Crossfit

I thought I’d toss a fun little butterfly pull-up progression vid in the beginning of our workout summary this week. Butterfly pull-ups are actually an movement Neil and I have some disagreement over. He outright refuses to do them because he feels like they are a cheap shortcut (ouch!). I don’t entirely disagree, but have somewhat reconciled that they are the key to fast, high-volume pull-ups.

That being said I’ve been working on getting them since the Open, when I realized regular pull-ups weren’t working for competition. Before that I’d been able to string one or two together, but then my momentum would fall apart and I resembled something of a hooked fish. But with OPT’s focus on areas of strength girls typically lack in, I’ve become a lot better in the past month. I’ll try to have someone take a vid soon. They are kind of addictive!

Last week felt somewhat like a deload week for me — though I don’t know if that’s what OPT had in mind or not. Lots of skill work, some heavier lifts, but mostly just skills and lots and lots of pull-ups (thus butterfly mastery). I’m hoping they program some longer WODs soon, but to compensate I’ve been adding a few of the regular class workouts into my load each week — whatever seems the nastiest!

Monday

Neil

Neil did a workout, but couldn’t remember it…

Jes

A. Push jerk; 5 reps on the min for 10 min – moderate load TnG
B. Weighted chin up clusters 1.1.1.1.1×5; rest 15 sec/rest 3 min
C. Bent over barbell rows; 3-4×3; rest 2 min
D. Weighted dips; 1-2×5; rest 2 min

Run 2 miles with Matilda

Tuesday

Rest day

CrossFit instructor or Ninja turtle, you decide. Thanks @kendralice !!

New headband from Kendra! Love the Reebok CrossFit head wraps — they do NOT move. Perfect for short hair!

Wednesday

Rest day

Thursday

Neil and Jes

WOD: For Time
Row 1K
30 Muscle-Ups (No MU’s= 45 Pull-Ups and Ring Dips. Must Pair Rep Schemes)
*I did butterfly and blue-banded for pull-ups, Neil did 15 MU, 15 pull-ups and 15 dips
Run 1 Mile

Finish: 22:26 (Jes) and 26:00 (Neil)

Neil

1) 3×8 Single-Arm KB Swings
-Rest 45 Seconds B/W Sets
2) 3×8 BB Roll-Outs
-Rest 45 Seconds B/W Sets
3) 3×8 Pendlay Rows
-Rest 45 Seconds B/W Sets
4) 3×8 Straight-Leg Deadlift
-Rest 45 Seconds B/W Sets

Jessica

Airdyne 30 seconds @100%
rest 2:30
x12
(rest 5 min bw sets 3/4, 8/9)

Friday

Rest day

Working out with the guys today...

Saturday

Jes

A. Strict press; 10-12×5; rest 1 min
B. Push press 5×3; rest 2 min
+
15-10-5-10-15
Dips
CTB chin ups

Sunday

Rest day

Our box is slowly forming plans and teams for Garage Games in St. Louis in September. I’ve been mulling going, but it would definitely mean I need to take less of a auto-pilot approach to my fitness this summer and really make sure I’m getting solid WODs and auxilliary work in each week. Still trying to decide. I love the idea of a challenge and training for specific events, but I’ve also been craving and unable to achieve any sort of down time so far this summer.

Do you have a hard time choosing workouts over downtime in the summer?

{ 1 comment }

DSC_0299

Great week at the gym last week! We celebrated Memorial Day on Monday with “Murph,” I coached my first two classes, and then closed the week with some new PR’s at the bar, including the deadlift video you can see below. I’ve officially been on OPT programming for a month, and I’m pretty pleased with the results so far.

What I love:

  • Each workout leaves me wrecked and sore
  • My working weight in each workout is consistently going up
  • I’ve had more PR’s in the past month then in the last six
  • I’m working on my goats (weaknesses) — mainly my upper body strength

What I’m struggling with:

  • The workouts are long – sometimes 2 hours with proper warm-up, prescribed rests and cool-down
  • I’m on my own most of the time, so I’m definitely missing the social element
  • I sometimes end up a day off schedule because I need added rest

So all in all my first month on OPT has been pretty successful. I think I can address my struggles with isolation with 1-2 workouts per week with the group, and I definitely think teaching will help as well. The length of the workouts is just something I’m going to have to work on with my schedule, but I’m hopeful I can continue to make the programming work.

Trying new CrossFit programming has been reminiscent of going mostly Paleo two years ago. It’s exciting to tweak and try new things and find the balance of strength and endurance that is the most optimal. There are so many different programs, ways to program and people to learn from, I sometimes find it hard to believe I used to be the girl who dreaded exercise in any form.

DSC_0268

Monday

Murph
For time:
1 mile
100 pull-ups
200 push-ups
300 squats
1 mile
(+1 mile – Jes)

Finish: 48:16 (Neil), 54:10 (Jes)

Tuesday

Rest Day, we were sore!

Wednesday

Neil:

Banded warm-up, shoulder mobility
For time:
3 rounds:
200m run
10 ring pull-ups

Then:
200 ft weighted lunges (55# each arm)

3 rounds:
10 T2B
200m run

Finish: 18:30 (20 minute cap)

Thursday

Neil:

AMRAP (20:00):
5 burpees
15 air squat
20 DU’s

Finish: 10 rounds

Jessica:

A. Handstand walking practice (I’m terrible at this)
B. Split jerk; 2 reps on the min for 10 min @60% 1rm (75#)
+
Row 30 seconds @100%
rest 2:30
x8
(rest 5 min bw sets 4/5)

Finished with a PR power clean at 115#!

Friday:

Neil:

Rest day

Jessica:

A. Clean deadlift; 5, 4, 3, 2, 1; rest 3 min – started at 105# and worked to PR 1RM (rep-max) of 185
B. TnG (touch and go) Power snatch; 10, 8, 6, 4, 2; rest 90 sec (working weight: 75#, maxed at 85#)
C. 30 squat clean for time 70% 1rm (85#)

How have your workouts been going lately? Do you follow a plan to stay on track?

{ 0 comments }

Finally got around to uploading all the pictures from Memorial Day weekend. We had a pretty low-key weekend, which was nice. Lots of web design, time with friends and a great Hero WOD to cap the weekend.

DSC_0114

On Saturday morning I ventured out in the rain to cheer on the ladies (and gentlemen) running the Go Girl Half Marathon. If you remember, I ran that half last year (my first), and it was miserably hot. Well, this year the temperature was perfect, but it rained nearly the whole time. I did manage to catch some pics before the rain started:

DSC_0126

Jen

DSC_0127

Megan

DSC_0133

Aurora and Cat

After that, Neil and I set to work on some web work for a few clients, while of course watching some DOTA tournaments on our Google TV.

Untitled

Also had a ton of Lamb Korma (from Simply Recipes). So good!

DSC_0086

On Sunday, I did a little baking. I made the Paleo Lemon Poppy seed bread I had on my weekend bucket list. It turned out well, but I just love non-paleo quick breads so much more. Just one of those things that’s worth a cheat if you really love the real thing. Still turned out really well and I got lots of compliments on it. Recipe forthcoming.

DSC_0141

Although our yard is still a lake, we did manage to get back there to harvest our first crop of lettuce, which we promptly ate.

DSC_0314

I also made a batch of sourdough bread. I haven’t made any in a while. Can’t believe Kenny the sourdough starter is going on 5 months old!

DSC_0315

DSC_0316

For dinner, Neil made an awesome stir fry.

DSC_0318

Monday was all about “Murph.” Murph is a CrossFit Hero WOD that many boxes do on Memorial Day to commemorate our troops. The story of Lt. Michael Murphy is truly inspiring, and although a simple workout does little to honor the ultimate sacrifice he made, it does serve to collectively remember it, and put him and other service members in the forefront of our thoughts.

The workout is:

For time:
1 mile Run
100 Pull-ups
200 Push-ups
300 Squats
1 mile Run

Neil and I both broke the workouts into 20 rounds of 5 pull-ups, 10 push-ups and 15 squats. The miles were definitely tough. The first mile was the warm-up, which is never fun and the last mile was exhausting after all those squats. We both were out on the street running it at the same time, and our legs completely felt like lead.

When I came back, Danielle, another athlete, was still doing the workout, so I finished hers with her, tacking on another mile so she’d have someone to run with. The third mile oddly felt the best.

DSC_0304

DSC_0309

Neil finished in 48:16 and I finished in 54:10. I definitely want to try it again before the end of the year to see if I can get any faster. We ended the morning with a group shot. Love these guys!

So I didn’t tackle everything on my weekend bucket list, but I’m still pretty happy. I still want that smoothie…

Did you use the holiday to get a good workout in?

{ 4 comments }

Weekly Workout Recap (5/20 – 5/26)

May 27, 2013

Great week of workouts despite me coming down with a bug in the earlier part of the week. It’s amazing how just a few days can feel like eternity when you’re cooped up, not feeling well, and missing out on your normal routine. I definitely missed these guys… Monday Rest/sick day Tuesday Jessica 3 mile [...]

Read the full article →

Weekly Workout Recap (4/22-4/28)

April 28, 2013

Well, as you can see below, Neil had a rough week. After doing back squats (the athletes are in a strength cycle and building new PR numbers every week with certain movements), he pulled a hamstring doing a cycle of sprints. He’s doing better, but is on limited movement workouts until his hamstring heals. Our [...]

Read the full article →

Weekly Workout Recap (4/15-4/21)

April 23, 2013
Thumbnail image for Weekly Workout Recap (4/15-4/21)

I’ve been toying with the idea of doing a weekly workout recap for a while, and some changes to my programming in the past week have finally convinced me it would be something fun and worthwhile to document. For the past few months, I’ve been doing extra strength work aside from my 4-5 WOD’s a [...]

Read the full article →

Friday Link-up

April 20, 2013
Thumbnail image for Friday Link-up

Another week comes to a close! I am home this weekend, and so excited to bum around and get some work done, especially around the yard. Maybe some baking too. And napping. In the mean time, here are some things I’ve come across this week! Above is the workout we did today. Super tough! A [...]

Read the full article →