one on one: day twenty-five

So for the past week I have been having issues squatting fully without putting most of my weight onto my left leg. My right ankle hasn't been flexing without discomfort. This became quite apparent today when Joon had me do squat therapy and overhead squats. Not good. So with some mobility work and soon an adjustment, I am hoping we can nip this problem in the butt asap! So what did we do today? Structural work:

Warm-up: 500m Row
Extended Warm-up:
     Squat Therapy
     4 x 30/30 OHS + Hold
     4 x 30/30 Back Extension (GHD) + FLR (Bosu Ball)

Then,
     200m Row (Sprint) R1- 42.5, R2- 41.9, R3- 41.2
     10 KB Bottoms Up  Clean + Press (26#)
     Rest 2:00 Min
     x3
Overall Time: 10:00

Then,
     10 Cal AirFit (Sprint) R1- 16, R2- 14, R3- 15, R4- 16, R5- 15
     20m Farmer Carry (70#)
     Rest 1:00 Min
     x5
Overall Time: 9:12

Even with my ankle causing some issues, I am pretty happy with myself today. The back extensions were hard but felt good and I felt strong, and the FLR on the Bosu Ball went on without complaints. With the row Joon changed the damper each round, I started at 6, then 7, and then 8. I was expecting the 7 and 8 to feel hard but they didn't, I am definitely becoming more efficient with my rowing- YAY! As for the AirFit, I worked hard to make that devil of a machine my bitch, and I came close a couple of times. I am actually surprised at how well I did on it. Could I have done better? Of course but I'll take what I did and smile. Todays session overall felt good, my lungs are feeling better, and I think I kicked that cold in butt! :)

This photo was taken from Pinterest.

one on one: day twenty-three

I walked into the gym today still feeling pretty beat up from Tuesday's session. The primary area of soreness are my triceps, good lord did (still do) hurt! And let me add that I went back to the gym Tuesday night to join the class in the days WOD and ended up not finishing it. After the first round my shins decided to cramp up, both of them. Have you ever had shin cramps? Holy moly, I think those are worse than calf cramps. Anyway, here is what I did today:

Warm-up: 5 Min Easy Row
Squat Therapy
Then...

Work up to a heavy Sumo Deadlift (1RM 185#)
5 x 2 @ 80% of 1RM
Then...

Three Rounds:
250m Row + 2:00 Min Lateral Step-overs
1- 54.9 / 26
2- 54.1 / 30
3- 52.1 / 33
Then...

100 "Z" Presses (5 Atomic Sit-ups at each stop)

The squat therapy pretty much told me that my hips are still not open, that my ankle mobility sucks, and my knees are not tracking right. Boo! I thought I was getting better, I guess I need to get back to work on those. As for the Sumo Deadlifts, it was fun trying to find my one rep max. I didn't think I'd be able to get that heavy but was happily surprised when I got 185#. I have to admit that I am pretty impressed with myself in the Rowing and Step-overs segment of my session today. Each round I only got better, which still amazes me that it's possible to do when you are feeling out of breathe and tired. The final segment was the "Z" Presses and this was just plain mean of Joon! These are the reason my triceps are a million times more sore now. Thanks Joon!

Overall I felt good in todays session even though I showed up 5 minutes late and frazzled from traffic, as well as tired from not sleeping very well this whole week. I think taking Wednesday off also helped me recover and ready for today. Biggest thing I need to remember is to listen to my body and take time off when needed.

This photo was taken from Pinterest.

one on one: day fifteen

Today was my first one on one session since the competition and as promised, Joon took it up a notch. After working with me for several sessions we had the ability to see where I stand when faced with the clock of a competition. We discovered that I am fully capable of pushing myself, that I am strong, and what needs to be worked on. So before todays session went into full swing we redid my Strength/Weakness/Objective list.

My list with Coach Joon's add ons.

The truth is I really loved competing, even if I came in second to last. I know what I really suck at, what needs work, and what I am proficient at. I do have the bug to compete again, when? Well that all depends on someone else (Beth). So my focus is now to work as if everything I do will help me get stronger and better for a future competition. And so this is what we did today:

Warm-up: 800m Row

Extended Warm-up:

     3 x 5 Squat Therapy

     3 x 5/10/15 Russian KB Swing & Goblet Squat (25#)

Jerk Dip 10 x 3 (Heavy)

     Attempted 135#

     Did 95#

3 Rounds:

     100m Row Sprint (All Out)

     Rest 30 Seconds

     10 Front Squats (Unbroken) 55#

     Rest 1 Minute

3 Rounds:

     For 2 minutes do:

     10 DB Snatches (20#, 25#, 25#)

     Then for the remainder of the time do Explosive Step-ups

     Rest 3 Minutes

The jerk dip was hard. I really wanted to go heavy as Joon wanted me too but my wrists weren't having any of it. I have a lot of work to do with my upper body mobility. I focus so much on my hips and legs that I have neglected my shoulders and wrists. It was far too painful with the weight on my wrist. So I cut the weight back and tightened my wrist straps. Though uncomfortable, it became much more bearable. Jerk dips are a strange movement, but they certainly got easier. The row sprints and front squats weren't so bad. I went light with the front squat because the focus was going unbroken. I wanted to give my right knee a chance to really warm-up and my wrists were feeling tired. As for the explosive step-ups, the first round was ok but the next two rounds really sucked. Even with a 3 minute rest period in between each set my quads were hating life. I really tried my best to get "comfortable with uncomfortable."

This photo was taken from Pinterest.

*There is no update on the case of my friends murder so far. After learning of her death yesterday morning, I decided to stay at work to keep myself calm. After work I choose to continue with my normal routine and go workout. It was one of those WODs that you knew you'd be hating it the minute the clock says 3, 2, 1 Go! But I am glad I did it, the entire time I kept Nicole in my thoughts and kept telling her this WOD was for her. I pushed myself to keep moving and to embrace the suck, because she embraced the suck to achieve her body building goals. Once the WOD was over a release of emotions came over me and it felt good to shed some tears. I took all of the pain and sadness I was feeling and channeled it into my movements. A part of me feels that maybe she was there helping me through it. RIP Nicole Laube.