Week of 8/22 - 8/28

Monday 8/22

Strength

Overhead Squat: Intermediate 5-5-5-5 @

I focused on the whole squat progression today. Squats in general are tough given my crap knees, hyper-mobility, and glute/ham/core weakness, so I’m going to work on moving well before moving heavy... plus, listening to my knees make that grinding sound is pretty gross.

Workout of the Day

1 min AMRAP on/1 min off for 20 minutes
2 Hang Power Snatch (70#)
3 Box Jumps (20”)
4 Burpees

HPS are definitely better - Matt and Rudy are spot on about my lack of confidence under the bar and full squat movements. Like expedition training, it’s all about getting myself inoculated to the uncomfortable until its familiar enough to be comfortable.

Box and burpees are ok - like many other things, this was more of a mental toughness thing for me. I am physically fit enough to work without break and control my breathing such that I don’t hyperventilate, but I have to work through the mental challenge of pushing through the discomfort and focusing on the plan.

Post-WOD

5 x 10 Strict Pull-ups ... I am slowly getting to my 10 unbroken goal ... I was able to tweak out 4’s and 5’s ... bar at home slips so I need to fix that but pullups are a work in progress

Tuesday 8/23

5k with K$sha, 50cent, David Guetta, and Rage ... they help me move, but nothing like chasing a pack of CFC'ers... :15 improvement from last year's "skinny pete 5k" of 26:36

Saturday 8/27

Workout of the Day

5 rounds @ 9:04

5 HSPU (small band)

10 KBS (1.5p)

30 doubleunders

HSPU were slow, but steady and unbroken. KBS went steady and unbroken too. I almost went totally unbroken, but the 3rd round of doubleunders got me twice. This was a great WOD

Post-WOD

no access to pullup bar in ohio woods, so i worked on my super-suck list of situps, airsquats, and wallballs … 50 each

Steady Freddy

Home WOD @ 9:46

• 10 Hang Power Cleans @ 75#
• 10 burpees
• 30 double-unders

Arguably one of my most favorite lifts, hang power cleans are v-reminiscent of picking up a backpack ... something mountaineering makes climbers accustomed to ... they went unbroken and moved quickly, but I see how there was an opportunity to improve efficiency by using my legs more than muscling it up with my arms – no reason to wear myself out when there were 50 burpees looming over me!

I broke very few times during double-unders, but incremental improvements in that area saved time given how much said burpees made me suffer... still, I refused to break during those even though fatigue slowed my pace. I may not be the fastest, but I’m steady!

I really loved this workout and was disappointed that I didn’t get to do it CFC (sodding repairman ruined my afternoon!) but tomorrow is another day

Pre-WOD/Strength

I wanted to work on deadlifts as RX’ed, but I’m going to save that for my next visit at CFC and when my toe heals ... it’s still pretty bruised and stings like heck when I put weight on it. I’d also like more eyes on my deadlifts because I have some bad habits to break and work to do.

So I did 4x10 GHDs instead and will surely feel it tomorrow!

Post-WOD

• 2x10 pistols on each side ... WOW! I have a lot of work to do ... Matt found my struggle very entertaining
• 4 x TTB @ 6-6-4-5 ... still struggling to string them ... arms are still a little sore from Wednesday’s AMRAP
• 10 Deadhang Pullups @ 3-3-2-2 ... ugh! I’m working these until I can pull 10 strict!

---

Notes: i have a lot of work to do over the next 11 months from a fitness perspective, but technical climbing work is going strong ... knots, fixed line ascents, working the ice axes, camp setup/breakdown. next step is to start seeing my friends at CF construct to flip tires, pull heavy sleds, and get more of those camp-packmule activities going again...

gotta love a good kick in the ass by eric, big john g, anderson, and drywall. they encourage and provide a safe environment for unleashing my inner neanderthal ;)

---

ranking from 1-10 ... 

• sleep: 8
• diet: 9
• health: 7
• stress: 6
• recovery: 7
• mental energy: 7
• physical energy: 7

sooo busted

15 min AMRAP @ 5 rounds + 12 WB 
10 Hang Power Cleans (85#)
15 Wall Balls (14#)
20 Lateral Jumps over Bar

I loooooooved this workout. I wanna do it again, actually. Monday WODs have been rather awesome lately - long durations with some heavy built-in.

HPCs definitely a fave movement - they were strong, steady, and unbroken. Good wrist flex, high elbows, hips moving well. Maybe it was a bit light but it offset the heavier wall balls that I struggled with.

Speaking of WBs, they were tough and really slowed me down - I had to break them into 3’s and 5’s. Clearly, metcon still needs to improve and I struggle with squats. I got annoyed that my body would not do what I was telling it to - so the f-bombs flew... (hey, change is incremental. I’m trying!)

The only thing I can think of with squats is weak glute/quad? I’m really flexible (17 years of yoga flexible) but I’m guessing I’m just really weak... or it’s mental. I’ll go into the gym on Thursday to get more eyes on it to find out.

---

Notes

2on-1off seems to be working out a bit better for recovery and I tracked my schedule for the week ... yes, there was a huge difference in productivity ... but of course Coach knew that.

Getting distracted easily = need more compelling priorities

He sooo busted me. It’s the same tough love my father, my brothers, and Matt give. Seriously, you discipline-loving people drive me crazy. I hate it, but I also respond to it the best and know deep down inside that’s what it takes for me to get where I really want to go.

Got it. I made decisions last year, but the truth is, I’ve been avoiding putting them to action. Instead, I’ve put energy into distractions. I realise that first-things-first is the way to go. But FUD of losing my window is preventing me from shelving my dreams of being doc on the mountain and dealing with the here and now. I keep oscillating and it’s really annoying (and counterproductive).

Time to nut up or shut up.

---

out of 10...

sleep: 4 (matt snores so loud, turkey hogs the bed, and cody farts)
diet: 6
health: 7 (see above)
recovery: 8 (until wed! ha!)
physical energy: 7
mental energy: 6
stress: 8.5 (decisions require action and change)

I heart chippers and getting back into it!

For Time @ 15:46 (20 min cap)

40 Hang Power Cleans (75#)

40 Box Jumps (16")

40 Burpees

40 Calories on C2

20 Hang Power Cleans (75#)

20 Box Jumps (16")

20 Burpees

20 Calories on C2

doh! AWESOME WOD that beat me down and called me susan!

i was chugging away until the 2nd round of burpees ... then BAM! dry heaves and started staring at the floor!

then my ego got slapped when i saw jessica blast through and had 5 calories on me by the time my sorry butt finally hit the rower - wow! baby has not slowed THE FURY down! what a tough chase!

I finally finished 2 calories behind and hit the deck!

woo! this was a great lung burner - level 2 fun indeed!!!

Broke 1x on 1st round of HPC’s, then twice on 2nd round ... god, I love HPC and they felt good. just wish my body would keep up with my head!

Broke 2x on each round of the box jumps. we only have 24”er have at home, so 16” was a blessing!

Burpees felt ok in first round, but dry heaves hit on the 2nd round and I really found myself falling behind there

My rowing has improved, but fatigue and inconsistent movement prevented me from pulling more efficiently - I found myself pulling 2x per calorie instead of 1-1.5 pulls per calorie. ANY rowing ability I have I owe to coaches Bryce, Ben, and Rudy, I was a TOTAL mess before they taught me what to do... trust me, anyone knows how embarrassing it was... in fact, almost as bad as how I used to run! (oh yeah, THAT bad! ha!)

I’ve always enjoyed the mental challenge of chippers and I have to admit that bodyweight WODs are helping me build a little confidence because my strength definitely isn’t back yet. Partnering with Ali G has been great and it feels so good to get back into the box more and more.

---

Overall, I’m starting to feel my head get there - little by little, bit by bit... just chipping away. Sometimes ya gotta let yourself hit rock bottom before you get your “GRR!” back on. I’ve still got 14 months until Denali and 6 months before the wedding, so I’m not kicking myself toooo hard just yet.

Monday, 11 April

Alison and I agreed to make this WOD up on Sunday so we can do it together. Unbroken pullups look really intimidating so we agreed to hold off. I worked on 10 deadhangs, did 50 situps, 50 TTB (the bar at home is easier to string, go figure!), ran 800m with the dog, and did 30 pushups. It’s not much and I didn’t time it, but I managed to do something given how sore I’ve been.

Sunday, 10 April

Really needed a day off, still sore and needed more calories. I’m clearly not eating enough.

Saturday, 09 April

Kinda sore from yoga! My hamstrings and arms are sore from all the inversions and bound bends. I went really deep on friday and managed to get into full posture expressions - balance and strength slowly coming back. yay!

Friday, 08 April

Ashtanga Yoga, Primary Series, 90min ... get ‘er done.

Post yoga
worked on Pullups, TTB, pushups, and situps. I think I'm going to do at least those since I can sneak off for a bit each day.

---

so this week...

Sleep: better, averaged 5-7hrs
Strength: 80%-ish
Mental energy: 8.5
Physical energy: 8
Stress: 7 ... I hate my professor and lab partners
Diet: 5, not too naughty, but also not enough quality calories
Health: cloggy lungs and see above

3/28 - 4/2

Mon 3/28

21-15-9 reps @ 5:45 (yikes! v-close to time limit!!)
Hang Power Cleans (65#)
Wall Balls (14#)
Box Jumps (20″)

Would've liked to go a little lighter/lower to get speed up, but we don't have 5# bumpers or a lower box @ home. Need to work on metcon REGARDLESS - this was a struggle and I was really slow!!

Post – 3 x 10 Glute Ham Raises

oh, i'm gonna feel these in a couple of days...

http://beyondthewhiteboard.com/workout_sessions/1154041

Tue 3/29

Ashtanga yoga (full primary series) ... yeah. v-sore glutes... i wanna chalk it up to having an asian ass... but that'd be wimping out. my glut/hams are flexible because of yoga, but underdeveloped in terms of strength. i think my squat movements will really improve if i can improve that... work in progress

Wed 3/30

15 min AMRAP @ 7 rounds, 2 DL
9 Deadlifts (75#)
12 Push-ups
15 Box jumps (20")

coach said i wasn't working hard enough because i wasn't cursing... that's kinda sad ... and maybe true because i think there was 1 more round in me. my goal was to do 7 rounds, so i was trying too hard to time each round at 2:30 ... which felt way too slow. i also scaled down weight instead of just doing it RX'd... it was too light (even though my form went to crap in the last round when i finally decided to go faster)

oh well. when in doubt, challenge yourself. lesson learned..

http://beyondthewhiteboard.com/workout_sessions/1159112

Fri 4/1

Lack of access to equipment prevented me from hitting regular CFC WOD, but I managed to do ashtanga yoga (full primary series). Better than bananas for diminishing soreness and working out the kinks (really sore from glute/ham raises!)

Sat 4/2 (CFC Fri 4/1 Makeup)

WOD: 7 Rounds @ 13:42
3 Hang Power Snatch (75#)
5 Handstand Push-ups
7 Pull-ups

Yay! Was able to get a WOD in! V-slow, but HPS unbroken (maybe light?). Still working on full depth for HPU. CTB unbroken in first round, then 2-3's. Still working on getting my "GRRR!" back on.

Post-WOD
me laying on the floor ... and then 5 x :05 l-sits

http://beyondthewhiteboard.com/workout_sessions/1166777

Still need to do power cleans, though.

---

So out of 10 this week ...

stress: 2-3

health: 85%

mental energy: 8

physical energy: 8

sleep: 7 (kitties are insane)

diet: 7 (i ate a whole pack of maria cookies, 2 orders of fried shrimp, a whole box of orange milanos, and a cadbury's on thursday ... oooh, so naughty on cheat day and probably not enough calories spread out each day, but diet is improving. boy did i feel the junk food hangover later, though.)

Video from yesterday's Valentine's Day WOD

5 rounds of
- 5 deadlifts
- 5 hang cleans
- 5 push jerks
- 5 squats

what i thought was 45-45-55-65-75 looks like 45-45-55-65-85 after looking at the video ... seems i'm back to being space cadet because it looks like i misloaded the bar on the last round ... i think i put the 5's back on when i switched out the 10's to the 15's ... ( i knew i was little pooped, but i also knew it felt heavy!)  whatever, i finished it whether it was 10# more or less. i really liked the workout, though.

round 4 @ 75

round 5 @ 80 (part 1) ... yeah, lost balance, kinda sat down, but managed to keep it together and get back up... only to fail on the transition to push presses. ha!

round 5 @ 80 (part 2)

i know, they looked more like push jerks... old pack mule... err, dog trying to embrace new tricks.

CF-Mode and Feeling It

Strength

Hang Clean 1rm @ 83(2)-103-123-143(4)-133(f)-133

Stopped at 133# because movement was beginning to degrade and my elbows weren’t getting under the bar fast enough anymore. Even though I tend to over-think what I’m supposed to do, I know there’s still some work to be done to match or better my 155#PR. Years of climbing and yoga gave me a propensity towards strength work (“It’s just a big backpack, T!”), so I’ve decided to work on quality of movement over the next few months rather than quantity of weight. The big PRs will be there. There’s a 180#PR waiting there in me ... I guess I’m just not feeling it yet.

Metcon
7 rounds Light and fast @ 18:08

5 Handstand Push-ups (abmats, abmats, abmats ... ugh)

10 Deadlifts (85# ... I know, weak sauce, but I have bad movement habits I want to break first)

10 Chest-to-Bar Pull-ups (V-weak sauce! Purple band on a few rounds, barely pull-ups at that!)

20 Double-unders (This felt good. Only broke once for all rounds and it deserved a good “HA!” at the end.)

I admit that got angry with how weak I’ve become in the metcon department ... but tomorrow is another day and I know there’s plenty more where that came from :)

Notes:
Interesting thing today. Coach noted that I don’t seem to be in CF-mode yet ... Bryce jokes with me a lot so this one didn’t strike me right away. But I think he’s right (he usually is and I love/hate that).

I guess I’m just not feeling that intensity yet. S’ok, though. I’ll get there and I’ll work to gain the weight that will help me along. The coaches tease me a lot and get on my case, but I can’t argue with people who really know how to call me out my lazy BS in order to get me to improve. These guys are total gems to put up with some of our adolescent behavior ... and my god-awful eating habits lately (for another post).

So even though I’m mixing in the yoga and home CF’ing, I’ve been coming into the box only 2x a week. I paid for 3x and am only wasting my own money and time. The intensity needs to be worked all around, I suppose. Truth be told, I’m a little burned out. This year has been REALLY frickin busy.

I’m not trying to make excuses ... I’m just REALLY tired! This year, I got in 2 semesters of full-time, labs with every class, pre-med coursework ... then climbed Denali (Mt McKinley) ... then climbed the Tetons ... then did my WEMT ... then did 6 weeks of NPS and IHS rotations ... then moved twice, bought a new house, renovated it, and moved again ... built 3 websites for friends’ businesses ... then got engaged and am now planning a wedding and trying to get a job. All the while still training, getting sick once in a while, having accidents, doing some volunteering, running a few races, getting injuries, and trying to nurture a relationship. Dude, seriously?! I’m a bit pooped!

Stress: 6
Strength: 75%
Mental energy: 7
Physical energy: 6
Health: still cloggy lungs, but improving
Diet: pretty bad. i eat clean (i.e., paleo) all week, then i pull out the chocolate, cheese, and popeyes around 8pm because i’m feeling too lazy to cook ... then i tell myself that i need to gain weight anyways (yeah, i know, it’s the wrong kind of weight. seriously?! this is shameful. i was one of the paleo challenge winners earlier this year and look at me now! i didn’t just fall off the wagon, i jumped off with eyes wide open. man, i can see bryce showing me his tatoo and rolling his eyes at me. it’s the worst!)
Sleep: 7-8ish ... i’ve been so lazy lately, who knows!?

like riding a bike

So I made every excuse yesterday and Matt didn't hear it... and that's why I love him. I needed that jedi-mind-trick because it guilted me into putting on my lifting shoes and getting on that WOD

Warmup
TTB on rings (20), pullups on rings(20), doubleunders(50), situps(20), buttkicks(25), pushups(20)

Mainsite HPC of 7 x 3 @ 75-85-95-105-115-115(1)-115

Far cry from my 130# 1RM, but actually not bad given how much of a slacker I've been in every department... plus I realise that its not easy to game out 7 sets of 3s as seen in my inconsistent results. Definitely see an opportunity to work on getting elbows up faster and really driving the hips. I love the movements that are similar to climbing ... I still think of the days I'd get Bryce all frustrated showing me how to lift ... then one day he told me to pick up the bar like hauling a backpack over a ledge ... then I nailed it

I wonder if he knows how much he helped me and how much I learned. He's a sadistic sod, but you can't help but to love such well-meaning mischief. Hmm. Sounds like someone I know.

Glad I got this one out of the way. Still weak, but I can feel my "GRR" coming back. I'm coming for you, big-tire ... remember me?!

Sleep: 7
Stress: 5
Energy: 7 all-around
Health: gunky cough ... sucks
Metcon: bad breathing, bad metcon, annoyed T

20100324 Training: Pizza and Ropes

I thought having a cheat day would be
ok now that the Paleo diet challenge is done (I placed 3rd, by the way -
hooray!) - but alas, some cheat days are not meant to be. What I should
probably try to do is find a balance that allows me to "enjoy food" and yet
still get the performance that I need. Having said that,

Pre-WOD: boston cremes, vanilla ice cream, and entire thin-crust pizza.
Totally regretted it during the WOD.

Strength: Pull ups & Rope climbing
Climbed part of the rope with Ross, we then mixed in ring and bar pullups.
There is a difference between 22-yr old male shoulders and 40-yr old female
ones. Ha! :)

Metabolic conditioning @ 6:00
30-20-10 reps
Hang power clean (65 lbs)
Wall ball (12 lbs)

... I'm taking a :03 penalty for jumping the gun. Rather funny given that
I'm not known for speed... at all... ever. Seriously,

Post-WOD: ran 2.75m home, then proceeded to finish off donuts and ice cream.
Yummy, but painful. I am afraid to know how poorly I will recover from all
this. Time to revisit the diet (or at least a more "normal" version of it)

Sleep: 6.5 hrs
Stress: 3 (I admit that I got some online retail therapy in)
Mental Energy: 8
Physical Energy: 7
Diet: 2 (see above)

20100202 Training: Aggressive indeed!

I'm feeling better. Diet and rest are making big differences.

Power Cleans 5-3-1+
1RM+5 @ 67.5%/76.5%/85.5%

5 rounds, unbroken reps of:

• Wall Ball @ 12lbs
• Hang Power Clean (45% of 1RM Clean)

30 seconds of rest in-between exercises

A break on the wall ball is any non-movement with the ball in hand.
A break on the hang power clean is any pause more than 2 seconds at the top or bottom.

Optional Post WOD: 3x max push ups (90 seconds rest)

---

Coach agreed that I'm still not @ 100% work capacity so I scaled back 10% from my lifting totals today. I'm almost there and only about 100# underweight now ... (yes, I gained 8lbs back! Woo hoo!)

Power cleans: 85-95-105(5)
1RM = 135#

• 67.50% @ 91 (82 scaled)
• 76.50% @ 103 (93 scaled)
• 85.50% @ 115 (104 scaled)

Strength ambling back, but I can't sustain. Weight gain, food, and rest. I'm on it.

• WB 12#: 27-26-15-13-7
• HPC 63#: 27-19-15-15-10

Wasted a few WB reps not hitting red line. I also want to apologise to everyone last night. My hands refused to cooperate in spite of having plenty # left in me ... Thus, I got rather angry when I'd break and got a little
"vocal". Can I call a do-over? ...at least for fun? This was awesome and arguably my favorite WOD :)

Pushup Max: 10-10-8
Beh. It's gonna take time

2009 11 30 WOD back after Thanksgiving

today wasn't easy. It's one of my favorite workouts as I'm really learning to love oly weightlifting, but it sneaks up on you no matter how much you like it. HPC's are one of the new lifts I'm really beginning to like and get a little proficiency in.

Strength: Snatch @ 65-85-95f-95f-95

Spent time working on form and efficiency. Ran out of time to attempt 105# a second time, but practice will get me there.
Metabolic Conditioning: 21-15-9 reps @ 5:40
- Hang power clean @ 65
- Push press/jerk @ 65

I went slightly heavier than the RX'd 50% of Clean and jerk max (my PR is 125# so far) but it felt good to push myself to failure. Truthfully, I could have made the sub 5:00 goal, but I made the mistake of breaking during the 2nd round and dropping the bar to rest too much . . . instead of resting while holding at the top, I wasted time dropping the bar, cleaning it up, and then finishing the push presses . . . and then I stared at the bar a lot too. It easily added a minute I didn't need to add. Ironically, I was killing the first round and fought well through the last . . . I just didn't keep up a steady pace through the 2nd.

Ran 5k to the box and part way home . . . it was dark and it's Chicago . . . plus I run really slow!!! ;)

2009 10 20 totally wimped

Skills: Double-unders. I was stringing 5-7 at a time with Paws's AWESOME tips! He's my new hero!

 

Metcon 7 rounds @ 8:21

• 7 Box jumps (20 RX'd, went 18")
• 7 Hang power cleans (95# RX'd, went 55#)
• 7 Burpees

WTF? I think I was so intimidated seeing 7 rounds that I didn't challenge myself enough. I went too light on HPC and too low on box - it showed in my time and I wasn't "struggling" with the weight towards the end. Although I'm disappointed, I was pleased that I didn't break sets and "maintained my composure" until the last round. I dry-heaved a little bit right after I finished, but I think that was from pushing myself to finish feeling strong.

 

So … if anyone sees me wimping like this again, feel free to ask me how 18000ft felt or how much I really want the summit

2009 09 12 earning today's WOD

tomorrow is a rest day, but today, i still have to earn it.

so in the spirit of the hero workouts, i did dt with the group today. they were competing for most improved and within their level for the past 12 weeks. i wasn’t competing but thought it might be fun to get in there with the group. some pretty strong athletes in there.

“dt”
this workout of the day is in honor of usaf ssgt timothy p. davis, 28, who was killed on feburary, 20, 2009 supporting operations in oef when his vehicle was struck by an ied. timothy is survived by his wife megan and one-year old son t.j.

5 rds for time
- 12 deadlifts
- 9 hang power cleans
- 6 push jerks

my very first dt wod @ 11:10
w2/85#

really appreciated alison’s round-counting tip and kerry’s inspiring pace … the women in there really kickass. i was also thankful for the push and corrections from everyone as i struggled with the last round – my body was really screaming! saturday energy in the box rocks!

today’s lessons learned:
1. men cry too (ok, shriek). go kurt!!
2. shoulda received the pink memo before coming in
3. never do randy the day before dt (or at least ask alison first. har har!)
4. do what’s rx’d:
                 12-9-6 rounds, not 12-9-9
                 w2 = 80#, not 85#
5. get under the f’ing bar

2009 09 10 “Fight Gone Something Else”

FGB-lite kicked my patukas yesterday

3 rounds for score
1min break in between rounds
1min each exercise
1 point for each rep

KB 20+15+12
BURP 10+8+9
DU 1+0+1
HPC 24+16+12
PU 8+7+5

148 … double unders just joined pullups and pushups on my suck list. they’re all just awful

i need to develop a little speed and coordination. with practice, i should be able to clear 200 next time

the bright side is that there’s no where to go but up!

2009 08 31 WOD

Warm-Up:
- 800m row instead of run ... big sigh
- 45 sec forearm bridge
- 15 pushups Pullup hold-thingys (failed miserably, clearly a skill to work on!)
... there was something else, but I forgot, honestly.

I have post-WOD memory loss - where traumatic moments are blocked from memory (kidding! Seriously though, I don't remember at all, but I'm sure it wasn't easy)

Metcon: 7:38 @ 3 rounds of
- 10 HPC @ 43lbs
- 15 Burpees @ 25lbs
- 20 KB swings @ 20lbs

i think if i went a little higher in weight, i could've still made the sub-10min goal ... but it could also be my ego ... i did cry midway through round 3, after all