Back home and back to CrossFit

We made an unplanned trip to Florida last Sunday and stayed for a week. The only “exercise” I got was walking. We walked on the beach and we walked on the boardwalk and we walked, but there was nothing overly strenuous about any of it.

I had lots of really good food. We went out to eat a few times and I ate wonderful meals which were not anywhere near healthy let alone Paleo. Not that I eat Paleo at all, but they were not close in any way, shape, or form.

We got home last night and had pizza because … well, we had been in the car for eight hours and no one felt like cooking even if there had been food in the house to cook. In summary, I have had a week of “normal” behavior and not a week of CrossFit behavior. It feels like it.

I successfully did not look at the WOD last night. When I looked this morning, I wondered what I should do with it. First thing to do was math, so I did that and wrote my numbers down. I still have them sitting here at my desk because I failed to bring them with me to the box. Brilliant. I usually have a pre-workout banana but didn’t have any in the house. I did have my protein drink. Off to a good start back at it.

Today we had Leslie number 1 and Leslie number 2. Nikki came, Cindy showed up, and I was there. Apparently Leslie number 1 did not get the message since she was the only person not dressed in purple today. Leslie number 2 has not been a regular of late and wished to heavily scale things while she got back into it. Nikki just started with classes.

We warmed up and the biggest whiners were me and Cindy. Go figure. It is what we excel at. And it is expected. We would hate to disappoint.

Today’s WOD as written:
Strength: Front Squats 10 @ 50% + 5 lb, 5 @ 70% + 5 lb, 3 @ 80% + 5 lb, 1 @ 90%, 1 @ 90%, 1 @ 90%
If you can add 5 lbs to the 90% reps without failing, then do so.
Conditioning:
Buy in: 20 slam balls (m/w)
3 RFT:
200m run
20 OHWL (45/25) (10 each leg)
20 KBS (53/35)
Buy out: 20 goblet squats with slam ball (m/w)

It was fun to have a larger class, but I’m used to being the only weenie around and having access to all the lighter stuff. Today, I had to share, but that is something I can manage. So it wasn’t a problem.

My front squats were done with ten reps at 42#, five reps at 57#, three reps at 67#, and the three single reps at 72#.

I asked Kim if she had a plan and she thought doing half of everything would work. But … I thought that since I don’t hold weight overhead, I could manage 15 plain walking lunges.

I managed all 10 slam balls with the 25# ball without stopping but then my heart rate was already 172. I couldn’t even manage a slow walk like that and make the cardiologist happy. So I waited to get it down a little and then walked. I sat and did box breathing for a bit and tried to do the lunges, but I hadn’t waited long enough and had to pause in the middle.

It was ridiculously humid out there today and I had trouble even holding on to the slam ball which has never happened before. So I knew that the kettlebell swings were going to be slippery. So I lunged to the chalk bucket and chalked up while I box breathed and then finished the lunges. I got my heart rate down to 145 and did the ten kettlebell swings using a 25# dumbbell since the 25# and even the 20# kettlebells were being used.

I got through the next two rounds okay and made sure my heart rate was low enough before starting the lunges so I could do them all at once. Then I had to rest and get a heart rate low enough to do the squats. My hands were slippery and I really could have used some chalk, but the bucket was waaaaaaay over there and so I just skipped it.

I managed to get the squats done without setting the ball down, but I did have to pause at the top a few times and regroup. I finished at 12.34 and had a heart rate of 178. Cindy did this RX and at the end, she said she felt like she was going to either puke or pass out. Her heart rate was 180. It is really a nasty way to work. But she made it.

I did have bacon and eggs here for breakfast, but I will need to run to the grocery store to restock the house with a better selection of healthy foods.

 

It is finished

I did not sleep well last night. At all. I was up playing video games at 2.45 AM. I am a lark. This was a bad thing. But I woke up at 6 AM anyway so I’m hoping I will be tired enough to be able to sleep tonight. One can always hope. I would say dream, but I would need to be asleep for that.

I had looked at the WOD last night and figured it was all good. That wasn’t what kept me awake. That’s a good thing, except that means tonight might still be video games all night long.

It was just me today. I knew Kat wasn’t going to be there. Kim had a private lesson going on when I got there and so I sent myself off on a run. My heart rate was 77 before I began. By 100 meters it was 115 and by 200 meters I was over 150. I have no idea what to do about this except keep ignoring it and keep working until I can’t. However, that’s not exactly how one is supposed to warm up.

I did the rest of my warm-up per Kim’s instructions while she finished up with her client. She apologized but really, it didn’t bother me at all. I hate being the only person there and the sole focus of all eyes. It is unnerving. I did what Kim listed and was deemed warm.

Today’s WOD as written:
Strength:
3X5 snatch complex (1 power snatch, 1 ohs, 1 full snatch)
Moderate weight. Focus on form.
WOD For time:
Buy in: 20 OHWL (45/25)
800 m run
1 rope climb
400m run
2 rope climbs
200 m run
4 rope climbs
Buy out: 20 OHWL (45/25)
Cool down as you walk the parking lot.

I once again had delusions of grandeur. I truly believed I might be able to get through that complex four times using a 22# bar. I could not. I began with a heart rate in the low 120s and after two complexes, I was done and my heart rate was 167. On the next round, I waited and got to 118 and started and completed two complexes and had a heart rate of 160. Better. I did the third round and again could only complete two complexes before my heart rate was too high. Since it was just me and since there was plenty of time, I did the complexes two more times. It was 5×2 instead of 3×5 but it was all I could manage.

I’m so sick of this heart rate thing. I keep saying that. Kim said no heart rate is the real problem and as long as I’m working it is all good.

I do not run. My first inclination last night when I looked at this was to cut the distances in half and walk them. But then I thought I could actually row the entire amount and survive that. So my plan for the day was to row the distances as written. My lunges were without weight. My rope climbs were the sub of three knees to elbows and then lower myself down the rope.

I got my heart rate down to 117 and began. I managed all 20 walking lunges without stopping and ended with a heart rate of 167. Then I began to row. No matter what I did, I could not get my heart rate to lower while I rowed. I was getting exhausted and began to go really, really slow and yet my heart rate was still 165 so I figured I should pull harder and finish the 800 meters and rest before the rope climb.

I was supposed to start from a standing position. I managed one and got back on the rower. This time I just rowed and didn’t worry about heart rate. I had to sit and box breathe when I finished. I did the first rope climb and as I was on the ground asked about pulling up or standing up. Kim said if it was going to keep me from finishing the rest of the movement, I should just stand up in between. So I did. I got two done and went back to rowing.

It was so nice to only row a little bit, but then I had four rope climbs to do. I did them one at a time and by the last one I was just spent. But I got it done and just laid on the floor trying to get a heart rate low enough to do some lunges. My goal for this was half and half. I managed that and ended with a time of 18.08.

I was a filthy mess by the time I finished up today. But I finished and that’s really what I set out to do.

 

The rain held off

I had a very quiet weekend. It was overcast and every time I thought I might venture out into the world, it looked like I would be poured on and so I stayed inside. I know I won’t melt, but I hate being rained on. It did rain a few times, but not all weekend. I could have gotten out if I had really wanted to do so.

I lost a little bit of weight, but not much (0.8 pounds) but at least I didn’t gain any more. I did it simply by watching my snacking and being better about lunch. It is pretty embarrassing to know what to do and claim you want the results and then not do what has to be done. If wishes were horses, beggars would ride. And I would lose the extra pounds I gained while not paying attention.

This is my last day at the box for a week since we are going to go on a little vacation. I’m worried about the weight thing even more here. I will miss at least three and maybe four workouts and I will be eating in restaurants. This is not looking good. I know I can work out with just body weight stuff and I know there are even workouts written. I also know I don’t do them. If I don’t go to class, I don’t do anything. Well, I walk sometimes, but when you are used to more strenuous work, that’s not enough.

My left arm continues to hurt and I believe I may have come upon a better answer. I have been knitting. A lot. Hours and hours and hours and hours of knitting. I have done some crochet, but I’ve been mostly knitting. And I hold my left arm in the same position for hours and hours and hours. I believe that may be at least part of the reason my arm hurts so much. Knitting keeps me from eating. I’m unsure of how to manage my life.

But it is Monday and I went to the gym per protocol. When I looked last night, I sighed. We were predicted to have pretty much constant rain beginning around 2 AM and the WOD contained a run. I don’t run. But I especially don’t run in the rain. Just shit. Last week was sunny all week. And now, in the rain, a run.

It was not raining this morning but it was overcast. Threatening rain. Not a beautiful morning. But what the hell. It was me and Kat today with Kim coaching. All of us are having weight issues right now. Sweating like a crazy person might help, but water weight loss just comes right back when you rehydrate. Damn.

Today’s WOD as written:
Week 2/8
Warm up your entire body thoroughly
percentages based off 90% of your 1RM
(always choose a lighter weight when unsure)
rest 3-5 minutes between sets
perform as many reps as possible on the last (+ set)
Press –
3 @ 65% 70%
3 @ 75% 80%
3+ @ 85% 90%
Post entire workout!
then
AMRAP in 20 minutes:
5 ring dips
5 pull ups
10 push ups
20 walking lunges (25/10) carry plate behind head
400m run
The reps are low so try to go unbroken with each movement and focus on a high cycle rate. Rest between movements if you feel you cannot complete them unbroken and push the intensity during the reps. Carry the plate behind your head and keep your elbows high and tight to work the triceps and stretch your shoulders at the same time. Try to increase your pace on the run so that you are coming back in faster than you left.

When I looked last night, it was the same percentages as last week so I looked to make sure I remembered what my weights were and I was already. But what was written was wrong and the percentages were raised and I had more math to do. My weights were 33#, 38#, and 43#. We had more trouble with the math than with the lifts. I got 3, 3, and 6 and that last one was a real struggle with my arm really cranky.

I could have done the whole AMRAP as written. But it would have really made me mad. I opted instead to go all legend and did 80% of the reps or 4, 4, 8, 16 and I never do more than a 200 meter walk. Well, if everyone else is running a mile, I will do 400 meters.

I used a 1” band for the ring dips, I used a 2” band for the first round of pull-ups and then added the 1” to it so I could keep them strict. I did push-ups off a raised bar. I did walking lunges without any weight. I walked the 200 meters.

I was hoping to get the ring dips, pull-ups, and push-ups done before my heart rate was too high, but that didn’t work. So I rested after the pull-ups and then did the push-ups and lunges and walked out the door. It was my hope that I could get my heart rate down as I walked if I walked slow enough.

I got back inside with a heart rate of low 150s and figured I would see what happened. I did the ring dips and was over 160 and knew that beginning the pull-ups at that point would be stupid. I sat for a few seconds doing box breathing and then did the pull-ups, but my heart rate was again too high and I had to sit again. Push-ups and lunges followed.

I walked, but not too fast, and got back and figured it might be smarter to rest here when my heart rate was high 150s and quickly bring it down and get the ring dips and pull-ups done, so I did that. Then I rested and did the push-ups and lunges and went for my last walk.

Since no matter what I did, I had to rest a bit when I got back, I thought it would be smarter to walk a bit faster and get back to the box faster. I did that and it seemed to work better. When I got back there was just a couple minutes left on the clock but my heart rate was still 158. So I did box breathing and then did the ring dip and pull-ups. I had time left, but my heart rate was 168.  I simply had to rest and box breathe so I did. With 30 seconds left and a still too high heart rate (but what the heck, I was almost done) I did the push-ups and got two lunges done before time was called. 3+18 for my score. I had to ask how someone managed 7+ rounds. That was 1.75 miles plus all the other stuff. Kim looked at the board and saw it was David. She said it was possible because he is 16. The power of youth. I felt better. My socks were older than him.

Back home and fed, I’m pleased with how hard I worked today and how much I scaled. I made it difficult and yet possible. I also learned more about running inside a WOD.

 

Oh good, burpees

Since I was up before dawn for New Year’s Eve, I could not stay awake until midnight. I fell asleep around 10.30 but with the explosion of fireworks at midnight, I was awake and looking at the clock when it read exactly midnight. Happy 2015.

I did mostly nothing all day yesterday. I worked on Little Bits of History stuff and made a quick run to the grocery store. I did a bit of knitting. I played online and played some computer games. I luxuriated in the nothingness.

I want to be braver. I looked at the WOD last night. It is again, an exact copy of something we have done in the last couple months. I did it then; I could do it now. I looked at it, figured out how to scale it for masters, and then stopped worrying about it. Well, that isn’t quite correct. It took me a couple minutes of intense thinking to remember what the acronym stood for since there weren’t any good clues in the WOD itself.

I was up in the middle of the night. It was supposed to be in the low 40s, but the temperature was a balmy ⁰F 51. I kept my outfit the same anyway. I got myself ready and went out into the cold, dark night.

It was just me and Jackson. I would like to tell you who was coaching, but I can’t think of her name. She never introduced herself to Jackson but maybe he met her before. But for today, it will just have to be Coach. It was embarrassing because she knew my name. And I know I should know hers, but I’m not coming up with it.

Anyway, we warmed up and did lots of stuff and were finally declared warm. It must have been true because I was out of my jacket and long sleeved shirt and down to my working clothes.

Today’s WOD as written:
Dumbbell Strict to Push Press Ladder (10/5)
then
AMBAP in 10 minutes:
Buy In:
8 deadlifts (225/155)
500m row
1 mat OHWL w/plate (45/25)
5 heavy tire flips
1 mat OHWL w/plate (45/25)
500m row
8 deadlifts (225/155)

I remembered the dumbbell ladder thing from some time in the last couple months. Jackson said he didn’t remember this but I remember Sarah Ann there with me on this one because we got silly. But I began with 5# weight and climbed by 5# on each next set while Jackson began with 10# and went up 10# on each next set.

We were to do five strict and then push press to failure but what we really did was five and five until we couldn’t manage that number of reps. I have no idea how long it would take to keep pushing up five pounds, but I think it would be a very long time. Anyway, we didn’t do that.

I managed the 5 and 10 at five and five. I could do 15 at five and five with my right arm, but only got to three and five with my left. At 20, I could get one or two strict and then managed the five push press. Either I was stronger or I had tried the 25# weight because I remember not being able to finish the last weight. At 25, I couldn’t strict press at all and got three push press with my right arm and nothing at all with my left. See? Jackson failed at 40# and managed with the 35# weight, but I don’t know how much.

What took me a while last night was the whole AMBAP thing. What the hell was the B supposed to be for? And then it hit me. What else but burpees. Then I remembered this whole mess from before. All that crap this is written is the buy in and then for the remaining time, do burpees. Your score is the number of burpees done. That is not written there. I guess the copy and paste feature didn’t copy enough.

If I wanted to have time to do burpees, I had to cut back on the buy in portion. So I did. I figured I would do 6 deadlifts and 4 tire flips. I would cut back the row to 400 meters. I needed to consult with Coach, whoever she was, on the overhead walking lunges. I could either do a shorter distance with a 10# plate or just lunge down the mat and call it a day. Coach picked the latter.

I opted for the Masters Garage Games weight on the deadlifts and just used 65# because it was supposed to be light enough to breeze through them. I got them done and rowed and by the end I was beeping. So I sat on the rower and did box breathing and then did the lunge down the mat thing and was beeping. I sat on my tire and got my heart rate back down. I did the four tire flips. I was beeping. I sat on the tire and got my heart rate down.

Then it was back up the mat and my heart rate was high again, but I can row slow enough to compensate. I did. I got that done and then had to get my heart rate to 140s so I could do the deadlifts. Then they were finished and I had to start the burpees. First thing I did was lay on the ground to stop beeping and then got my heart rate to 140s and began. I walked them in and out and never rested again. Time was running out. I had ten seconds left and so I actually hopped the last two, like a real burpee. I finished with a score of 10.

I would like to know what I did with this last time but even with all this writing stuff, it is a pain to try to find a specific WOD if it isn’t a named WOD. There is no “compare to” with a date handily given maybe because we aren’t supposed to realize this was a repeat. But why not? There is nothing wrong with a repeat.

As we finished, I said something about it was hell getting old. Yet again, someone has told me I am not old. I know I live in a culture that reveres youth but honestly, I want credit for getting my old, creaky, fat ass out of bed and to the box. I’m not young. If I’m not old, how old do I have to be to be old? I’m certainly past middle age. I’m not going to live to 125. Please world, give me credit for being this age. Let me be old. “The time has come, the walrus said” to quote Lewis Carroll.

 

Laundry list workout

Yesterday had badness on top of badness. I spent two hours at work trying to get our internet to work. It was working and then it wasn’t. It took moving furniture to find that the cord from the Cisco router to the patch panel had failed. But on the bright side, when it was replaced with a good wire, everything worked again. So I figured the day could only get better.

It didn’t. Kristin is my niece’s half-sister. Delightful and joyous and one of the happiest people I am friends with on Facebook. She was in a horrible car accident when she was 17 and barely survived and her appreciation of life was evident in every post. She died in her sleep. She was 33. My heart goes out to Tammy and George. I cannot imagine their pain. Facebook will be a lot less fun without Kristin’s bright, smiling, always happy posts.

There is no graceful segue into the workout for today. I can only go on as crass as it is. The owners are on vacation and so Betsy was coaching today and she believes in a really strong warm-up. We ran 200 meters, ran up and down the mat doing various stuff and I was warming up just fine. Then we had:

3 rounds, not for time, this is not a WOD, this is a warm-up
10 ring rows
10 walking lunges
10 wallballs (14/10 because this is light and a warm-up)

Sure as hell looked like a WOD to me. And 10# is Masters level working weight and we don’t have anything lighter except a kid’s 4# ball. So I was beeping after round one and Coach asked me how I managed the whole heart rate thing. I told her.

Imagine my surprise when I was done last. As I was shooting more wallballs up to the 9 foot mark, I began adding how many damn wallballs I had done so far this week. I was at 94.

We did dislocates and passthroughs to make sure we were as warm as humanly possible.

Today’s WOD as written:
Handstand practice – spend 15 minutes working on handstand walks, handstand push ups, handstand holds, etc. Identify your weakness and work on getting better at it. Attempt a PR at whatever you’re working on. Ring the bell if you get one.
then
For time (MAX effort):
500m row
25 squats
20 kettle bell swings
15 lateral parallette jumps
10 pull ups
5 shoulder to overhead

Heavy Rx – 70/53 kettle bells / strict pull ups / 155/105 shoulder to overhead
Light Rx – 53/35 kettle bells / kipping allowed / 135/95 shoulder to overhead
Fast Rx – 53/35 kettle bells(Russian) / kipping allowed (unbroken 10 or start over) / 95/65 shoulder to overhead

I did wall walks sorta since I can’t really walk myself up against the wall, but I could hang upside down a bit. Ricky and Cheryl could really do handstand walks, Ricky managing a greater distance. Maribel and Todd could get up on the wall, and then there was me. Pitiful.

The WOD would be quick, we were told. I mentioned it wouldn’t be for me. The weights, even for the fast, were all beyond me.

It would take me nearly three minutes just for the row and there were a couple people in the 5 AM class who were done in 5 something. Nothing fast about me.

I used a 20# dumbbell for the Russian kettlebell swings and just stepped back and forth over the bar. I used a green band for the pull-ups and only had to kip on the last two, but managed all ten without breaking. I used a 33# bar without weights for the shoulder to overheads.

There was a lot of beeping going on here and the biggest pause was before I started the pull-ups because I needed to be able to get all ten done without stopping, I had to make sure I had enough heart rate to get through them. I waited to just get down to 163 before started the shoulder to overhead moves and get it finished. I finished last at 7.41.

I had said I was doing six more damn wallballs to get to 100 in two days. And so I did. 100 wallballs in two days because … I have no idea why except it is a nice number.

Betsy wanted to know if I would mind telling her how old I was. I did. She said I did amazing for my age. I know in my head that I am amazing for my age. The problem is, I want to be simply amazing without the qualifier.

There was a beautiful sunrise on the drive home with yellow-orange light glowing through the gray clouds and silhouetted against the tall Carolina pines. Kristin would have liked it. So I smiled.

 

Half done

Yesterday my new thing was knitting for many rows (20) without making a mistake! Unfortunately, they weren’t the first twenty rows, so there is still ample room for personalization in the project.

I looked at the WOD last night and cringed and had to tell myself that I don’t get to cherry pick but I do get to whine. It is all scalable. My plan was to go to the noon class and so I stuck with that. I went grocery shopping early in the morning and got it put away and still had plenty of time to piddle around before heading to the box.

We began with a row and then did lots of mobilization to fire our glutes and I believe mine have been on strike and deserved to be fired, with enthusiasm. But I got through it and realize that actually using the right muscles to do certain moves would make my life much easier. But that isn’t always so easy.

Today’s WOD as written:
Banded hip movements – spend 20 minutes enjoying your favorite glute activation movements with bands around your knees. Make your goal to make trips across the mat by first just walking forward then backward. Keep your feet pointed perfectly parallel to the direction of travel and your knees over your feet. Feeling saucy, make it a trip or two sideway in a split jerk.
then
for time:
75 front squats (135/95) – no rack
At the top of every minute perform 8 walking lunges

I have issues with selecting muscles and using the right ones. Today, I could do most of what was asked of me, but really, the whole banded together stuff made me use the correct muscles whether I wanted to or not. I think that was the idea.

When I looked at the workout, I knew I was in trouble. First of all, I can deadlift 95 pounds, but I can’t clean it so there was no way I was going to be doing 75 front squats with it. My one rep max front squat was 83# the last time I tried. I wasn’t sure I could squat with weight at all, but I tried. I began with the 22# bar and it was okay for ten squats. Then I went to 32# and it didn’t hurt. I’m sure I could have done 42# but I was beeping with just ten 32# squats.

Kym and I were the only ones there and I whined and asked what was on offer for old farts. I don’t even know the coach’s name for today, I have seen her before, but I can’t remember her name. She let me pick and I opted for half the workout. Which I said was 40 squats, but I also cut the lunges in half because I knew what was going to happen. I really prefer someone else telling me what I should do, but I do realize that she only knew I was old and my heart rate goes sky high. She didn’t know enough to tell me how hard to push.

We got to start with squats, I beeped before a minute was up, rested, got a couple more in, and then it was time to lunge. Then it was only a ten seconds until it was time to lunge and I was still beeping but thought it was just stupid and so I got a few more squats in and then it was time to lunge. But as I stood there with a heart rate around 168, I thought I was never going to get anywhere like this. So I did nothing but let my heart rate come back down and then lunged again and could get another ten or so squats in. I got to the lunges and had to do nothing until it was again time for the lunges. Repeat as needed. I had only seven more to do after six minutes and could finish, so I did. I got done in 6.33.

I probably should have gone for 50 reps and just sat around for another minute and done nothing and gotten in the ten, but I didn’t. I knew this was going to kill my legs but it wasn’t as bad as it might have been, mostly because I didn’t do it all.

Then it was time for the rest of my day and I managed to get in something really new and different. Mandi’s neighbor was having a Pampered Chef party and she asked me to come along. I did. I found the place even though I had no idea where I was going AND I got back out of twirling subdivision in the dark and made it back home. I hate driving places where I don’t know where I’m going. I also hate driving in the dark. But I did it. And I got some new stuff on the way.

I’ve looked at the WOD for tomorrow and it is a partner WOD. I’m going early in the morning, not because I’m afraid of making the noon people hate me, but because I have a massage scheduled for 10 AM and I don’t want to get home and an hour later get all sore again. So I’m up in the middle of the night. I really need to plan this out better.

 

Sumo beast

I hate not being perfect. I would be if it were possible, but it is beyond me. I hate doing things that are difficult or imperfectly executed. There are some things I’m really great at such as eating and playing mindless computer games. I can do that stuff like crazy. Running, now there is something I simply suck at. The only way to get better is to keep at it. Intellectually, I process this as a skill to improve. Physically, I just suck. So I tell myself to run and myself doesn’t listen.

Friday, I ran and included running across the street and to my starting place, the 200 meters, back across the street and up the driveway. Saturday, although it was a beautiful day and there was no reason not to get two or three of these little jogs in, I did nothing. Sunday, it plagued me all day and I kept telling myself to go and run and finally just before 5 PM I did. I did the same run as Friday except I went about 20 feet farther out (and back). I felt better after I did that. I have no idea why I didn’t do more.

Two runners, Ricky and Kirsten, both have said it is okay to intersperse walks with my runs as I build stamina.

This morning it was damn near freezing. I mean that literally. It was 33⁰ out there. Warm-up was a nice 800 meter run. You may remember that I don’t even do a 400 meter run. So I ran out to the end of the sidewalk, across the street, down past Perkins and to the little Innovation sign. I had to walk part way and run part way and walk and run, but I got back to the box without dying. I had a heart rate of 00 out there in the cold, but when it finally kicked in I was beeping.

Next, lunge down the mat with hands behind your back, ten “quick” pushups, ten abmat sit-ups, then some move where we were on our backs with knees bent and weight on heels then plank up. Ten of those with both feet on the ground and then ten each with just one leg on the ground.

The WOD as written:
15 minutes to find a 3 rep max Sumo Deadlift.
15 minute AMRAP:
12 Walking Lunges with a barbell in the Front Rack  95/65#
6 Tire Flips

I started the Sumo lift with my 22# bar and ten pounds on each end. Then I added ten pounds to each end and then I had ten more pounds on each end and then, I added 5# to each end. Coach Ryan said I was getting closer to my body weight and I just laughed. I have a way to go for that. Ken pointed out that with my 92# bar, I was well over my age.

Lunges are hard for me because I have no core strength, no leg strength, and no balance to speak of. I have never racked 65# but I’m dead sure I couldn’t lunge with it even if I managed to rack it. I did the first rep with the 22# bar, but I was spent. The tire flips were ugly and then back to the lunges. I had two five pound dumbbells sitting there and did the lunges with those.

I was getting sickish from the up and down movement of the lunges. I was exhausted from carry around weight and moving truck tires. It was quite ugly, but I managed four rounds and 12 lunges and even though I had 20 seconds left, my heart rate was 170 and Candace was using the “good” girlish tire and I was too pooped to walk over there and get in a flip or two. So I didn’t. It was a great day, because I did more than last time.

Some day, I will lift my body weight. Some day, I will be able to do the WOD as written. Some day, I will even be able to do the warm-up. Soon. I’m getting better so it will be soon.

Me lifting 92# barbell. 35 pounds on each side plus a small bar.

 

Wet morning

Yesterday, I took a little nap in the car on the way home from Hilton Head and that was really nice at the time. However, it meant I just couldn’t fall asleep last night. When the alarm went off this morning, it was very difficult to listen and get out of bed and get dressed and eat something and drag my old, tired ass out the door and into the raining morning just to work out.

But that is what I did.

There was a 5 AM class today and they were just finishing up as we got there. As I mentioned up there, it was raining. It was 60 degrees out there so a run in the rain wouldn’t be horrible, but even though there are times when CrossFit seems over the top bizarre, running in the rain wasn’t on the agenda. We began our warm-up with a 500 meter row.

Next we did ten each of squats, burpees (WTF), pull-ups, pushups, sit-ups, and dislocates and passthroughs. I might have mentioned this before, but if I didn’t, burpees suck.

The WOD as written:
15 minutes to find a 2 rep max Front Squat
6 Rounds for Time:
20 Wall-balls 20/14
20 Walking Lunges
20 V-ups

We tried those freaky front squats last week, too. And my knee was still full of badness. I didn’t mention it up there, but I did do my little knee stretch thing before anything this morning. I’ve been very careful with my squats, trying to use the right muscle groups. My knee is not hurting.

I tried a few squats with just a PVC pipe. I then got the small bar. I did that. Christine helped me with my form and I could manage to keep my chest up and not fall forward. I added 2.5# to each side, upped it to 5# on each side, got the 7.5 pounds on each side and then the big people were hogging all the ten pound plates and I was tired and the time was running out so I just stopped there. 37 pounds which is much better than my PVC pipe from last week.

I asked about which would be better, cutting back on the reps or the rounds. At first I got an answer of rounds and then after thinking a bit, Christine said why not do the six rounds but with ten reps each. That was one of my options when I was thinking of this.

I used a ten pound wall ball and never really made it to the line and I did bent knee V-ups. I managed to do ten each for six rounds and finish, dripping and panting and with a heart rate a little on the high side in 18.17.

Candace, Ricky, and Ryan all finished before me with the reps as written although Ryan did bent knee V-ups, too. I knew that was too much for a Little Old Lady to reasonably do. I worked really hard and was dripping by the time I finished.

Once again, I looked at the WOD and figured it was impossible. Once again, when it was scaled, I could manage to do it. Once again, I’m pleased with my effort and happy I went to the box.

 

Squats and more squats

This is my day off so a day I could sleep until noon if I wanted. I was up at 5.15 to get to the box before I was awake enough to talk myself out of it. I had a massage yesterday and finally all the Rice Krispies were out of my knee and I could actually squat without pain. Which was really nice when I looked at today’s WOD.

Warm-up today was run the perimeter of the mat, 3 squats, 3 lunges, and 3 sit-ups. Do it all again. Then 3 100 meter sprints on the rowing machines with a 30 second rest in between. Then broad jump down the mat. Next was ten pushups and finish with dislocates and passthroughs.

The WOD as written:
Back Squat:
12 sets of 2 reps @ 70% of your 1 rep max
12 minute AMRAP:
10 Jumping Squats 45/33
10 Walking lunges with barbell 45/33
1 Parking Lot Sprint
Extra Credit:
30 Turkish Get-ups (15 left/15 right)
-pick a weight that is challenging.

I think my last back squat was with 42 pounds, but who knows for sure. I know it wasn’t a full squat because my knee was still too wonky. (That is a medical term, sorry.) So I tried just the small bar today and didn’t have trouble or pain with a full squat. I added ten more pounds and did the twelve sets of two with that weight. The biggest problem was keeping track of how many rounds I was on. Somewhere around round nine or ten, I was already getting dizzy and the real part of the WOD hadn’t even started.

I bemoaned the fact that I was already getting sickish and it was suggested that I just go slow and do the best I could. Yesterday, on all the burpees, I never took my eyes off the mat, which isn’t really where I’m supposed to be looking with a squat.

My choice of weight was a PVC pipe just so I would have the positioning correct. There was no way I was going to try to squat, jump, or lunge with any extra weight. Time started on the WOD and I tried just closing my eyes. Even with that, I could hear wind rushing, but just with my left ear. I figured I would do as much as I could and hope I managed another day of not puking.

I’m leaning forward on my squats and Christine had to keep telling me to keep my chest up. I tried to think of that instead of keeping my pre-workout almonds down. I beeped a lot today. My parking lot sprints were never more than walks and it would take almost to the end of the parking lot before I stopped beeping from the lunges.

I managed four rounds and ten squats and seven lunges. Time was up and I was spent. The extra credit move was demonstrated. The three men were going to attempt it; Sabre and I both thought we would just pass. Ricky caught up with me at a stop light, so he must have rethought the entire experience as well. I don’t know if Erik and Ken actually did them, but more power to them if they did.

My legs are still attached to my body and will probably complain about that for the rest of the day and tomorrow and then, if I’m lucky, will let me live out the rest of my life in ease and comfort. I can’t believe I can do this stuff at all. Go me.

 

Increased weight is good

A couple days off helped my knee a bit. However, on Saturday I wasn’t completely CrossFit-less. We went down to watch CrossFit Hilton Head have their second annual Polar Bear WOD. The proscribed was a 200 meter bear crawl with partners switching as needed, then 100 squats for each partner, then partner carry back 200 meters and then 100 pushups shared between partners, repeat except at the end no pushups but jump into the freezing ocean until your butt was wet.

Scaled was a 200 meter sprint, 50 squats, lunge back with partners sharing, 50 burpees with partners sharing, repeat and end after lunges with going in the ocean. Even that was more squats than I can do without puking and more burpees than I can do. Craig didn’t participate, he was the time keeper, but at the end, he and I went into the freezing ocean. He stayed for five minutes, I just got wet and out. It was cold. It was also fun.

Today’s warm-up was a 1000 meter row, lunge down the mat, and then running back and forth, sideways and backwards between obstacles for the length of the mat.

The WOD as written:
15 minutes to establish a 1RM Push Press
10 minute AMRAP:
1 Wall Walk (chest & thighs to wall and floor)
10 Weight Overhead Walking Lunges (45/25) (arms locked out)
5 Knees to Elbows
10 Push Presses (95/65)

I managed to add a little weight to my push press this morning. I began with the bar, added 5, then 10, then 15, then 20, and finally 25 pounds to the bar. I was struggling at the end and even though there was still 2 minutes left, I didn’t have any more oomph. However, 47# is heavier than my last push press.

So, the entire WOD was over my head, as it were. I held a plank position and lifted my hands alternately to my shoulders for ten, then did just lunges, my knees were past my waist, but not up to my elbows, and I did push presses with 27# and managed to do three rounds and 16 moves for my AMRAP (as many reps as possible) in ten minutes. My heart rate was consistently high and this was just a whole lot more work than it might look like.

So, here I am, back at home and my water bottle is at the box because I forgot it there. My knee is wrapped and doesn’t feel too bad.

All in all, I’m fairly proud of myself this morning. I increased my push press max and I managed the planking and hand lift things. There are times when I ask myself what I’m doing this at my age, and then myself answers …. Getting stronger. I’m getting stronger.