Monthly Archives: June 2011

Wish you were here…

Madeline and Cindy stand on the shore at Orange Beach while a wildfire sends up a huge plume of smoke in the background.I’m taking a rest week this week.  Other than a light run one or two days and lots of walking like a tourist, I’m not working out.  Nothing!  Nada!

Am I eating crappy food?  Yes.  Is it delicious?  For the most part.  But starting in July I’m doing a strict 30 day Paleo cleanse.

In the meantime, get out in the sun and have fun, ya’ll!  And don’t let the fires hold you back.  The whole country seems to be on fire these days — even the beach!  (That’s a wildfire sending up a huge white plume at Orange Beach in Alabama.)

Safe travels!

The definition of ‘allstar’

Someone called me an “allstar” last week.

It’s the kind of comment I brush off because of modesty.   I believe I countered the comment with, “All the allstars left my class, so it only looks like I’m an allstar.”  I certainly don’t think of myself as an allstar.

But then, in the middle of my third WOD this past week, I was thinking about it, and I realized something.  Maybe being an allstar isn’t about being the one who always finishes first, or the only who loads the bar with the most weight or the one who does everything RX.  Maybe it’s about something else.

Maybe it’s about how hard you work.

I don’t think about it very much, because it’s just what I do and there’s nothing to think about as far as I’m concerned, but I do put a lot of effort into my time at the gym.  I push myself.  Sometimes I feel like I could have pushed myself harder, but what I do is no joke.

Take Tuesday:

“Mary D”
9-12-15
Thrusters (M 135# / W95#)
Weighted pullups (M 45# / W 24#)

Time: 14:02 @ 65# (2 purple bands for strict pullups)

Hard!  My arms were toasted after this one.  I was so tempted to bump down the weight or grab another band to make it easier, but I didn’t do it.  I stuck it out.

We celebrated my birthday on Thursday with 35 birthday burpees and a BRUTAL WOD.

Sumo Deadlift
2-2-2-2-2

Results: 135-145-155-160-160

That damn butt muscle ACTED UP AGAIN!  The same one from when I was pregnant.  Grrrr!  I’m not sure I can blame it for scratching on those last two sets, but it certainly didn’t help.

12min AMRAP
2 wall walks
10 DB Muscle Snatch (M 55#/W 35#)
20 box jump

Results: 3 rounds + 2 walks + 10 DB snatch @ 30#

The bad: Wall walks.  I just couldn’t pull myself vertical.  I need to do this more.  A lot more.
The good: The 25# DB was too light!  I am so happy I was able to bump up to 30#!

Friday was the day I started thinking about what it means to be an allstar.  I had dropped into Big Mike’s class and the comment was made.  I felt a little uncomfortable, because it seems like everyone is so much stronger and faster than I am.

Bench Press
2-2-2-2-2

Results: 65-65-70-70-(ran out of time)

4 rounds
400m run
10 back squat (M 155# / W 110#)

Time: 15:19 @ 105#

This WOD seemed pretty straightforward when I read it, but 105# was a lot harder than I thought it would be.  I really pushed myself on this WOD.  The cutoff was 15min, but Big Mike let me finish, and he coached me through to the end.

I think I screamed on the last 3.

Yeah, it was that painful.

I’m still feeling those squats today.  I’m glad for a rest week.  I’m walking around, but no WODs.  Alright, maybe a light run tomorrow with Andy if there’s time.  MAYBE an endurance WOD toward the end of the week.  But all in all, I’m taking a break.  My friends are doing a benchmark tomorrow, and I’ll be cheering them on from the sidelines.

Even allstars need to heal.

Good idea: Deadlifts. Bad idea: Pie and beer

The best thing about living the primal lifestyle is barbeque.  I missed it when I was vegetarian.  You just can’t create that experience, no matter how much you dress up soy.

And the best thing about living in Austin is how many barbeque places there are to choose from.  One of my favorites is The Salt Lick, which is about 30 minutes from my house in Driftwood, Texas — out in the Texas Hill Country.  I’ve been wanting to go out there for a while, and I convince some friends to come out today to celebrate my birthday and eat, eat, eat.

Boy, did we eat.  And eat.  It was family style and it was so good.  I washed all that sausage, brisket and ribs which a couple of beers (Fireman’s 4) and topped it all off with some birthday pecan pie a la mode.  All in all, I waaaaaaaaaaayyyy over did it, but I don’t regret it a bit.

I still feel full, typing up this blog post nearly 6 hours after eating at The Salt Lick.  That feeling of fullness nearly served as an excuse not to workout tonight.  But I did it anyway.

Strength:
Shoulder Press
3-3-1-1-1

Met-con:
3 rounds
10 Deadlift (275#)
50 Double Under

No, I cannot do a 275# deadlift.  Nor can I do a double under.  So I did 150 singles, instead.  I got so frustrated with my rope, because I was jumping in the back yard on uneven ground.  Guess I found something to work on!  I also need to work on eating less.  Overindulging reminded me that I don’t have to eat all the time.

Results:

Strength: 55-65-70-70-70
Met-con: 11:04 @ 115#

And today’s word is: Sweaty

Sometimes I wonder if Austin is going to turn into this:

Ripples on Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes

This is from Death Valley, courtesy the National Park Service.

We haven’t had rain in nearly a month here in Austin.  The ground is cracked.  Trees are obviously suffering.  Grass is browning.  My air conditioner seems to be running nearly constantly.  And when you walk outside between 9am and 9pm, it feels like someone is blowing a hot hair dryer on you.

Fun stuff.

Early morning is the only time when I feel comfortable outside.  At the gym, a (sort of) cool breeze blows in through the garage doors.  The feeling of relief is only temporary.  The warmups are enough to make me drip with sweat.

I long for a nice relaxing dip in the pool.

We’re headed to “Hotlanta” in a week or so, and I’ll be missing my classes that week.  I decided to make them up before my trip, just in case Andy gets that call to join Big Mike’s class on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays when we get back.  If that happens, I’d have to go in the afternoon.  When it’s 100+ degrees out.

Um…

So I showed up to Big Mike’s class Friday.  Big Mike was at the Crossfit Regionals down in Tomball, so Coach Randall was subbing.  I wasn’t the only one from Tuesdays/Thursdays there.  A bunch of us were making up classes, so it kinda felt like I was with my “family.”

Randall changed up the workout a bit from what had been tweeted out the night before.

5 rounds
KB Snatch 10/10 (M24kg / W 16kg)
Deadlift 15 (M 135# / W 95#)
Lateral jumps over barbell 20

Randall is a really good coach.  He spent time going over the snatch with us, and I learned a lot more about proper technique.  Still, I need to work on building overhead strength, so I was unable to go RX with the kettlebell.  I found a 12kg KB for the WOD, although I was envious of the girls who were using heavier weights.  One day!

I did go RX for the deadlifts.  And although I worried about being able to do the jumps without tripping over the bar, it turns out my fears were unfounded.  I started out a little slow on the jumps, but I made a conscious effort to push myself.  By the end of the WOD I felt much more comfortable with them.

Randall challenged us to do the reps unbroken, which seemed possible during round 1, but grew more and more difficult.  Our cutoff was 12 minutes.  I think I would have finished had the cutoff been 15 minutes.

Still, it’s not like I didn’t do work.  I was still dripping with sweat when I got home.  Those are the mornings I opt for a cool shower, rather than a hot one.  It’s already hot enough outside.

Results: 4 rounds + 5 clean @ 12kg/95#

How did you like “Cindy B”?

It was all about me on Thursday at Crossfit Central!

The WOD board shows Thursday's workout

The WOD was "Cindy B" on Thursday

Check out that WOD board — that’s right!  The workout was named for me!

I actually knew it was coming, but I didn’t know when.  This month, all of the workouts have been named for clients, and Zach had asked me a bunch of questions at the beginning of the month without explaining much.

I have to admit that the exercises in my WOD are not my strong points.  In fact, I pretty much suck at them.  But I do love Olympic Lifting and I also love to work on moves that are hard so I can get better!

I absolutely loved my Thursday morning, and I know I smiled a lot during the WOD.  One of the new girls cheered me on while I was in the middle of an OH Squat.  She’s never done that before, and I smiled big at her in appreciation.

Thanks for the love, CFC!

“Cindy B”
Hang Snatch 5×2

15 min AMRAP
1 Hang Snatch
2 Overhead Squats
1 Hang Snatch
250m row

Results:
Strength — 35-45-55 (ran out of time)
Met-Con — 5 rounds + 200m row @ 55#

Work out like your life depended on it

Sometimes, in my reading, I run across a statement that kind of clings to me.  At least it does for a while.  And it keeps coming back to me.

This week’s statement: Work out like your life depended on it.

I may have read it on Facebook.  It doesn’t matter.

What matters is the sentiment.  Work out like your life depended on it.  Give it everything you have — because there are no other chances.

I thought about that a lot during Tuesday’s WOD.  There was a sprint in it, and I tried to imagine myself running from some crazy monster.  There’s been a lot of talk about zombies lately, but zombies aren’t my thing.  When I imagine a monster, I’m thinking this guy:

I know I’m a goofball.

4 rounds
200m sprint
5 cleans (M 155# / W 105#)
5 Muscle Ups
5 Handstand Pushups

There was a 15 min cutoff, but at the end, Zach said the WOD needed 20 minutes.  I don’t think anyone finished.

As far as I was concerned, I wanted to work as hard as I could, particularly strength-wise.  I hit all of the sprints as hard as I could.  I loaded my bar with 85#, dropping down to 80# for the WOD only because my form was REALLY off,  (It improved at 80# and yet it remained extremely challenging.)  And I did the muscle ups scaled from my knees on the ground.  I think next time I should try a box.  It might be time.

Results: Completed 3 rounds + sprint @ 80#

Losing time

The weeks are flying by.

Everything feels like time is rushing along at a furious pace, and I’m just hanging on, trying to keep up.  I always thought summer was for slowing down, but this year, it feels like life has gone into 5th gear.  Job.  Kids.  Chores. To dos.  It’s harder to keep up with friends, even with my many social media apps.  I just am not as available as I was.  And neither are they.

And so an entire week has passed since I sat down to write about the Garage Gym Throwdown.  A whole week of workouts.  Workouts I loved.  Workouts I hated.  Squeezed in for 45 minutes in the morning or late at night after the kids have fallen asleep.  I just finished one.  I’m sweaty and salty and gross, and it’s 11pm.  I have to be up before 5 tomorrow morning.  I still have to take a shower.

But I want to write about what I’ve done.  What I’ve accomplished.  Where I’ve failed.  I’m proud of my performance this week.  I’m disappointed that I’ve eaten without regard to how it makes me feel.  Lunches out.  Dinners out.  More than just a few indulgences.  It makes me wonder, if I had paid attention, would I have done better?  Would I be stronger now?

Monday

Front Squat
5×5

Results: 50-55-60-65-75

 

Endurance
6-4 Intervals
5x 400m holding best pace possible, not deviating more than 3 seconds from fastest interval
2 min recovery

2:04-1:53-1:55-1:57-2:02-1:57

Comments:  SLOW!!!!!!

Tuesday

“Alexis”
15-12-9-6-3
Power Snatch (M 115# / W 80#)
Ring Rows

Time: 12:04 @ 55# (ring rows scaled)

Comments:  Ow.  This one really hurt.  I tried 65#, but my form was weak and wobbly, so I dropped back to 55#, which was extremely challenging, but my form was much improved.

Thursday

Front Squat
2-2-2-2-2-2

Results: 65-75-85-95-105-110

“Jess E”
20 Wall Ball (M20# / W 14#)
1 Inverted Burpee
18/2, 16/3, 14/4, 12/5, 10/6, 8/7, 6/8, 4/9, 2/10

Results: Completed 9 rounds RX in 15 minutes

Saturday

5K run

Time: 32:27 (easy pace)

5 rounds
12 Deadlift (M 155# / W 95#)
9 Hang Power Clean
6 Push Jerk

Time: 7:54 @ 65#

Comments: Time to bump up the weight!  This is one of my own benchmarks, and this time I cut a significant amount of time off this WOD.  Last time, I was over 10 minutes.  Whoo-hoo!

Sunday

For Time:
21 Deadlift (225#)
400m run
18 deadlift
400m run
15 deadlift
400m run
12 deadlift
400m run

Time: 13:25 @ 95#

Shoulder Press
5×5

Results: 45-50-55-60-60

Comments: I considered trying 115# for a little while, and maybe I should have since I pretty much flew through the workout.  I felt like I had a lot of energy for the runs, but my legs just didn’t want to move.  Andy tried 185#, and me got all the way into round 3 before nearly throwing up.  He finished with the run and called it a day.

We’re going to be hitting it hard over the next couple of weeks.  We’re taking a full week of rest, a very necessary part of training.  And yes, I am in training.  We signed up for the Tough Mudder.  Paid the money and everything.  No turning back now.  At least, not for me.  It’s so important to eat clean and train right from now until October.

What a way to celebrate a wedding anniversary.

Garage Gym Throwdown

Throwdown.

It’s the most awesome word in a competition name.  Ever.  Which is why I think I wanted to sign up for this year’s Garage Gym Throwdown without pondering what the workout could possibly be beforehand.  The Throwdown was Saturday, and I was fortunate to have found a partner for the co-ed competition.  I wasn’t thinking about winning.  I just wanted to have some fun and get in a really intense workout.

The night before, the WOD’s were leaked out on Twitter, and I started to get a little panicky.  The cutoff was 25 minutes, and looking at the WODs, I worried whether I would be able to finish.

My partner, Chris, and I met up just after 7am Saturday to sign in and find out our heat time.  9am.  It was at the LCRA parking garage off Lake Austin Boulevard.  We waited on the top level.

Just before the first heat, the coaches went over the workout and the exercise standards.  I continued to worry, but I tried to push it aside.

The Throwdown took place on all levels of the garage, and partners worked as a unit.  Everything was first-come first serve.

Top level — Equipment shuttle.  Eeach team sprinted with a wheelbarrow to the other end of the parking deck to pick up a tire, a 6# med ball and a 16kg (1 pood) kettlebell.  The teams also had jump ropes in the wheelbarrow.  With the wheelbarrow loaded, the teams ran with it down to the next level.

Level 3 — The Chipper
A 24kg kettlebell, 25# dumbbell, and 35# dumbbell awaited each team.  Teams parked the wheelbarrow in a lane and got down to work.  The number of reps could be divided between partners anyway they wanted, but usually it was evenly divided.

50 KB swings (M 24kg / W 16kg)
40 DB ground to overhead (M 35# / W 25#)
30 stepups with KB
20 DB squat cleans (1 DB only in rack position)

Load up equipment and run to next level

Level 2 — Burpee shuttle run
This level was actually the ramp.  Teammates took turns doing shuttle run and burpees.  The shuttle run distance increased as the burpees decreased.

Shuttle run
9-6-3
burpees

Load up equipment and run to next level

Level 3
10 wall ball throws
30 Overhead squats with tire
100 Double unders

The wall ball throws were behind a line toward an “X” on the wall.  Feet could not travel beyond the line at any point.  Arms did not have to be fully extended on the squats, but the tire did have to be above the head.  Teams could opt to scale the double unders to 300 single jumps, but they would be taken out of the prize-running.

Load up the wheelbarrow and run with it back to the top level to finish line.

My partner and I did awesome.  And I was so happy Andy and the kids were there to cheer me on.  I felt really strong, but this workout was no joke.  I’m so glad I’ve been working with the 16kg kettlebell and 25# dumbbells at home.  The 25# dumbbell felt light!

I had 3 major weak points:

KB step ups — I could do them, but I struggled
Wall throws — I really sucked at them, and Chris had to take over for me
Double Unders — I can’t do them.  We opted for the singles.

Time: 21:05

We finished!  Yay!  I’m so grateful for my partner, Chris, who really rocked the workout.

Crossfit Total — A mixed bag

It seems like everyone is getting PRs when we do Crossfit Total.  Everyone but me, that is.

It’s kind of frustrating.  I want to keep up with everyone and have my own success story to tell.  “Oh yeah!  I PR’d by 10 pounds!”  But that hasn’t happened in a while.

Part of my problem is the same ole same ole — lack of sleep.  Who knows about the rest.  Maybe I’ve hit a plateau.  I don’t know.  The point is, it was Total week, and I’m not all that pleased with how it went.

Back Squat
Shoulder Press
Deadlift
1-1-1

Back squat  — 115-125-145

Shoulder Press — 58-65-70

Deadlift — 165-175-185

On a positive note, I’m back up to 185# on my deadlift.  I haven’t been there in a year, and while it’s not a PR, it’s a good thing to be back at that level.  I’m annoyed my back squat is still stalled out at 125, which is well below the 145# I got to last year.  As for shoulder press, I’m annoyed I scratched at 70# when I was able to press that same weight just a few days before.

Grrrrr….