Monday, December 30, 2013

Looking back on 2013

As 2013 comes to an end, I wanted to reflect on everything that has happened over the past year. This year has been full of changes, competitions, and self-improvement. I learned about myself as an athlete and a person, so here are some of my highlights of 2013:



Highlights from 2013:


1. Seeing my dad make it back to the CrossFit Games
This was without a doubt the highlight of my year. My dad made it to the Games in 2011 but did not make it back in 2012. We still attended the 2012 Games to cheer on Amy Mandelbaum and Glenn Waters, and that's when my dad decided he would be out there next year, no matter what. He spent the next 8 months training very hard, eating clean, and working with one goal in mind: make it back to the Games. Once the Open came around, he went in guns blazing. He repeated most of the workouts and pushed himself to the limit. His hard work was rewarded when he secured the 10th spot in the world for the 50-54 age division and was officially heading back to the Games. With the coaching and programming of Stephen Flamm, he increased his training even more to prepare for July. When the Games rolled around, he was ready. Seeing him compete in the Games again was both stressful and rewarding. I wanted my dad to do well and to be happy with how he performed in the workouts. I also didn't want a repeat of the bloody skull incident of 2011. Overall he got 15th place for the 50-54 master's division. He gave it his all on every single workout, and it made me extremely proud to watch him compete knowing how hard he had worked to get there.






2. OPT Athlete Camp
I already dedicated an entire blog post to this event so I won't write too much more about it, but this was one of the best weekends of the year for me. James Fitzgerald, aka OPT, came to CSC and put on a weekend athlete camp. He put us through two workouts a day and also gave lectures about everything we could possibly want to learn. The man is a genius, and we were hanging on every word. I learned so much about myself as an athlete. The time we spent with him was so valuable and beneficial and I am glad I was a part of it. I also got to sit next to him during lunch and found out that we both watch Breaking Bad, therefore securing us as best friends forever.






3. Deciding to switch to individual programming
This is one of the most important and best decisions I made this year. When I first came to CSC my programming was all over the place. First I was doing a mixture of being and whatever the hell I wanted, then in the fall I switched over to SHE, then in the winter I switched to Will, then when regionals came around we were doing a hybrid of Will and things Stephen programmed. I was never on a steady program for more than a few months and it wasn't benefiting me because all those programs are designed for different goals. After regionals was over, I knew I wanted to do my own program. I wanted something that would force me to work on my weaknesses but also incorporate strength. My goals had also changed. Instead of having a specific goal like making it to regionals, my goal was just to become a better overall athlete. I talked to Stephen and he agreed to write my programming. So far I am 5 months in and I can't even explain how awesome it is. Stephen knows my weaknesses and strengths and writes a program specifically for me to help me improve but still maintain my strength. My snatch went from 115 to 145. My clean is now at 200 pounds. I am also better at rowing, wall ball, rope climbs, and longer workouts. I have been able to maintain my strength while getting better at the aerobic stuff, and that is all thanks to Stephen. He puts a lot of work into the programming, and he is very good at it. I feel like I don't thank him enough for all he has done, so Stephen if you're reading this, thank you! Thank you for taking the time to help me improve, answering all my questions and making training fun.  



4. Meeting Lindsey Valenzuela
I already dedicated a blog post to this as well,, but I obviously had to include it on the list. My dad surprised me and set up a one-on-one olympic lifting session with Lindsey Valenzuela when she was in town. She helped me improve my snatch technique and it was one of the coolest experiences ever. I learned so much from her in just one hour and it was great getting to meet her. I will never forget it!





5. Gobblers and Gobblettes Competition with Jeff
Jeff and I participated in the Gobblers and Gobblettes competition at CrossFit Covington in November. I can honestly say it was the most fun I have ever had during a competition. I have done team competitions before but this was my first partner comp, and I could not have asked for a better partner. Jeff and I had so much fun together, and we also worked really well as a pair. We were able to communicate really well during all the workouts, and our strengths and weaknesses balanced out. I never felt like he was getting frustrated with me or that he was having to pick up slack. He was so laid back and relaxed about everything, he made it easy for me to just have fun. This competition was also cool because a bunch of other people from CSC participated, so it was awesome getting to compete alongside all my friends.






6. Getting a training job at CrossFit Lebanon
This is one of the more unexpected things to happen this year. In early November my dad suggested I email a few CrossFit gyms in the area and see if any of them needed trainers. Mark Messer from CrossFit Lebanon agreed to meet with me to discuss a training job, and before I knew it, I had taken over the 5:30 AM class Monday-Friday. I cannot thank Mark enough for taking a chance on me and giving me this job. I love training at CF Lebanon. It makes me really happy to get to help people progress in the sport that I love so much. My 5:30 AM regulars (Brian, Ryan, Amber, Jason) you guys are awesome and it has been great getting to train with you every morning. I am excited to continue to meet new people and to continue my journey with CrossFit Lebanon!

This year was also about taking a step back and taking a look at myself and my goals. I learned a lot about myself and about how I want to develop as an athlete and a person, so I thought I would share a few important things I learned this year.



Things I learned in 2013:


1. Remember to look at the big picture sometimes
It is easy to forget how much we have improved over time. Instead, we tend to look at things from a “week to week” basis, or at least I do. If Stephen programs unbroken muscle ups and I string them together every time, then the next week I only string half of them together, it’s easy for me think “I suck. Last week I was doing muscle ups so well and this week they are terrible. I am getting worse”. Stephen usually has to talk me off the ledge and remind me that a few months ago, I couldn’t even string muscle ups together. And then I go “oh yeah, I guess I have improved” and then all is well. But my point is, it’s easy for us to forget how much we have improved in the last month, the last six months, and even the last year. While it is important to always be improving day to day and week to week, sometimes we have to take a step back and remember how far we have come and appreciate all the hard work we have put in to get us to the point we are today.



2. Learn to celebrate the success of others
I know that as CrossFitters we have a competitive nature that drives us, but I believe that we should be excited when someone sets a PR, not jealous or angry. I used to be guilty of this, but then I realized that getting pissed off when someone snatches more than me doesn’t help my snatch improve, so why not just be excited for that person instead? We are competitors but we are also a community. We should lift each other up, not tear each other down. If your clean and jerk is 170 and then another girl in the gym clean and jerks 180, your first thought shouldn’t be “well fuck, what the hell, she just clean and jerked 180, that’s 10 more than MY clean and jerk, ugh, I should be lifting those kinds of numbers, not her” your first thought should be “WOW, that is great. I am so excited for her, I can’t wait until I get there” because getting angry at someone else’s PR isn’t going to add any weight to your numbers, so why get angry about it? There is a difference between being challenged/ wanting to do better, and getting pissed every time someone lifts more than you. We all work hard and we should be happy for one another when a milestone is reached.


3. Don’t forget to have fun
This sounds really cheesy, but this is probably the biggest thing I learned this year. I used to be so obsessed with how I compared to other people that for awhile I lost sight of why I started doing CrossFit and why I continue to do it-because it’s fucking awesome and fun as shit. I don’t know about you, but I have a fucking blast in the gym (except on row sprint Wednesdays, just kidding). I mean, I’m in a gym with all my friends doing olympic lifting and climbing ropes and we are all improving and competing and getting better together. That is so fun. I believe training should be enjoyed. If you come to the gym and you’re miserable the entire time then maybe you should re-evaluate some things. But I don’t know how it’s possible NOT to have fun at CSC because it’s just a great place to be. The people are awesome. The dance parties are continuous. Work hard and have fun, that’s all I’m saying.


If you made it all the way to the end of this post, then props to you. Thank you for taking the time to read my thoughts on 2013. It really has been an awesome year and I am looking forward to what 2014 will bring. Onward!


Sunday, December 29, 2013

12/29/2013

10:00 Z1 mixed warm-up of AirDyne, row, ski erg, and handstand walk practice, keep it easy and stay moving
+
10:00 @ 90% of [1 rope climb + 15m heavy bag carry + AMRAP handstand push-ups + 15m heavy bag carry]
+
3 sets for even times:
400m run
500m row
3:00 rest


complete
+
complete with 80# bag
+
4:45
4:45
4:54

also did some axle work, got up to 128 and cleaned it a few times to get a feel for how it's going to go during the competition


Felt really good today, I think all the bad shit is out of my system. Rope climbs were fast, I would have liked to get more HSPU each round but my arms were pretty sore today so I wasn't doing very well on those. The bag carry was cool, although I don't know how I'm going to run with an 80 pound bag in the competition in two weeks. Yikes. I'm happy with how the run/row workout went, I tried to keep an easy pace on the run and then pick it up on the row. I was happy that the first two sets were the exact same, I lost it a little on the last set because I rested too much between the run and the row. Also worked with the axle a bit to get a feel for how the 130 pound axle clean/hold is going to go at the GLI. 

Friday, December 27, 2013

12/27/2013

A. Squat snatch, build to a max in 15:00
+
3 sets for even times, change movement order every set:
3 bar muscle-ups
9 clean-grip deadlifts, 185
15 toes-to-bar
21 wall balls, 20 to 10'
60 double-unders
5:00 rest


A. 130
+
1. 
3 bar MUS
9 CGDL
15 TTB
21 WB
60 DU
6:20

2. 
60 DU
9 CGDL
21 WB
15 TTB
3 MU
7:45. Had two failed bar MU attempts which wasted a lot of time

3. 
21 WB
3 bar MU
60 DU
9 CGDL
15 TTB
7:16. One failed bar MU attempt

all double unders unbroken


I can't remember the last time I had a training week this bad. I know my performance is off for a number of reasons-my training schedule has been off due to traveling and I ate VERY poorly on Christmas Eve and Christmas. I definitely learned my lesson. Argggg. It makes me nervous that I feel this bad two weeks before a big competition. Snatches were alright today, I feel like I haven't squat snatched in awhile but I was pleased to end up at 130. I failed it twice but got it on the third try. The second half was just frustrating. Breathing was pretty heavy but the main thing that was bothering me was a giant tear on my palm. I felt like it was keeping me from being able to really kip hard so my bar MUs and toes to bar suffered a bit because I didn't want to tear it any worse. First round went well, but on the second round I failed two bar muscle ups which set me back one minute. During the third round I failed one bar muscle up but everything else felt good. The wall balls actually felt the best out of everything, the 20 pound ball really didn't bother me that much. All double unders were unbroken so that was good. Ready to put this week behind me and look forward to training for the competition. 



12/26/2013

A. Power clean, build to a touch-and-go 3RM in only 3 attempts over 125
B. Split jerk from blocks, 9 x 1 waveload 145-155-165, emphasis on speed & aggressive lockout @ catch; begin a set every :60
+
For time:
10 stone-to-shoulders, 95
30 CTB pull-ups, mandatory sets of 5
15 wall walks
30 CTB pull-ups, mandatory sets of 5
10 stone-to-shoulders, 95


A. 165 (175 Fx2)
B. complete
+
15:15

12/25/2013

1500m row @ 2:05.0 pace
+
8 sets of:
:30 row @ 100%
4:30 rest (8:00 rest after set 4)
+
5:00 row cool-down, keep it Z1


6:09.2/2:03.1
+
158 meters
156
156
156
154
154
155
152
+
complete

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

12/24/2013

A. 1 squat clean + 1 front squat, 1 set every :60 starting @ 125 and adding 10 every :60
+
For time:
15 muscle-ups
+
For 10:00:
Evens: 3 tough close-grip bench press
Odds: 15 heavy Russian kettlebell swings


A. 185 (195 Fx2)
+
6:14
+
complete
bench @110, 70# KB


Squat cleans felt tough today, I was hoping to get to at least 195 but I failed it twice. That was frustrating. My lifting technique was off today, I was rushing the lift instead of being patient. I'm not sure why I was doing that. Not my best lifting today. I am pleased with how the muscle ups went, all of them were in sets of 2 until the last two reps. I think I was waiting just a bit too long in between sets, I was trying to focus more on stringing two together instead of getting a fast time and I wanted to have enough rest so I didn't fail any sets. But I am still happy with my time. I would like to try 30 muscle ups for time soon, the last time I did it, it took me 23 minutes so I know I could do much better now. The bench press/KB workout was tougher than I expected, I was breathing relatively hard by the end. Bench press felt good but KB swings got tough. This week has been a little frustrating so far. 

Friday, December 20, 2013

12/19/2013

A. Power clean, build to a moderate/tough single in 10:00 from an empty bar
B. Split jerk from blocks, 9 x 1 waveload 135-145-155, emphasis on speed under lockout @ catch; begin a set every :60
C. Weighted ring dip, build to a max
+
For time:
20 alternating Turkish get-ups, 45
60 toes-to-bar, mandatory sets of 5
100m heavy prowler push, grind effort

A. 190
B. complete
C. 45#(PR+5)
+
23:45
70# on prowler


I am pleased with the power clean number, although they didn’t feel great today. I think I am used to squat cleans now so the power cleans felt a little off. Split jerks felt really good, I was focusing on speed and punching myself underneath the bar. I never felt like I was pressing out and had no wrist pain, so that’s a good sign. I am happy with a PR on the weighted dip! I figured I might PR that today since I have been doing so many weighted dips lately. The TGU workout actually took me less time than I thought it would. My turkish get-ups are pretty slow, especially with 45 pounds. I figured it would take me closer to 30 minutes. On the TGU I tried to keep the rest between reps very short. It still took me awhile, 11 minutes. The toes to bar felt really good, those were never a problem. The prowler was how I expected, I was able to push it for the first 25 meters without stopping, then I had to stop once during 50 meters and once again on 75 meters but I was able to push it the last 25 meters with no break. Overall I am pleased how I did on this.

Thursday, December 19, 2013

12/18/2013

1200m row @ 2:05.0 goal pace
+
7 sets of:
:30 row @ 100%
4:30 rest
+
1200m row @ 2:05.0 goal pace


2:03.6/4:56.6
+
158 meters
155
156
155
156
150
151
+
2:03.4/4:56.1


Puke.

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

12/17/2013

A. Squat clean, build quickly to a tough single
B. Muscle-ups, 10 x 2 unbroken; begin a set every :90
+
For 10:00:
Evens: 10 hand-release push-ups
Odds: 6 alternating DB snatches, 45


A. 195 (205 Fail)
B. complete. Failed the second muscle up on 9th and 10th set but all unbroken up until that point
+
complete


Squat cleans felt GREAT today. I was able to get to 195 relatively quickly. I went 125-145-165-185-195. I had a feeling I might be able to PR my squat clean so I put 205 on the bar and went for it. I was able to get under it easily but I couldn't stand it up. FUCK. So disappointing, I really thought it was going to happen today. Oh well, next time. The muscle ups went well, all sets were around :10. I failed the 2nd muscle up on the 9th and 10th set which was a little frustrating but I think I was just fatigued. The push up/db snatch workout was good, db snatches were really fast. Good day today. 

Monday, December 16, 2013

12/16/2013

35:00 airdyne @Z1

My session with Lindsey Valenzuela

For the people that don’t know, I am a huge Lindsey fan. Ever since I saw her dominate the clean ladder at the 2012 CrossFit Games, I have always had an immense respect for her. Watching her on that ladder was what really kickstarted my interest in wanting to be successful in Olympic Lifting. I am a fan of her because she is an amazing lifter, has great form, understands and respects the sport of olympic weightlifting, but is also a very talented CrossFitter. She is extremely strong but also very well-rounded in all other aspects of the sport. This year she took 2nd place at the CrossFit Games and it was very well-deserved. Watching her compete is always very inspiring.

When I found out she was going to be coming to CrossFit Conjugate, I was pretty jealous. I thought it was very cool that she traveled to Ohio to work with the Sweatts and Sam Briggs. I figured she would be way too busy to have time to meet me so I never asked. Then last Thursday my dad and I left for what I thought was going to be a lifting session at Cincinnati Strength. I noticed my dad drove past the exit and he said we were going to take a different route. I didn’t think anything of it and didn’t really notice anything weird until we were pulling up to the street where Conjugate is located. Then it finally clicked that we weren’t going to CSC, and he told me he set up an private hour lifting session with Lindsey. To say I was excited would be an understatement.
Yep, this is totally normal. I'm not freaking out AT ALL. 

I met Lindsey and she was super cool. Very chill and very down to earth. I was pretty nervous when she was having me warm up for snatches. I didn’t want to completely choke and have it be a “I swear I’m really not that bad” situation, or even worse have her get really frustrated with me not being able to pick things up fast enough and just say “yeah I can’t help you”. I think she could tell I was nervous because she told me to relax and that she’s a normal person like everyone else haha. Also by some weird coincidence I happened to be wearing my Dogtown CrossFit shirt (Lindsey’s gym), which probably made me seem like an even bigger goob. After about ten minutes I finally calmed down and started to focus. After I warmed up with the bar she watched me snatch a few times and immediately noticed my bar path is going too far away from my body. She pointed out that I am not really shrugging at all and that is resulting in dropping under the bar too slowly and it’s also causing the bar to move away from me. She had me do one shrug and then one full snatch, a few reps and then I would add a little more weight. My first few reps weren’t great, I was trying to think about keeping the bar close, shrugging, driving my feet into the ground, all that. But once I did more reps I started getting the hang of it, and by the time we finished the first part I was keeping the bar in much closer and getting under faster, it felt a lot easier. Lindsey said to think about it as making each lift as easy as possible for myself. She also noticed that when I snatch, I tend to throw my head back which also causes the problem of bringing the bar too far out in front of me. She told me to focus on one thing in front of me and said I couldn’t take my eyes off of it the entire lift. I decided to focus on a white paint spot on the wall. When I first tried it I fell really far forward but then it became much easier and worked so well, my snatches drastically improved when I kept my eyes on one focal point for the whole lift.


After that she had me do some heavy pulls with straps. I have never really used straps before so she had to show me how to wear them and how to wrap them around the bar. It took some getting used to at first but after the first few sets it was starting to feel more normal to use the straps. I was trying to focus on pushing my feet into the ground on each pull. After that, she had me do sets of snatch balances, increasing in weight each time. She told me to focus on punching quickly underneath the bar. By the end of the session I felt like my snatches had drastically improved in just that one hour.

Just shootin the shit with my new pal

I learned so much from Lindsey. I have to work on keeping the bar in close, being patient with the lift, keeping my focus on one point throughout the whole lift, and work on dropping quickly underneath the bar instead of letting it push me down. She had a lot of insightful things to say about lifting. I told her how I tend to get really frustrated if one week everything feels great and then the next week I come in and all my lifts feel like shit. She said that is why Olympic lifting can be so frustrating, you can have a three hour session and out of one thousand reps, maybe only one or two will feel perfect. She said to learn to appreciate those perfect reps and that when my lifts are going poorly I need to break them down to the basics, then put everything back together. She said I have a lot of potential, and that was really awesome to hear. Coming from her, that meant a lot. She is an awesome person, very patient and down to earth, and my respect for her grew even more. Thank you dad for the best surprise Christmas gift ever! Thanks Stephen and my mom and whoever else helped keep it a secret. It was really one of the coolest experiences ever.



what an awesome day!





Sunday, December 15, 2013

12/14/2013

A. Power clean & split jerk, 9 x 1 @ 80-90% 1RM; begin a set every :90
B. Weighted ring dips, 5 x 1-2, 20X1; 2:00 rest
+
For time:
5 bar muscle-ups
3 stone-to-shoulders, 95
3 bar muscle-ups
6 stone-to-shoulders, 95
1 bar muscle-up
9 stone-to-shoulders, 95
100m Farmer's walk, 70/hand


A. complete @165
B. 5-10-15-20-25
+
11:42


I think I need to work on my jerk more, I am starting to press it up instead of pushing myself under the bar, and it's causing pain in my wrists. The cleans felt easy but the jerks felt heavy. I was very pleased with the stone/bar mu workout. All bar muscle ups were singles but I was trying to take shorter rest between reps. The stone to shoulder definitely went better than last time, I was trying to take shorter rest with that as well. I'll be happy when I get my bar muscle ups strung together, then these workouts will go much faster. 

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

12/11/2013

1200m row @ 2:05.0 goal pace
+
6 sets of:
:30 row @ 100%
4:00 rest
+
1200m row @ 2:05.0 goal pace


4:55.9/2:03.3
+
158
160
158
153
158
150
+
4:56.4/2:03.5

12/10/2013

rest day

12/9/2013

A. Front squat, build to a moderate/fast single in no more than 5 sets
+
5:00 @ 80% of [1 muscle-up + 2 touch-and-go squat cleans @ 135 + 50m shuttle run (25 out & back)]
3:00 rest
5:00 @ 80% of row for meters
3:00 rest
5:00 @ 80% of [5 toes-to-bar + 7 hand-release push-ups + 9 box jumps w/step-down @ 20"]
3:00 rest
5:00 @ 80% of row for meters, must be same as 1st set
3:00 rest
5:00 @ 80% of alternating Turkish get-ups @ 35


A. 205
+
complete
+
1129 meters
+
complete
+
1150 meters
+
complete

Saturday, December 7, 2013

12/7/2013

A. Snatch pull clusters, build quickly to an explosive single @ 100-110% snatch max, just to prep the CNS
B. Power snatch, 3-2-1-1-1-1; 2:30 rest
+
5 sets for even times:
20 wall balls
1 muscle-up
400m row
3:00 rest


A. up to 155
B. 85-105-115-125-130-135(PR)-140(PR)-145(PR)
+
1. 3:31
2. 3:24
3. 3:21
4. 3:23
5. 3:21


Awesome day today! I was not expecting to PR my power snatch by that much. I got up to the last set with 135 which as a PR and I decided to go for 140 just for the hell of it, and I got it! I was going to stop there but it turns out the phone didn't record my rep at 140 and I wanted to get a video so I had to decide to either try 140 again or go for 145. I decided to go for 145 and failed twice but got it on the third try! It felt good, I think I could even get 150 next time. The wall ball/rowing workout went really well, I broke up the wall balls into sets of 10 every round, didn't fail any muscle ups, and tried to keep the rowing around a 2:04-2:05 pace. I recovered quickly between sets and felt great during this whole workout. Great day today! 

12/5/2013

A. Power clean & split jerk, 8  x 1 @ 80-90% 1RM; begin a set every 2:00
B. Ring dips, 5 x 2-3, 20X1; 2:00 rest
+
For time:
5 bar muscle-ups
10 wall walks
15 stone-to-shoulders, 95
20 CTBs
25m bear crawl
20 toes-to-bars
15 kettlebell swings, 70
10m handstand walk
5 rope climbs


A. complete @175
B. 3(uw), 3(5#), 3(7.5), 3(10), 3(12.5)
+
22:12

12/4/2013

1000m row @ 2:05.0 goal pace
+
7 sets of:
:25 row @ 100%
3:35 rest
+
1000m row @ 2:05.0 goal pace


4:06.1/2:03.1
+
134m
133
134
131
134
128
129
+
4:07.1/2:03.7


Tuesday, December 3, 2013

12/3/2013

A. Front squat, build to a tough 2 in 10:00
+
For 10:00:
Evens: 2 touch-and-go squat cleans @ 135
Odds: 2 muscle-ups
+
For 10:00:
Evens: 10 hand-release push-ups
Odds: 25m reverse sled drag, 135


A. 200
+
complete, all muscle ups unbroken
+
complete


Today. was. awesome. Muscle ups felt great, better than they have felt in a long time. Today was the first time I have been able to string them together in a few months, I wasn't sure if I would be able to but I went for it on the first set and it was easy so I was able to string 2 together every time. I am really happy with that. The squat cleans felt really light, those were easy. The sled drag/push up workout went better than I thought, I wasn't sure how long it would take me to pull the sled but it ended up being around :20 each time. I was definitely breathing hard by the end though. 

12/2/2013

35:00 airdyne @Z1

Sunday, December 1, 2013

12/1/2013

12:00 Z1 mixed warm-up of AirDyne, row, ski erg, and single-unders, keep it easy and stay moving
+
6 sets of:
400m run @ 75-85-95-75-85-95% effort, times should reflect changes in effort
2:00 walk rest
+
12:00 @ 90% of [5 ring dips + 10 heavy Russian kettlebell swings + 1 rope climb + 200m run]


complete
+
2:02
1:52
1:36
2:02
1:55
1:36
+
complete with 70# KB


felt like shit today

11/30/2013

A. Snatch pull clusters, 3 x 1.1.1 @ 107% snatch max
B. Power snatch, build to a touch-and-go 2rm
+
4 sets for times:
1 muscle-up
5 squat clean & jerks, start @ 105 and add 10/set
20 wall balls
500m row @ 2:05/500m
4:00 rest


A. complete @150
B. 130 (power snatch PR+5)
+
1. 6:40-forgot to record rowing time
2. 6:40/2:04.0
3. 6:40/2:04.2
4. 6:41/2:02.9




Saturday, November 30, 2013

11/29/2013

35:00 airdyne @Z1

11/28/2013

A. power clean and split jerk, 8x1 @75-85% of 1RM, begin a set every :90
B. Ring dips, 4x3-4, 20x1, 2:00 rest
+
For time:
30 CTB pull ups
100m farmers walk
10 kipping handstand push ups
20 CTB pull ups
10 stone to shoulder, 95
10 kipping handstand push ups
10 CTB pull ups
50m forward sled drag
50m reverse sled drag
10 kipping handstand push ups

A. 165
B. 4(unweighted), 4(5#), 4(10#), 4(12.5#)
+
24:04
180# on sled

11/27/2013

3 sets of:
500m row @85%
2:00 rest
+
6 sets of:
:25 row @100%
3:35 rest
+
3 sets of:
500m row @85%
2:00 rest

2:02.0
2:01.5
2:02.4
+
1:35.1
1:34.5
1:35.3
1:34.8
1:35.3
1:35.3
+
2:03.3
2:03.6
2:03.5

11/26/2013

A. Front squat, build to a tough 3 in 10:00
+
for 22:00
evens: 1 squat clean + 1 front squat @160
odds: 1 muscle up
+
AMRAP in 6:00
10 pull ups
25m heavy prowler push

A. 190
+
complete
+
complete with #90 on prowler

Monday, November 25, 2013

11/24/2013

A. Snatch pull, build quickly to an explosive single @ 100-110% snatch max, just to prep the CNS
B. Power snatch, build to touch-and-go 3RM
+
5 sets for reps & even run times:
AMRAP handstand push-ups
10 pull-ups
15 wall balls
400m run
4:00 rest


A. up to 150
B. 120 (125 for 2 reps, failed the third)
+
1. 15/2:08
2. 13/2:10
3. 10/2:15
4. 8/? clock was reset before I came back
5. 8/2:20


I was really pleased with the power snatch 3RM. I only thought I would get up to 115 at the most, but Stephen was telling me to put more weight on so I did and as usual he was right. 120 felt really easy, I thought for sure I could get 125 but I failed the 3rd rep. Oh well. I am very happy with this considering my power snatch 1RM is 125, so I know that number is definitely higher now if I can touch and go 125 for two. The wall ball/running workout felt pretty terrible. HSPUs were alright, I wish I didn't fatigue so quickly on those. Pull ups felt good, wall balls felt bad. It was one of those days where the ball was going all over the place, hitting me in the face and shit. The runs were just fucking cold, I could barely breathe. I wasn't able to keep the runs consistent, it's hard for me to keep a consistent running pace once I start getting tired. I think I'm going to start taking a stopwatch outside with me when I run, it's harder to pace running when you can't see a clock. 



Friday, November 22, 2013

11/21/2013

A. Power clean & split jerk, 6 x 1 @ 75-85% 1RM; begin a set every :90
B. Ring dips, 3 x 4-5, 20X1; 2:00 rest
+
For time:
800m run
100m sled drag, heavy grinding effort
25 pull-ups
35 burpees
25 pull-ups
100m reverse sled drag, heavy grinding effort
1000m row


A. complete @165
B. 5(unweighted), 5(5#), 5(10#)
+
29:49
180 pounds on sled
this one was weirdly awesome


Great day today. The power clean and jerks felt really light, although it was a little strange to power clean since all I have been doing for the past few weeks is squat cleans. Dips went better than I thought they would, I am getting better at those. The sled drag workout was actually pretty awesome. I was dreading it all day, because long chippers are not my strong point at all, especially when it involves running, sled drag, and burpees, but it actually went really well. I took the run at a pretty steady pace and felt great the whole time. The first sled drag was rough but not as bad as I thought, although that is the heaviest sled drag I have ever done. When Leah and I were setting up for the workout we weren't sure exactly how heavy the sled was supposed to be. Stephen said we should look like we're masters athletes dragging a sled at the CrossFit Games. In my mind I was thinking it would be around 100-115 pounds but that was way too light. Leah ended up putting 180 pounds on there and I didn't think there was any way I would be abe to drag it, but I actually did alright with that weight. All pull ups were butterfly and felt really good, the first time I broke them up 9-9-7 and the second time through was all sets of 5s. The 35 burpees were reaaaaal slow but steady. Thank you Stephen for keeping me on track through those, I'm sure that was not the most exciting thing to watch haha. Once I got back to the sled I had to drag it in reverse and jesus that took forever. I was so tired by this point and breathing pretty hard, I was stopping probably three times during every 25 meters. I finally made it to the row and it was pretty slow, I probably should have gone a bit faster. I did get a little kick around 250 and was able to power through until the end, finishing just under 30:00. I'm very happy with that, I thought this workout was going to take me a lot longer. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this workout. My engine has improved so much, I was breathing heavy the whole time but never felt like I was going to die, and I recovered relatively quickly after it was over. I was able to keep moving at a relatively steady pace the entire time. This is definitely encouraging, I know I am slowly getting better at my weaknesses. 

Thursday, November 21, 2013

11/20/2013

3 sets of:
500 meter row @85%
2:00 rest
+
6 sets of:
:20 row @100%
3:40 rest
+
3 sets of:
500 meter row
2:00

2:02.2
2:02.0
2:01.7
+
1:34.4
1:34.4
1:34.1
1:32.5
1:33.5
1:33.0
+
2:03.4
2:03.1
2:02.4


I am really pleased with these numbers, I am getting so much better at rowing. I don't even hate it anymore. I feel pretty comfortable with rowing now and actually enjoy it sometimes. Progress! During the :20 sprints Stephen told me to play around with the damper a little bit, so I put it on 5 for the first set, 6 for the second, and then kept it on 7 for the rest. The second set of 500s were a bit slower than the first set because I was pretty tired from the sprints. Stephen said the goal is eventually to have the second set of 500s be the same as the first set. I also recovered pretty quickly between all the rows which is a good sign.

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

11/19/2013

A. Front squat, build quickly to tough 5
+
For 20:00:
Evens: 1 squat clean + 1 front squat @ 155
Odds: 1 muscle-up
+
AMRAP in 6:00:
25m heavy prowler push
2 rope climbs


A. 180
+
complete
+
2 rounds + prowler & 1 rope climb
70 pounds on prowler 


Front squats felt good today, I think the bees knees helped a lot. I think I could definitely get a new front squat PR soon. The 20:00 EMOM went really well, the squat cleans felt easy and I didn't have any misses on the muscle ups which is good, I am getting my confidence back with those, although I don't know if I can string two together anymore. The 6:00 AMRAP was alright, I was resting way too much between rope climbs though. The prowler was fast and only got difficult on the last round but it was definitely making me out of breath, especially having to turn the prowler around every time, that was a little bit of extra work haha

Monday, November 18, 2013

11/18/2013

35:00 airdyne @Z1

Gobblers and Gobblettes recap

Yesterday was the Gobblers and Gobblettes competition at CrossFit Covington. It was a male/female partner competition and there were three different workouts throughout the day. I have done a team competition before but this was my first partner competition and it was so awesome! I loved it. It was definitely a learning experience, and it's more pressure than competing as an individual because you don't want to let your partner down or end up having them do most of the work. Also strategy comes into play more, you have to figure out how to split up the work load and also how to communicate during the actual workouts. Here is a recap of the WODs:

WOD#1
In 10 Minutes: partner #1 will row 250m, while partner #2 completes AMRAP burpees. Then the partners will switch. They will continue switching until the 10 minutes is complete.
*When the rowing judge calls switch, the person doing the burpees must STOP and the partners switch immediately.
Score #1 – Total # meters rowed between the 2 partners.
Score #2 – Total # burpees completed between the 2 partners.

Total meters rowed-2280=23rd place
Total burpees-133=36th place

This felt like the longest ten minutes of my life. It was so tiring. I tried to do the burpees at a steady pace, I didn't want to go out too fast and burn out too quickly. I kept the row between 2:00-2:05 which felt pretty good, it was mostly the burpees that were killing me. Jeff and I had good transitions on this, I tried to start pulling as soon as I sat down on the rower and he would immediately start doing burpees. Looking back on it, we probably should have picked up the pace a little bit on the burpees but we did pretty decent overall on the row. We were both glad to get this one out of the way first.

Row/burpee workout!

WOD #2 – Deadlift, Hang Clean and Double Jerk Ladder
Women’s Ladder: 125, 135, 145, 155, 165, 175, 185, 195
Men’s Ladder: 185, 205, 225, 255, 275, 295, 305, 315
*You will have 1 minute to complete the complex. There will be a 10 second transition between each lift.
Score = We will be counting the women’s and men’s scores separately. We will also be giving partial credit for lifts.

Jeff- 275.03=14th place
me- 185.01=12th place

This was really fun, I love ladders. I didn't get as high as I would have liked, everything up until 185 felt very easy, I really thought I might be able to get to 195 and at least clean it, but that didn't happen. I got to 185 and failed the clean three times, arggg. Very disappointing. For some reason I was catching it forward and wasn't able to stand up with it. I think the minimal rest between the first and second workout was also a contributing factor. Jeff did really well, he took 14th place overall on the ladder which is great! We had a lot of fun doing this one.



WOD #3 – 3 Parts – **1 Minute Rest between each part**
Part #1 – You have 6 Minutes to complete as a team:
40-30-20
Deadlifts – (225/135#)
Alternating Partner Box Jumps (20″)
*On the deadlift, the partner must hold their bar at the top of the deadlift, while the other person is working on the deadlifts. You may switch at any time.
Score = Time to Complete the WOD

5:28=27th place

This was a lot tougher than we anticipated, the deadlifts were not heavy but very taxing, and the hold got very tiring. Jeff and I split up the deadlifts 10-10-10-10 on the first round, 10-10-5-5 on the second round, and 10-10 on the third round. We never got no-repped on any box jumps which is good. This one was definitely a breather. 

Part #2  - In 6 Minutes as a team, complete AMRAP:
100 Double Unders
12 Thrusters (135/85#)
*For the double unders, one person working at at time.
*For the thruster, the partner must hold the front rack position, while the other person is working on the thrusters. You may switch at any time.
Score = Total # Reps completed within the AMRAP

336 reps=15th place

This was definitely the easiest of the three workouts. We were able to split up the double unders 50-50 on the first round and then after that it was basically as many as we could do and then we would turn it over to the other person. We split up the thrusters 6/6 each round which worked really well, the front rack hold position was terrible though, it made it impossible to breathe. We had really good communication during this one which was cool. After this one was over I wasn't sure how I was going to make it through a third workout with only one minute to rest.

Part #3 – You have 6 minutes to complete as a team :
3 Rounds:
10 Snatch (135/85#)
10 Muscle Ups
*One person working at a time for both movements, you may switch at any time
Score: Time to Complete the WOD

6:16=16th place

Holy fuck. At this point, we were both so tired. I couldn't imagine gripping the rings to do muscle ups. The plan was for me to do all the snatches in the first round and then Jeff would start on the muscle ups, and I would try to do one or two when he needed a break. That plan kind of fell apart a little bit. I thought I would be able to do all 10 snatches unbroken but that did not happen. I ended up doing 5-3-1-1 on the first round (I was going to do a set of 2 at the end but the bar was so slippery it slipped right out of my hand). I walked over to the rings while Jeff was doing muscle ups, he was able to knock them out in a few sets so I walked back over to the bar and started doing snatches and he stayed over at the rings. When I was finished I walked back over to him and asked if he wanted me to do any, secretly hoping he would say no, and he said he could handle the muscle ups if I did all the snatches. That was perfectly fine with me, I was so tired I couldn't imagine doing any muscle ups at that point.  We were both dead. All of Jeff's muscle ups looked really strong though, and my snatches felt good but I wasn't able to do more than a few at a time by the end. Ugh. This whole workout was extremely tiring. I think we were both very glad when it was over. I actually had the most fun doing this last group of workouts because it required the most partner communication so Jeff and I got to interact a lot which was fun :) 

At the end of the day, Jeff and I ended up getting 21st place overall. We were a little disappointed because we wanted to get into the top 20. Before the final results were announced, Jeff said "I just want us to make it into the top 20" and I said "Yeah, watch us get like 21st place or something" and then we did haha. Oh well. There were a lot of really good teams there, the competitors were all very talented and strong.

Overall, it was a great day. CrossFit Covington put on a very well-run competition. All the workouts were challenging but not over the top, and the partner aspect of it was really cool. My partner, Jeff, was the best partner I could ever ask for. I never felt like he was disappointed in me or stressed about the standings of the teams. He was there to have fun and I had a blast competing with him. He is an amazing athlete and an awesome person as well. Also, congratulations to Megan, Stephen, Michael, Kathryn, Jessie, Jason, Heather and Cody. It was fun getting to compete alongside my friends from CSC. Now we look forward to the 2014 Great Lakes Invitational in January!

My amazing partner Jeff!

Team Gobble Squatters and Team Treat Yo Self after the competition


All the CSC competitors!







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