labor day wod

Today I took part in the Labor Day WOD at CrossFit Stumptown. I walked into the box with a headache trying to take over and not feeling very motivated. But since I missed Sunday's WOD and it had been 3 days since I worked out I had to make myself get and go, and do it! And now I can say I am glad I did. It wasn't a crazy tough one but definitely one for endurance and to mentally keep you going. Here is what we did:

Teams of 4:
AMRAP (reps) for 30 minutes of:
400m Run
Box Jumpovers
Burpee Pull-ups
Wall Walks

Each member of the team will be doing one of the movements. While the one is out on the 400m run, the rest of us had to count our reps, when the runner comes back than we rotate until the next runner comes back, so on and so forth. In my team there was Candace, Amy, and Zoey. These women were awesome, we were all strong in at least one of the movements and maybe not so much in another. We all kept moving and doing our best. Amy even did 53 box jumpovers in one of the rounds, happened to be when I was running. Candace was pretty proud of herself for running the entire 400m without stopping- right on girl! And Zoey never stopped moving, every time I looked her way she was pushing through it and that was awesome. My proud moment was that I did the box jumpovers without doing step-ups, not even once. I had two mishaps in my first round that caused Tony to come and check on me. Happy to say my shins didn't suffer at all, though I think I stubbed my big toe pretty hard. At the end of the WOD we tallied up our reps and our team got 576 reps in 30 minutes. I am going to say I am pretty proud of us. Good job ladies!

Labor Day 2014- Post WOD

one on one: day twelve

Typically my one on one sessions with Joon are Tuesday and Thursday every week, but this week we moved our Thursday session to Friday (today). This was probably a blessing in disguise actually because I woke up Thursday morning with an awful pain in my right knee. The night before I did a WOD that had lunges and pistol squats in them. Naturally my pistol squats were modified as it was my very first attempt at them, ever. Anyway, I don't know if it was the WOD itself or just a combination of things leading up to Thursday morning that was causing the knee pain. As soon as I made it to work I had to change my shoes as I began to limp slightly. When my boss, a chiropractor, got there I had him take a look at my knee. Now if I have never said this before, I'll say it now, he's an amazing chiropractor and I am so forever grateful not to only work for him but to be his patient. Ok ok, back to my knee, he checked it out and adjusted it. Apparently I managed to get my tibia to rotate medially at the proximal end and the fibula to set back and rotate laterally at the proximal end. Essentially this was a bad thing and most probably the cause of all of my discomfort. Thankfully though the adjustment was enough to help and I was walking like new. I intentionally decided to avoid all lunges and squats for the rest of the day.

So then today arrived and my knee felt great this morning. I felt pretty good, slept well finally and was curious to see what Joon would have me doing. And so this is what I did:

Warm-up: 500m Row
Extended Warm-Up:
     Row 6 x 100m (Sprint)
     -30 Seconds Active Rest-

KB Complex (25# for 5 Sets):
     5 Single Arm Swing- Left
     5 Double Arm Swing
     5 Single Arm Swing- Right
     5 KB Snatch- Right
     5 KB Snatch- Left

Work Up to a Heavy Deadlift: PR'd at 235#
Then,
     5 x 2 @ 80% of 1RM

AMRAP in 5 Minutes:
     5 Jump Squats
     10 KB Push Press
     15 Calories Airdyne

Let me just say that getting a PR on my Deadlift was freaking awesome! My last 1RM was 225# that I got last January and when I attempted to lift that again a few weeks ago, I couldn't get passed 195#. The rowing is getting easier too, I think whatever Joon has me doing is actually working. Imagine that! I hate KB but I can do them, I just hate that I always end up with sores and bruises on my wrists and/or shoulders. The airdyne though? I detest and there is absolutely NOTHING Joon can do to change my mind on that. I know it will help with my training but it's an awful piece of machinery!

I end this post with some exciting news, which many of you will already know. Today I officially signed up for my very first official CrossFit competition. I will compete next to many of my CrossFit Stumptown gym mates on the 17th of this month. I am both nervous and excited and am eager to see how I do. Naturally I want to win, but I will be happy not coming in last! :) I will keep you posted on how I do at the competition!

Photo taken from Pinterest.

experienced progression

Monday was my first day back to CrossFit after dealing with the Flu and though I finished the WOD in it's entirety, it wiped me out. I couldn't muster the energy or the will to go on Tuesday, so I rested instead. This morning I woke up feeling much better in my lungs and congestion is almost gone, think I am almost completely better. Besides some soreness in my hamstrings, I figured I could manage to do tonights WOD. Work up to a heavy shoulder press, and then AMRAP* in 15 min of 10 pull-ups, 10 ring dips, and 10 lunges.

First of all, I haven't done a shoulder press for a while and found that I kept wanting to do a push press. Our coach tonight was one of the coaches that usually teaches earlier in the day, Megan. She saw me struggling a bit and I told her how I kept wanting to do a push press. She gave me some valuable advice! Megan said to tighten my core, quads, and hamstrings, this way I wouldn't be tempted to dip down because I'd essentially be locked out. So I gave it a go. Voila! I was able to do my shoulder presses, and worked up to a new heavy at 65#. That is a 10# increase for me. Which also suggests that if I can do a 65# shoulder press, I should now be able to do a heavier push press… I better get to work on those!

During our warm-up this evening I attempted to do lunges to see if I could without any pain. If you have been keeping up with my blog, you know I have been dealing with some right knee pain. I've been working hard in staying vigilant with mobility work, doing squats correctly, and resting when needed. I was absolutely surprised that I had absolutely no indication that my knee had any issues. I lunged with no problems. At that moment I thought my body is really beginning to adapt and accept the movements and training I have been learning and doing at CrossFit all these months. So I assessed again what our WOD was and decided to move up to the next phase of the pull-up. I have never been able to do a strict pull-up. I've been working on it from time to time and notice very subtle changes but it's been slow going. But during a WOD, doing attempted strict pull-ups won't do a whole lot for you. When I first started CrossFit and tried to do a banded pull-up, it wasn't happening. I was 20 or so #'s heavier than I am now, and didn't have much arm, shoulder, or core strength. So I started from the VERY beginning, jumping pull-ups. Well tonight ladies and gentleman, I had decided it was time to move up. I tried using a band and after a couple of rounds of figuring out my movement and adding/changing bands, I am finally doing pull-ups! Oh. My. Word.

So tonight was a night of progression. My knee is on the mend and pain free. I learned how to focus on a shoulder press and did a heavier weight. And I am now on banded pull-ups. I am so in awe of the human body and how it changes and works. Things I never thought possible are now possible, or at the very least closer. Progress is such an amazing feeling.

*AMRAP = as many rounds as possible

This photo was taken from Pinterest.

thinking about starting crossfit?

Next week will mark six months of doing the most intense workout regimen of my life, CrossFit. And what do I have to show for it? I'm stronger, healthier, have more energy, and I see things differently now. What I have learned in these past six months is that left to my own devices I would not have reached the level of fitness that I am currently in. The occasional stints of going for a run or attending a traditional gym to jump on a treadmill or elliptical just weren't cutting it for me. I never pushed myself hard enough to make real changes. Sticking to a healthy diet was impossible. And motivation was short lived. And so on May 30th I dragged my overweight self into CrossFit Stumptown in Portland, Oregon for my very first WOD and had my ass handed to me. After that first day I never looked back, I knew I found exactly what I needed. I may not be where I want to be just yet, but I am well on my way.

For those who may be thinking about trying CrossFit and changing their lives, here are seven things that will happen to you.

1. You will learn how incredibly out of shape you are. It is likely that your first few sessions will be scaled and/or modified to ease you in. You are likely to find yourself resting often during a WOD trying to catch your breathe and sweating out of pores you didn't know you had. You will certainly feel muscles that have been dormant for years. And you will breathe harder than you ever had.

2. You will begin to speak in the CrossFit lingo, naturally.

• WOD (workout of the day): a combination of exercises prescribed for the day's workout. These usually consist of one Olympic lift (dead lifts, back squats, push-presses, power cleans, etc), one gymnastic move (sit-ups, ring rows, push-ups, pull-ups, etc), and one aspect of cardio (running, rowing, jumping rope, etc).

• Box: CrossFit spaces are not called gyms, they are called "boxes" due to many of them resembling just that. A typical box is in a warehouse with high ceilings, concrete walls, and black floor mats. There are no cardio rooms, smoothie bars, mirrors, or machines. Simple and to the point. 

• RX: When a WOD is posted, it will have a prescribed amount of weight, reps to follow, and allotted time. If you do the prescribed weight/rep/time, you RX'd.

• MOD: This is when a person has to modify the prescribed amount of weight, reps to follow or adjust time. Instead of RX'd, you will have modified it (MOD).

3. You will get incredibly good at counting. All WODs have reps within them, for example "Cindy" consists of 10 pull-ups, 15 push-ups, and 20 air squats in AMRAP (as many rounds as possible) in 20 minutes. You don't want to lose track and do more than you have to or cheat yourself. As well, it becomes a mental game of counting down to the end when you begin to feel tired.

4. You will gain weight first. As frustrating as this can be, it is a good thing. Because you are engaging muscles that have been dormant for so long, they will begin to build. Muscle weighs more than fat does, so naturally you will notice the number go up on the scale. But once you have begun to build muscle, it will turn around and begin to burn enough calories that you will begin to see the numbers go down. There will be a tipping point, be patient. 

5. Your friends and family will begin to inundate you with what they "read" about CrossFit. They will find stories about injuries and rare disorders. The reality is, CrossFit is as safe as you make it. Injuries can occur, but it's not any different from other kinds of training or activities, such as running, biking, lifting weights on your own, martial arts, or any other activity engaged without proper supervision or precautions. The rare disorder you will hear about, Rhabdomyolysis, caused by people pushing themselves past their exhaustion point. It's when the muscle fibers begin to break down and go into the bloodstream and into their kidneys. This disorder is not limited to CrossFit and is in fact, rare.

6. You will notice you have more energy. You could be dead sore from the previous days WOD but you will find yourself moving about easier and lighter. You will have less fat weighing you down, and you will be breathing a lot easier. 

7. You will learn mental toughness. This is what I lacked until I met CrossFit. You will be 90% through a WOD feeling like you are about to peel over but you don't. You will find that inner strength you had no idea was living within you and push yourself to finish. This will also come in handy when seeing what the WOD is before heading to your box and seeing exercises you absolutely hate, but know you need to conquer. 

This photo was found on Pinterest.

CrossFit isn't just a "thing" you do, it is a lifestyle. I am absolutely addicted to this crazy thing that takes every aspect of me- emotionally, mentally, and physically- and then gives it back with more than I had ever had. It will only get better.