Monthly Archives: December 2011

Retest: “DT”

Cindy holds bar with arms straight overhead

At the top of a push jerk. (Please ignore my pasty, white legs.)

There is a little Post-It in my workout log that has floated through my notebooks for the past year. It shows up every three months. It has this workout written on it:

“DT”
5 rounds
12 Deadlift (M 155# / W 95#)
9 Hang power cleans
6 Push jerk

I’ve done it a few times in Crossfit class, but this is one I picked out last December and have used as a home benchmark. There is a note written at the bottom of the Post-It:

Goal: 75# in under 12 mins

I think I wrote that goal last spring. I can’t remember. Anyway, I reached that goal Friday.

Time: 10:17 @ 75#

In deadlift position

Deadlift position (Check out Mads in the background :) )

It was the first time I tried 75# with DT. In September, I slammed through the WOD at 9:38 with 65# on the bar. At the time I had forgotten I had done the same WOD at home the week before at 70#. But I was much slower — over 13 minutes.

I’ve definitely grown stronger over the past year. Over the past several days I’ve been assessing my accomplishment, looking at where I want to change and improve. I finally have a pretty exhaustive list of specific fitness, personal and professional goals for 2012. They’re not quite done, but I should have them ready on January 1.

What do you want to accomplish in 2012?

 

So long 2011

Dear 2011,

Well, what can I say? We’ve had our ups and downs. I’ve celebrated victories. I’ve mourned defeats. But despite the low points of our time together, I will never say that I regret knowing you.

I can’t say I’m the same person I was one year ago today. That Cindy was me, true, but my experiences over the past year have wizened me, strengthened me, and helped me to appreciate my accomplishments. I’ve set personal records, faced my fears, and taken on new challenges.

It was once said that “a life without risk is no life at all.” I think I appreciate that statement more today than I did.

I’m a little sad you’ll be gone after today. You’ll be but a memory. Gone but not forgotten. Leaving behind countless photos, scars and experiences that I’ll look at or remember for the rest of my short time in this universe.

When I count down your last moments, I’ll think about everything I’ve accomplished over the past year. And I’ll feel proud.

Best wishes,

Cindy

My workout world: Meet my new running buddies

I’d like to introduce you to my new running buddies: Bennie and Goose.

My dog Bennie

Bennie (I call her Bennie Bean)

My dog Goose

This is Goose.

These are my girls. We adopted them more than 9 years ago from the Nashville Humane Association. They’ve endured a major move to Texas and the addition of two human children to our family. They each have their quirks. And they have become my new running buddies.

Bennie is a Treeing Walker Coonhound. At least, we’re pretty sure she is. We’ve had a number of people recognize the breed and ask if they could buy her. We imagine she was taken hunting sometime when she was a puppy, got lost, and somehow found her way into Nashville where she lived on the streets for a while before getting in a fight and being nursed back to health at the animal shelter. She has a different bugle for everything, which can be fun and annoyingly loud. She loves to run.

Goose is a black lab mix, and we think she’s mixed with pit bull. The shelter told us she had been rescued by a woman with 40 cats, but after a few months the lady turned her over to the shelter. Goose loves to chase small animals, and she’s actually killed several rats.

Andy used to be the one to walk them, but after Mads was born, it got harder and harder to take them out on walks. Then we lost their leashes somewhere and the walks stopped altogether.

Bennie and Goose tend to get stir crazy, so I decided I was going to make it a priority. I went out and bought new leashes, and in early December I started taking them for almost nightly walks. Brisk walks.

Then I started running them. At first it was around the block. Bennie had no problem, but Goose would start dragging halfway through. We’ve been gradually increasing the distance. Even Andy has noticed that Goose’s endurance is improving.  Not bad for a 10-year-old dog!

Maybe one day they’ll have to slow down for me, instead of me for them.

I’m not really interested in running long distances anymore, but I’d like to get the dogs able to run a few miles. They seems much healthier since the walks/runs started up again. I like spending time with them, and they tend to be less crazy at home.

Dogs make awesome running companions. I love how Austin Pets Alive sets up on the Town Lake Hike & Bike Trail and lets runners take the dogs out for a spin. The dogs get exercise and the people get to see how awesome dogs are.

Dogs aren’t substitutes for people, but they’re fun in their own way.

Mads, Cindy and Luke at the Zilker Holiday Tree

The importance of rest

I’m back! Yay! How was your Christmas? Did you rest or decide to work out through the break?

After a nice long Christmas break, I’m sliding back into my workout routine and setting goals for 2012, which is only a few days away. Yikes!

I had a great Christmas. It wasn’t about gifts this year. It was about family, friends, experiences, food — everything I love. And for a solid week I did not work out.

Mads, Cindy and Luke at the Zilker Holiday Tree

Mads, Luke and I visited the Zilker Holiday Tree on my first night of rest.

My gym always takes two weeks off during the holidays. For the past two years I have ignored the break and worked out on my own or something like that, because I always thought that I needed to stay active. And I learned something from that.

Staying active is fine, but your muscles don’t get stronger unless you let them rest. Yes, it’s true.

So I scheduled in a week of rest. And I needed it. I was tired. I was feeling lethargic about working out. I wasn’t really looking forward to classes or home WODs. I needed a break.

So I rested, and I let myself indulge a few times. I enjoyed food and drink over Christmas that I usually don’t eat (probably a little too much). I slept in (a little). And I played (my kids and husband are toooooo much fun).

By the end of the week, I felt a little heavy (thanks to all that yummy food), and I was ready to get back to working out. On Monday morning, I woke up early and headed out back. The rain made me change my plans a little, but I managed to figure something out without waking everyone up.

Here’s what I’ve done:

Monday
Strength: Hip Power Clean 4×4 → 45/55/65/75
Met-con: 4 rounds → 30 situps/20 ring rows/10 DB Hang power cleans (25#), Time: 11:48
Core: 4 sets → 5 wheel rollouts/6 Deadlift twist (each side @ 25#)/15 knee hugs/45 sec plan hold

Tuesday
Front squats w/ 5 sec pause 5×4 → 75/80/85/85
Snatch Power Jerk + OHS 3×2, 2×3 → 45/55, 60/65/70
Snatch Balance 4×3 → 45/45/55

Wednesday
1 mile leisurely run the the dogs

Thursday
Back squats w/ 5 sec pause 5×4 → 75/75/80/85
Snatch Balance + OHS → 45/45/45/55
Push Press 5×3 → 65/70/75
Skillwork: 5 ring pullup holds-to-negatives

I’ve kind of been taking it easy. But it’s enough activity to get me all ready when classes start up again next week. The time off has been really nice . It’s helped me get fired up for 2012. Gotta work on my goals!

Week of December workouts

There are only a few days left until my week of rest. Yay!

I am very much looking forward to some time off from training. I’m taking advantage of the time off from Crossfit and Olympic Lifting with a full week of recovery. It starts Tuesday and goes through Christmas. I’ll be doing mobility and the exercises the guys at Next level Chiropractic want me to do for my hip, but other than that — I’m off!

In the meantime, here’s what I’ve been doing. I’ve been adjusting to breaking up my meals via protein, fat and carbs. It’s been a struggle, to say the least, since I make so many soups and complex meals. Next step is to weigh and measure. Ugh.

Monday December 12
Sleep: 6 ½ hours
Activity: Olympic Lifting
Back squats w/ 5sec pause 65% 5×4 → 95
Hip power snatch + OHS 3+3×3 → 45/45/50
Hip snatch + snatch pull + snatch 1+1+1x2x3 → 50/55/55
Snatch power jerk w/ OHS 3×2, 2×3 → 55/65
GHD Hip extension w/ 10# plate 10×3

Nutrition:
6:30am – 2 ½ scrambled eggs / 2 oz leftover garlic-tamari beef / 2 ½ strips bacon / coffee, black
9pm – 2 slices frittata: eggs, sausage, peppers, onion, cheese / 1 wedge steamed cabbage / 1 cup carrots / 1 ½ cups mustard greens braised in coconut oil / 1 tbsp habanero sauce

Tuesday December 13
Sleep: 6 hours
Activity: Crossfit Class
“Annie”
50-40-30-20-10
Double unders
Sit ups
Time: 11:54 RX

Nutrition:
7:30am – 4 scrambled eggs / 2 ½ strips bacon / coffee
6pm – 1 chicken thigh (4oz) in 1 ½ cups stew: fennel, onion, mushrooms, kale & chicken stock / ¾ cup brussels sprouts / 1 ½ roasted beets / 1 cup raw carrots

Wednesday December 14
Sleep: 6 ½ -7 hours
Activity: Olympic Lifting
Front squats w/ 5sec pause 65% 5×4 → 85
Hip power snatch + BN Push Press + OHS 3+3+3×3 → 45/55/65
Snatch pull + Hang snatch 2+2×2, 1+2×2 → 6555/55/55/55
Snatch balance 3×3 → 45/45/55
Hang clean 3×3 → 55/55/65

Nutrition:

Protein Fat Carb
6:30am 4 scrambled eggs 2 ½ strips bacon 1 tsp habanero sauce /
coffee, black
6pm 6-7oz beef skirt steak /
1 oz chicken (in soup)		 1 tbsp olive oil /
1 tbsp chimichurri sauce		 2 cups carrots /
4 cups salad greens /
1 cup steamed carrots, zucchini, broccoli /
1 cup Mexican lime soup

Thursday December 15
Sleep: 6 ½ – 7 hours
Activity: Crossfit Class
Sumo Deadlift 2×5
115-135-155-165-(no time)
——
12-10-8-6-4
Games standard box jumps
Pullups
Barbell push press

Completed 3 rounds + 2 strict pullups in 10mins

Nutrition:

Protein Fat Carb
7:30am
(prepared by hubby: “Your gonna eat carbs”)		 4-5oz beef steak tips ½ cup avocado 1 ½ cups sauteed zucchini, poblanos, onions /
coffee, black
7pm chorizo in 2 ½ -3 cups caldo verde (made w/ chicken stock) 1tbsp olive oil /
1tbsp walnuts		 caldo verde: kale, red potatoes /
salad w/ carrots, cucumber, greens /
2 cups steamed broccoli

Friday December 16
Sleep: 6 ½ – 7 hours
Activity: Rest Day

Nutrition:

Protein Fat Carb
6:30am 2 scrambled eggs /
2.5 oz pork pan sausage		 12 walnuts coffee, black
12pm (work luncheon) chicken
ground turkey
chicken broth
in 2 ½-3 cups soup		 ⅓ cup sour cream Chicken stew: potatoes, peas & carrots /
Turkey chili: tomatoes /
Chicken tortilla soup: tomatoes, beans, corn /
corn tortilla chips /
1 cup tomato salsa /
3 slices gluten-free corn bread / ½ cup regular corn bread /
chopped onions
6pm 3 slices egg frittata w/ sausage & cheese ¼ cup ranch dressing Frittata: peppers & onions /
1 ½ green bell peppers, ½ cup cucumber slices, 1 cup raw carrots /
1 slice gluten-free cornbread /
10oz white whine

Saturday December 17
Sleep: 8 ½ hours
Activity: Explosive Strength
A) 2-DB split snatch 3×5 @ 20# (45 sec rest between sets)
B) 2-DB push press 3×5 @ 25# (45 sec rest between sets)
4 sets:
C)5 x 1-arm DB bench press @ 25# / 8 x full depth toe pushups
D) 60 sec wall squat at maximum tension / 10 jumping squats
(60 sec rest between complex pairs)
Finisher: KB swings 15×3 @ 35#

Nutrition:

Protein Fat Carb
8am 4 scrambled eggs 2 ½ strips bacon coffee, black
12:30pm 3oz steak /
1 cup pork pan sausage /
1 fried egg		 ranch dressing ¾ cup cauliflower rice /
½ cup carrots /
½ cup spinach /
6oz white wine /
3oz peppermint bark /
carrots & green peppers
6:30pm 5-6oz meatza (beef & pork)
.5oz cheese		 2tbsp walnuts /
1tbsp olive oil		 ½ cup peppers & tomato sauce /
1 cup broccoli w/ garlic /
3 cups salad: greens, cucumber, carrots, peppers, vinegar

December hustle

brummer family and gingerbread house

Luke, Andy, and Mads at one of the many activities of December: A gingerbread house workshop

Am I the only one who’s having a stressful December?

My calendar is so full I find myself running from one place to the next, with barely enough time to catch my breath. Why is it that everything has to happen in December?

I’ve managed to make it so far with a smile on my face, but unfortunately some of the things I really enjoy doing have had to be put on hold — like writing in this blog.

What really sucks is how, despite being surrounded by people all of the time, I feel incredibly isolated. When you’re constantly running from point-A to point-B, it’s hard to catch up with the people you care about. Email, Facebook, Twitter — great tools — but they are not substitutions for face-to-face time with a friend.

Caring for yourself includes taking time to be with friends. And when I don’t, I can really feel the negative effects.

On a positive note, I am so super excited about Christmas. I love playing Santa – surprising people with unexpected gifts. Last weekend I surprised the kids with a session at the Austin Children’s Museum’s Gingerbread House Workshop. Luke and Mads had a fabulous time.

And Wednesday, I showed up to Olympic Lifting with gifts for the whole class. They were probably the most inappropriate gifts for a group of Crossfit coaches. Homemade peppermint bark for my classmates; homemade preserves and my famous gingerbread muffins for Zach.

I can’t express how much I wanted to eat that peppermint bark. Or the muffins. Gah.

But giving lifted my spirits. The look of joy or surprise on a person’s face is so rewarding.

So take my advice, readers. Sit down to a cup of coffee or wine with a friend. Give a gift. It’s not just for them. It’s for you.

It’s a community of Crossfit

cindy and chavanni smile for cameraOne of the best things about my gym are the enthusiastic and supportive people.

It doesn’t matter where you’re from, what you do, or when you started. We all have something in common that binds us together.

On Monday night I dropped into Coach David DeLeon’s 7:30pm class to make up the one that was cancelled for Thanksgiving. They are a lively bunch! And incredibly friendly. Three people introduced themselves to me.

David later asked me how I liked the class and I mentioned how nice it was that several people introduced themselves. He told me he encourages them to do that.

It made such an impression on me, I’ve decided I’m going to try to do the same. I’ve been a little too reserved. It’s time to reach out and welcome new people.

The girl in the above picture with me isn’t exactly new, but I haven’t taken the time to talk to much in the hustle and bustle of class. This is (forgive me, I don’t know how to spell her name) Chavanni. She’s freakin’ strong as hell and always has a smile on her face, no matter how hard the workout. This is us after doing our floor press sets on Thursday.

Speaking of workouts! Here’s what I did at Crossfit this week.

Monday
Makeup Crossfit class
4 rounds: 10 shoulder press (70% 1RM) / 20 Good mornings / 400m run w/ KB (16k)
Finished 3 rounds + 6 shoulder press @ 45# in 19min

Tuesday
3 rounds: 500m row / 100m Hi/Lo KB walk / 5 front squats
Time: 15:19 @ 35#/25# & 85#

Thursday
Floor Press 5×5 –> 55-65-75-75-80
Tabata Med Ball Cleans (M 20# / W 14#) / Ring Rows
Results: 7 cleans / 8 rows

Brain vs. brain: “Hell yes!” vs “Hell no!”

I’ve been pondering a question all week, and so far, I do not have an answer.

How does one tackle a problem when it’s hiding inside yourself?

A little background: On Monday I met with Zach to talk about setting goals and do a body comp. It’s been three months since the last body comp and about 4 since I last sat down with him.

My weight is 5 pounds lower, my body fat percentage just slightly lower — just below 20%. What was really interesting were my measurements. I lost all over, mostly in my chest (no surprise), hips and waist. The average loss was about 1/4″. I have yet to set my goals for the next six months, but I told Zach some of the things I would like to accomplish:

  • 17% body fat
  • unassisted pullup
  • 80# shoulder press

He advised me to set 6 month, 3 month and 1 month goals, be specific and set goals based on how I plan to accomplish farther reaching goals. Example:

  • 6 months: Do 10 unassisted strict pullups
  • 3 months: Practice 10 pulls every other night without band
  • 1 months: Do all Crossfit workouts that call for pullups strict instead of kipping with 2 purple bands

Something like that. He had some recommendations — tighten down on the food starting Jan 2, forget kipping pullups for a while until I get the pullup down, add another strength day into my week and squat (You can’t squat enough, he says) and start entering some competitions — it will give me something to train for. But there’s one thing he told me over and over this week that he says is up to me to fix.

You refuse to get under the bar. You HAVE to be aggressive.

Hmmm… this refusal thing. This lack of aggressiveness. It’s kind of driving me crazy. The conscious part of brain is going through the checklist, setting my body up, firing muscles, screaming like hell to go, go, go! Then, I’m imagining my subconscious or unconscious remembering or imagining something and throwing a wrench in the whole process. Kind of like sabotage.

It’s a lot harder to fight sabotage when it’s inside yourself.

But there must be some way to alleviate a fear of dropping under the bar or being aggressive.  Answering a few questions might help. What is it? Why does it bother me? How do I face it down? Just telling myself to do it has been my tactic, but the results have been inconsistent. Ordering people around is never a good management skill, no matter whether it’s other people or yourself.

Monday
Back squats w/ 5 sec pause 65% 5×4 → 95
Hip Power Snatch + OHS 3+3×3 → 35/55/55
Hang Power Snatch + Hang Snatch: 2+1, 2+2, 1+2, 1+1, 1×1 → 55/55/65/65/65
Push Press 5×4 → 65/65/65/80 75

Wednesday
Front squats w/ 5 sec pause 65% 5×4 → 85
Hip Power Snatch + Snatch Grip Push Press + OHS 3+3+3×3 → 45/50/55
Hang Power Snatch + OHS 3+3×3 → 55/55/60
Hang Snatch + OHS 2+2×3 → 60/60/60
Power Jerk 3×3 → 55/70/85

Not getting under the bar is holding back my potential, coach says. Obviously, he’s given me a lot to think about this week.

Have you ever had a mental block that was holding you back? How did you overcome it? I want to know!

Rainy day? No garage gym? No problem

Sometimes I dream about building my own garage gym.

It would be so cool! We already have a building that would work. It’s an old detached garage — a place to store the bars and weights and everything!

But the building needs a lot of cleanup, and I barely have time to maintain order in the house, let alone set aside a few weekends (not to mention $$$) to set up a garage gym, no matter how much I want it.

Maybe when the kids move out? Haha — hopefully a lot sooner than that.

I am grateful that I have a space at home at all — my back porch and yard. And thanks to the drought, I haven’t had to alter my workout plans at all over the past several months (the one silver lining to this horrible drought?). Until this morning.

We’ve had rain! Glorious, steady rain! Days worth! So when I woke up for my workout Sunday morning and discovered that even the back porch was soaked, I wasn’t really upset. I kicked plan B into action.

I had to modify the workout a bit. It had to be done inside. Anything that involved jumping — and therefore bumping the house and potentially waking people up — was out. So no split snatches, jumping squats or jumping lunges. Also, the pullup bar with the homemade rings is outside, so no ring rows. I also needed to modify the warmup — nothing dynamic, and no running. But I grabbed a staff that I used in Kung Fu, warmed up with presses, squats and good mornings, plus a few rounds of dumbbell swings and goblet squats, and I was good to go! I think the workout turned out well:

Mobility / stretching
Explosive strength:
A) 2-DB push press 3×4 @ 25# (90 sec rest between sets)
B) 1-arm DB snatch @ 25# (90 sec rest between sets)
4 sets:

C) 5 DB bench press @ 25# each arm / 8 explosive pushups (45 sec rest between complex pairs)
D) 5 negative pullups / 10 dips (45 sec rest between complex pairs)

Core: 4 rounds 5 wheel rollouts / 6 side bends (25# each side) / 12 supermans / 10 Russian twists (25#, each side) / 80 chinnies

I finished up with the exercises my new chiropractor has me doing to increase my strength in my butt so I won’t shift heavily to one side anymore during squats. But that’s a-whole-nother can of worms.

So, see! Even when it rains you can get in a workout without getting wet! That’s the nice part about the workouts I program for myself at home. No coach making me run in the rain!

Surround yourself with strength

How do you improve your skills and grow as a (insert your career, sport, hobby, personal ambition)?

One thing people recommend is to hang around people who have the skills you want. I know, I know: It’s easier said than done.

First you have to find those people, and then, you have to feel comfortable with being a newbie and asking questions. On the one hand,you have to be confident enough to put yourself out there. But on the other hand, you have to be willing to keep your ears and eyes open to actually learn something. There’s no room for arrogance.

So in my case, I want to improve as an athlete — both in Olympic Lifting and Crossfit. So the best scenario is to 1) get into classes with people who can kick my ass and 2) not be an ass.

Seriously.

I haven’t met many people at my gym who are asses. For the most part, everyone is really nice and willing to help you out. I tend to be a little reserved with the new folks, but not because I think I’m any better or anything. I just don’t know them, and it’s not my style to get all warm and friendly right off the bat. But I’m more than willing to answer questions and help out.

In Olympic Lifting, I’m the newbie. And the folks in my class are coaches for the most part. They are incredibly knowledgeable and nice, so it’s a joy to be working alongside them, even though I’m stumbling my way through the lifts and fussed at most of the time. Oly class is one of those places where you just have to be humble and open your eyes and ears. Check that arrogance at the door, son, because it ain’t gonna help you.

But when coach says you did something right, it’s OK to do the happy-happy-joy-joy dance (well, inside, at least). I mean, praise is earned, so it’s perfectly OK to be proud of yourself. That’s how I felt on Wednesday when I landed a 55# snatch JUST RIGHT. It felt awesome. It was just one — but it was progress.

Monday:
Back squats w/ 5 sec pause 65% 5X4 → 95
Hip Power Snatch + OHS 3+3×3 → 55/55/55
Snatch off blocks:
Power 3×1, 2×1 → 55/55
Snatch 2×2, 2×1 → 55/65/65
Power clean off blocks 3×3 → 65/65/65

Wednesday:
Front Squat w/ 5 sec pause: 65% 5×4 → 85/85/85/85
Snatch Balance 5×2, 4×2, 3×2 (w/ heave) → 35/45/55
Hang Snatch w/ pause below the knee 2×4 → 35/45/55/55
Clean 3×2, 2×3 → 75/85

I wrote another little something about how the class has improved my squats and Zach posted it on his blog. Check it out!