one on one: day thirty-seven

I'm back!!!! Today was my first session with Joon since November 18th! It has really been that long, between his schedule, my schedule, life, holidays, etc etc. we just couldn't make anything work. But today, we got back on it and you know what? I HURT! I'm still sore from Friday, Saturday, and Monday's WODs, than I add his session into the mix and every muscle in my body hates me and him. Oh and I have lovely bruises forming, it's been a while since that happened. Thanks Joon! Alright, so this is what he had in store for me today:

Warm-up-ish:
800m SkiErg
200m Row
600m SkiErg
400m Row
400m SkiErg
600m Row
200m SkiErg
800m Row

KB Complex 2 minutes:
1 Swing + 1 Clean + 1 High Pull + 1 Snatch
2x

Mission Test 5 minutes:
2 Cleans + 1 Press + 3 Front Squats

Ok, that warm up part was sheer torture as I hadn't done anything with the SkiErg in a long time. During the 800 and 600m sessions, I must've stopped a time or two trying to catch my breathe and shake my already sore body out. What a rude awakening that was for me. The KB work was fun and challenging. My hands have been bothering me lately, I have been trying to work on my grip work on the bar and trying to get my kipping movement down. So holding the KB today was a real pain, I had to chalk the hell out of the KB and my hands just to get through it. After a while the hands became the last thing on my mind as I could feel my muscles scream at me. A few times I hit myself with the KB and knew I'd be feeling that later, well I am. Bruises are forming and I am sensitive to the touch.

This evening I had Coach Tony check my body fat, that is the other thing I am getting back into. I am really disappointed that I gained all that I lost the last time plus some. I could blame the holidays all I want but no one forced the crappy shit down my throat. Thankfully I am back on track and will fix this situation, fast!

All in all, it feels good to be back. I will also be posting more often again and keeping everyone up to date with what is happening. Thank you again for all the positive feedback! <3

This photo was taken from Pinterest.

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.

one on one: day eight

It's the day after getting my Mojo back and though I am happy, I'm still feeling on edge. I want him to make a full recovery and not worry that at any moment he will need to be rushed to the vets again. So for now we are taking it one day at time and thankful for every moment we have with Mojo.

None of this of course changes the fact that Joon continues to kick my ass into shape. I came into this session feeling a tad bit tired but ready for whatever he was prepared to throw at me... or so I thought. This is what I did today:

Warm-up: 500m Row
Extended Warm-up:
     3 Sets x 2:
          Row for 15 Calories
          10 Hollow Rocks

Rest 1:1

Then,
     3 x 2min of the following KB Complex, rest 1 min between each 3 min round.
          One-hand Clean
          One-hand Jerk
          Right-hand Snatch
          Left-hand Snatch
          Two-hand Swing
          Two-hand Clean- Goblet Squat- Press Combo
          (all done in 25#)

Then,
     20 x 20 Front Squat @ Max Effort (45#)
   
Rest 5 min

Then,
     3 Rounds
          5 Slam Balls (15#)
          20 Lateral Skiers
          (completed in 1:39)

My least favorite of this session was the Row/Hollow Rocks, that is probably because it's a breather. The KB work was fun, but definitely hard. I learned quite quickly how not to clean a KB and have growing bruise to prove it. But by the end of that segment I think I was getting the transitions down. The front squat made me feel like I was locked into an enclosed space even though I had the entire gym to roam around in. Holding the bar for an entire 20 reps made it really hard to breathe. Joon says it's primarily mental, and I know he's right. But man it sucks! For the last portion of our session, Joon wanted me to get the 3 rounds done within 3 minutes, and I laughed at him. Than he said and to surprise him, get it under 2 minutes, I laughed even harder. I had every intention on going as hard and fast I could, and even though this was another breather for me I didn't expect my legs to feel as dead as they became by round three. Well I didn't only surprise Joon, but I surprised myself by getting it done in under 2 minutes. WHAT! Yup, I guess I'm just that awesome. :::wink wink:::

Joon states that he can tell I am getting fitter and stronger. I have to admit that I agree with him but it's odd to acknowledge this about myself. I think if you just see me walking down the street you would never guess that I once deadlifted 225# or that I can back squat 175#. I also don't feel like anyone would guess that I could actually run 200m now without stopping, and maybe one of these days I will surprise myself by running a full 400m without stopping as well. What I have noticed is that I am growing more and more confident with each session/WOD. I am testing my boundaries and pushing through walls. I'm excited to see what else I am capable of and proud of myself for pushing through.

Photos taken from Pinterest.