to the announcement.

Grabbed from the CF Games website

Yep, that's the workout. In my humble newbie opinion, it seems to have been designed to weed out the weak from the outset. Anyone can do burpees, but the snatch is a whole other animal. It could make or break your chances of getting in a lot of reps, depending on your strength and whether or not you have the technique down.

At the local CFMNL Open, though, we are given scales.

Grabbed from CFMNL

I'm signed up for the Baby Rx category, but now that I've seen the weights that will be used for the Med Rx category, I want an "upgrade". I'm not sure if the coaches will allow it but I know I'll feel like I'm shortchanging myself if I do PVC overhead squats instead of the snatch. Besides, I don't want to be labeled a sandbagger!

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!

Mar 5 WOD: Cleans

The first 15 minutes we did a clean complex similar to the snatch complex we did yesterday. We worked up to a heavy set of power clean + squat clean (touch and go). I shared a bar with Isabelle and Rach and we were able to work our way up to 95 lbs.

The metcon was similar to yesterday's as well. OTM x 10:

- 5 hang squat clean
- 15 box jumps (30/24")

Rach and I shared a 65 lb bar and used the prescribed 24" box. It was so hard on the legsss. I was panting like you wouldn't believe. Coach Jordan said that the recent WODs were geared to help us get ready for the Open (both the CFMNL Open and the Reebok CrossFit Open). That informational tidbit and the thought of having someone count your reps while you're working out makes me want to hyperventilate. (Note to self: It's just another WOD. It's just another WOD. It's just another freakin' WOD.)

I'm excited to see who among my boxmates will make it to Regionals. CFMNL is ready!

Mar 4 WOD: Snatch + Wendler

Strength: Dead lift

Deload week!

40% x 5 = 5 x 70
50% x 5 = 5 x 85
60% x 5+ = 15 x 100

Assistance 1: Kettlebell swings

5 x 10 x 16 kg

Assistance 2: Weighted walking lunges

6 x 10 x 15 lbs

I think the assistance work is truly helping, at least in terms of making me more conscious about my form.


WOD

For the first 15 minutes of the workout, we worked on the power snatch and the full snatch. One set is 1 power snatch + 1 full snatch (touch and go), with emphasis on technique. I've finally managed to move up from 45 to 50 lbs with the full snatch.

The metcon was OTM x 10:

Odd minutes - 5 push press
Even minutes - max reps chest to bar pull ups

I used the same 50 lb bar for the push press and did ring rows instead of CTB. I think we were supposed to keep count of the total number of pull ups we were able to do but I didn't do it. By my estimate, though, I probably did around 75.

Mar 1 WOD: 5RM Push press + Wendler

It's already March?! I guess it shouldn't be too hard to believe, since the weather is getting hotter and hotter by the day. Looking out my grimy office window, I can see that the sky is a cloudless blue. This would have been the perfect beach day and it makes me wish I were in Davao. But enough daydreaming.


Strength: Shoulder press

75% x 5 = 5 x 45
85% x 3 = 3 x 50
95% x 1+ = 4 x 60

Sadly, I wasn't able to do assistance work after the WOD because the bootcamp class was full and there wasn't any space left on the floor that I could use. I was surprised to see that many people -- around 15 or so!


WOD

The first 15 minutes, we worked on our 5RM push press. I worked my way up to 75 lbs. I was able to do 3 reps at 80 but I couldn't rack the bar from the overhead position and it would fall on the floor.

After that, we did the metcon, which was 7 minutes AMRAP:

- 10 toes to bar
- 15 ring push ups
- 20 box jumps (24/18")

Since I wasn't doing the T2B Rx'd, I did knees to elbows on the rings. I also did the ring push ups on my knees (those were darn hard!), and I did the box jumps as Rx'd.

After a few minutes of resting, we did the cash out 800m run. It was for time and according to the board, we were to give it our max effort. Riiighhtttt. My goal was simply to not stop, and I did it! I was even able to sprint the last 50 meters. Now I know it's not impossible to run continuously! Haha!

My score: 75# (push press) / 2 + 9 box jumps (metcon) / 4:50 (cash out)