Category Archives: WODs

Olympic Lifting Class – 7/24/12

WODs

I decided that this would be a great opportunity to work on my cleans and push jerks.. so instead of doing a WOD, I opted for Jesse’s class on olympic lifting. It was great! Except that the weight we were using was a little too light for me. 🙂

I’ll definitely be attending more in the future.

Crossfit Day 94 – 7/23/12

WODs

BACK SQUAT DAY!!! This means I get to set a new PR, of course! Hahahahahaaaaa I’ve been looking forward to this day ever since… well, I dunno. Back Squats are some of my best lifts! And Front Squats. anything really that involves squatting, I’m pretty good at. Thrusters, squat cleans.. It’s just that overhead weight part that sucks! Anyway.. YEAH! Back squats!!!

So, I walked in today, and saw Gina’s name on the board. Gina is this awesome awesome girl who is REALLY FREAKING STRONG, and yet really tiny, but she puts up some huge numbers! Since I started PRing at Total Control, and doing enough weight to get up on the Records Board, I’ve learned to basically aim for what Gina can lift. Well, today she did 210 for her back squat. The last time I PRed mine I did 205 lbs. This meant I had to add at LEAST 10 lbs on today!

WEEELLLL.. I ended up doing 235, with room for more, but I stopped there. Record board for mee!!! I don’t like ‘beating’ other people, but reaching those weights and whatnot, it’s such an awesome feeling because I’m not used to being stronger than others, certainly I’ve never set records!

Our workout today was:

5 Rounds for Time:
Back Squat max reps 155/115 (I was aiming for 10 per round)
5 burpee box jumps (24/20″)
200m run

Because I was able to do quite a bit of the back squats for each set, it held up my overall time. Kind of sucked, because.. what.. do you aim for a higher score with more reps? Or with a lesser time and fewer back squats??

I settled for 10, 10, 10, 6, 6. I just wanted to be done by the last two sets! And I finished in 19 min.

aaaand a super cute picture of Jared and me! He PRed today as well, at 300 lbs!

Crossfit Day 93 – Saturday Workout – 7/21/12

WODs

I don’t think anyone will forget this workout, not anyone who had to endure (chose to endure!) it, anyway!

Saturdays are supposed to be fun, no?  This Saturday started like the others, but when we all walked in and saw the board, our jaws dropped and our faces fell. How the hell were we going to get through this? No doubt we’d finish it. Those are the kind of people we are, but wtf, really?? I’m still sore from it, and HURTING sore, like ‘why did I put myself through that yesterday’ sore.. 🙁

Our workout yesterday was the following:

Started with a 400m beach facing run
-250m row
-400m walk with 45 lb bar overhead. If you put the bar down, you had to do 2 burpees.
-100 Thrusters (45 lb bar) If you put the bar down, you had to do 2 burpees.
-75 lunges with bar overhead (at this point, I was ready to quit.  I asked Russ about going to a lighter bar, and he suggested cutting my reps in half but keeping the weight. Okay fine.) So I did 37 lunges.
-75 push press (45 lb bar) I did 37.
-75 push ups (balancing on the bar) I did 37 off the bar.
-75 toes to bar (on your back, with bar pushed up and elbows locked out.) I did 75 of these
-400m walk with 45 lb bar overhead. I ended up doing a 200m walk, and even ran the last part of it, just to get it over with.

Holy shit.

I finished in 54 minutes. It was awful. I don’t ever want to do that again. 🙁

Bashing Crossfit – Cross Post from a Friend

WODs

My dear, lovely friend Karla posted this, and I agree with her word for word.. I don’t get why people feel the need to bash the things they’re not into, or not involved with, or don’t do.  I don’t bash your shit, so please don’t bash mine. You wanna do Zumba? Awesome.. you wanna do Body Pump? Sweet! That shit’s hard. You wanna do Roller Derby? Go for it!

I get excited for people when they find something they love, something they really get passionate about. I don’t expect others to do the same for me, because I’ve learned throughout the years that I can’t expect people to be as nice as I try to be, but whatever.. that’s life, no?  Anyway, here’s Karla’s post:

A body building friend of mine gives me shit about my brightly colored nanos, our form (butterfly pull up), because I genuinely love a sport that’s changed my life and my diet.
But Why hate?
Don’t get why people feel the need in their own lives to rip people apart for loving a sport.
I love Crossfit and paleo!! They have changed my life and I’m sick of having to justify it to anyone.
More so to people who have never done Crossfit.
*rant over*

 I love her! <3

Crossfit Day 92 – 7/20/12

WODs

Thursday was a much needed break.. they were doing rope climbs and whatnot, and since I can’t do them anyway, AND I had gone 10 days in a row, I decided it was a good time to have a rest day.

Friday however… no mercy. Hero WOD plus Max Snatch Balance.. wtf is that anyway?

Yeah.. Max Snatch Balance, is racking the bar on your back, dropping underneath it into a squat, and then standing. Bleh. I did 105 lbs, that was my PR. 🙂

Hero WOD Josh:
21 OHS (65lbs)
42 pull ups (2 bands, cause I suck)
15 OHS
30 pull ups
9 OHS
18 pull ups

Finished in 16.32. I’m proud of that time!! I just wish I could actually do the pull ups with ease. 🙁

Crossfit Day 91 – 30 Day Paleo Challenge Begins – 7/18/12

WODs

We began our gym-wide 30 day Paleo Challenge on Wednesday!! Excited about doing this with everyone else, because… I’ll make great progress becaaaause it keeps me more motivated when it’s a competition!

We had a benchmark WOD that Russ made up.. we did it Wednesday and we’ll do it again at the end of our 30 days, to see how our times compare after eating well.

500m Row
15 Squat Cleans (75lbs)
15 box jumps (20″)
20 KB (35lbs)
15 Ground to Overhead (your choice of how) (75lbs)
15 box jumps
20 KB
400m Run

I finished in 16:45. Not the first, but not last either. YEAH. Let’s do this!

8 Reasons Why Women Should Lift Weights – 7/18/12

WODs
I LOVE lifting weights!  Found this on Tumblr.

8 Reasons Why Women Need Weights
“1. You’ll burn more calories 

Although cardio burns more calories than strength training during your 30-minute sweat session, lifting weights burns more overall. It all goes back to building muscle. It takes more energy (calories) for your body to maintain muscle cells than it does fat cells. So by lifting weights to add more muscle mass, you’ll boost your metabolism and turn your body into a more efficient fat-burning machine.

2. You’ll maintain muscle and feel better in your clothes

Research shows that between the ages of 30 and 70, women lose an average of 22 percent of their total muscle. What’s even more upsetting is that over time, the muscle void is often filled with fat. One pound of fat takes up 18 percent more space than one pound of muscle, so even if the number on the scale goes down, your pants size might go up. The best way to stay tightly packed? Keep strength training!

3. You’ll build stronger bones

Lifting weights can be your best defense against osteoporosis—a disease affecting 10 million Americans, 80 percent of which are women, according to the National Osteoporosis Foundation. “When you lift weights you engage muscles that pull on the tendons which, in turn, pull on the bones,” says Holland. “This added stress makes bones stronger.”

4. Your heart will be healthier

It may seem counter-intuitive that weight lifting helps lower blood pressure, since blood pressure actually goes up during and immediately after your strength session. But research shows it’s a powerful way to protect your ticker in the long run. “As muscles contract, blood is pushed back up to the heart,” says Irv Rubenstein, PhD, exercise physiologist and founder of S.T.E.P.S., a fitness facility in Nashville, TN. “The heart then recirculates this oxygenated blood back to the muscles, which keeps the cardiovascular system in better working order.” Plus, maintaining lean muscle mass enables you to do more work overall, further enhancing this effect, Rubenstein says.
 

5. You’ll remember where you left the keys (and everything else)

Muscles strengthen both your body and your brain. According to a new study published in the May 2012 issue of Mayo Clinic Proceedings, a combination of mentally stimulating activities like using a computer and exercise (which included walking and other cardio as well as strength training and sports activities) helped protect brain functioning in older adults. The combination of computer use with moderate exercise decreases the risk of memory loss more than either one activity on its own.
 

6. You’ll be happier and less stressed

Move over, runner’s high! Weight training also has the power to induce pleasure by releasing endorphins, the “feel-good” chemical in your brain. Research shows that resistance training can help beat the blues. One Australian study found that people who did three strength workouts a week (chest presses, lat pull-downs, and biceps curls) reported an 18 percent drop in depression after 10 weeks. In addition, exercise reduces levels of the stress hormone cortisol, relieving feelings of anxiety and agitation.
 

7. You’ll reduce your risk of diabetes (or improve quality of life if you already have diabetes)

Lifting weights helps improve the way your body processes sugar, which can help prevent diabetes. And if you already have diabetes, research shows that extended periods of strength training improve blood sugar control as well as taking a diabetes drug. In fact, the combination of strength training and aerobic exercise may be even more beneficial than drugs.
 

8. You’ll improve balance

Ever try to put on one sock while standing on the other leg? Without strength training, this simple act can feel more like a circus trick over time. The reason: fast-twitch muscles fibers we use for strength training deteriorate with age. (Aerobic exercises use mostly slow-twitch fibers.) “The fast-twitch fibers assist in speed and power movements and contract quickly and with sufficient force to catch yourself when you lose your balance,” Rubenstein says. “Resistance training maintains the ability of these fibers to activate.” – LiveStrong


Crossfit Day 90!!!! – 7/17/12

WODs

YAY!!! 90 days of Crossfit!!! In just under 6 months. Pretty cool!! I’m really proud of that, and I’m ecstatic that I’m still doing it, still going strong, constantly improving, being challenged, and just.. LOVING IT. I LOVE CROSSFIT! It’s one of the few things I’ve ever done for myself that I never want to stop. I don’t ever want to not do Crossfit. I don’t ever want to go back to where I was, in this mundane, boring, inactive life. Yeah, Dave and I used to ride at the track, used to go mountain biking. Yeah I used to rollerblade up and down the beach in the middle of the night, but I don’t do that stuff anymore.. this is my new chapter, my new life.. I’m SO fortunate to have such an awesome support system, too. Dave has been so wonderful and so patient and so tolerant 😀 of my doing Crossfit.. he’s incredible for that alone! Haha

Anywayyyyy… yesterday was an upper body killer!

Max Thrusters.. I PRed at 130 lbs YAY!! My goal for thrusters is 145 lbs, but that’s gonna take some time.

WOD was JT.
21-15-9
HSPUs
ring dips (banded)
 push ups

I finished in 10:55 🙂

Crossfit Day 89 – 7/16/12

WODs

Well, I was planning on taking Monday as my rest day, and I texted Russ to let him know, to which he replied, no, you’re not.. it’s deadlift day! You can’t miss today! Soooo with 5 minutes to get ready, I scrambled and headed over and got there just in time.

I ended up PRing my deadlifts at 305 lbs! Last time I did deadlifts, I was able to do 225. That was maybe 8 weeks ago? I was going to stop at 295, but Jenny walked over and added 10 more pounds onto my bar, and then was like, okay do it again. So I did! 🙂

Our WOD was the following:
50 DUs (150 singles)
10 deadlifts (I ended up doing 155lbs, to go easy on my back)
50 DUs
10 deadlifts
Even though I did 150 singles each time, I finished right on par with everyone else at 4:36. YEAH. Definitely a proud day for me. 🙂

Awesome new Beast Mode shirt from bodybuilding.com 🙂

Open Gym – 7/15/12

WODs

Not really an actual WOD, but I did go in with a purpose on Sunday! Tom had the gym opened up from 10-12, and lots of us went in to work on various things.. I decided I wanted to do some GHD sit ups, and lots of them! I had done them before, but not in any great quantity (a few here and there.)  GHD stands for Glute-Ham Developer, fyi.

So.. I ended up doing a total of 30 of them, in 3 sets of 10. I also worked on my double unders, since I’m not very good at them. I will admit, I’m thrilled that I can even do one, but usually I just do 1 DU and then 5 singles, and so on. I also threw in regular sit ups into the mix, and did 35 of those, and then finished it up with a 400m run. 🙂