Visio Visions and Five AM Regulars

My boss decided a few weeks ago that all of the network documentation for the school system needs to be updated. It didn't sound like a huge task until I looked at the existing documentation and realized that it was last updated when we were still using cups and string to communicate. So I've spend the last few weeks doing an inventory of all the network equipment in my zone. I support 18 schools, so I've worked my way in and around dusty closets, stuck my head in numerous ceilings and peered at microscopic serial numbers on over 200 routers and switches.

The worst part, though, is doing the diagrams. I'm not a huge fan of Visio anyway, and the fact that I'm seeing the damn diagrams in my sleep now is not helping my mood.

Speaking of sleep (or lack thereof), I was up and on the lifeguard stand at 5 this morning. As I sat in a semi-stupor, watching the old folks drift back and forth in the pool, it occurred to me that I don't really know many of them by name. Or at least by their real names. Most of them are regulars, and I had almost unconsciously assigned them names in my head to keep track of them while they're swimming.

First, there's Darth Vader. Darth hits the pool at 5:01, sets his watch and sidestrokes until exactly 5:46. He always swims sidestroke, and he always swims on his right side. No switching. Ever. Darth is so named because of his loud and wheezing breathing pattern, which actually puts the real Vader to shame. The decibel level in the pool area drops by at least half at 5:47. Darth also goes into a towering Dark Side rage if anyone else attempts to swim in "his" lane.

Then there's Fred. He looks just like Fred Flintstone, and at 5 AM, he's just about as articulate as a Neanderthal. I've never heard him speak. He just grunts. Fred also has an unvarying routine - he enters the pool about 1 minute later than Darth and proceeds to kick on his back for the odd lengths and do some sort of hybrid breaststoke for the even lengths. He never stays in more than 20 minutes.

Flounder is my nemesis. Flounder is about 75. He starts his morning routine with a brisk walk around the deck, swinging his arms in wide circles. He gives me dirty looks if my lifeguard duties cause me to cross his path. He was put out with my this morning because I was removing the vacuum cleaner from the pool and he had to veer around me. Flounder's favorite lane is the one right next to the lifeguard stand, where he flails and splashed from one end of the pool to the other, completely soaking everything (including me) along that side of the pool. Fortunately, because he is a very inefficient swimmer, he tires quickly and leaves the pool after about 15 minutes.

Last but not least are the Gossip Girls. The Gossip Girls are in their late 30's. They come in together, get their kickboards and fins, then proceed to kick side-by-side for an hour and talk. They never get their hair wet. They never stop talking. As a matter of fact, they were still talking in the locker room this morning when I finished my shift. I can't help but feel sorry for their husbands.

Today was my last day of lifeguarding for a while, as I start coaching the Masters swim team next week. Who knows, I might even miss my regular cast of characters. I doubt they'll miss me. I'm the mean lifeguard who makes them move to a different lane when the swim team comes in to practice.

Back squats and Tabatas

Between work, kids and apathy, I haven't had a chance to update. I've also spent more time reading about strength training than actually doing it. If I could have a do-over, I'd read Starting Strength and watch as many training videos as possible before starting out.

But I don't get a do-over, so I'll keep reading and adjusting and tweaking and thinking about prying open my wallet to get some coaching.

Sunday, 25 January 09

Buy-in: 3 rounds of 10 air squats; 10 4-count flutter kicks; 10 supermans

WOD: Back squats and rack pulls

Back squats 5x5

• Warmup sets @ 45#, 65#, 95#
• 5 @ 115#
• 5 @ 115#
• 5 @ 115#
• 5 @ 115# (last rep was iffy on depth)
• 5 @ 115# (last two reps definitely not full depth)

When I got started on these, my mind was spinning from all the things I was trying to remember about the back squats. My first set was all over the place form-wise because instead of using cues, I was trying to keep everything in mind - bar position, hand position, stance width, knee break, hips back, ad nauseum. So I went back to the book (yes, I had it in my gym bag), did a quick review and came up with a sequence of mental cues that seem to work for me. Back tight. Chest up. Push your butt back. Keep your knees out. Chest up and push your butt up.

Rack pulls 3x5

• Warmup sets @ 65#, 95#, 115#
• 5 @ 135#
• 5 @ 135#
• 5 @ 135#

The main reason I threw these is in is that I just wanted to do something else along with the back squats, and DL work, oddly enough, doesn't really bother my elbow. I experimented with various grips, and found that the alternating grip seems to work best for me. According to Rip, most people end up with their non-dominant hand in the supinated position. So of course, I end up being most comfortable with my right (dominant) hand in the supinated position. Go figure. Also, I discovered that I cannot use a hook grip. At all. Either I'm doing something wrong, or I just need to build my grip.

Cash out: 3x10 hanging leg lifts
3x10 hip/back extensions

PS - After experimenting with several different types of music during the last few weeks, I've found that classical/orchestral music helps me focus better. Actually, I'm not sure that Apocalyptica playing Metallica and Pantera really counts as classical, but I love it for lifting.

Monday, 26 January 09

Buy-in: 3 rounds of 15 squats; 15 situps; 20 walking lunges; 15 back extensions

WOD: Tabata Mash-up
For twenty seconds do as many reps of the assigned exercise as you can - then rest 10 seconds. Repeat this seven more times for a total of 8 intervals, 4 minutes total exercise. The score is the least number of reps for any of the eight intervals.

KB swings (25#) - 10/10/10/10/10/10/11/11 Total - 82
Situps - 17/18/18/18/18/19/19/18 Total - 145*
Squats - 18/18/18/19/18/19/18/18 Total - 146*
Rope skips - 26/30/35/36/35/36/36/40 Total - 268

Score - 71
Total - 641

*Interrupted by the phone.

Thoughts: Tabatas don't seem to wind me the way they used to. Now it's just muscle failure. :p I have a nasty case of DOMS in my calves today from the rope skips.

Cash out: None - had to cook dinner and deal with squabbling kids.

Always read the instructions first.

My new copy of Starting Strength arrived in the mail on Wednesday. Since that was my scheduled rest day, I started thumbing through it immediately. After reading some about the basic lifts (squat, DL and press), I wanted to kick myself for not getting this book sooner. Especially since I probably could have spared myself this whole elbow ordeal if I had done so.

Even though my squat and DL seem to be basically solid, I'm learning a tremendous amount about the details, like hand position on the bar during back squats. The fact I'm allowed to use a rack (or other available means) to elevate the bar to mid-shin to start a DL if I'm not using standard size plates (that explains why lifting 135# is easier than 130# - the bar starts in a better position). And the engineering geek in me loves the explanations about angles, torque and force applications.

So while I'm not looking at a complete reset at this point, I may start backing off the weights a bit to dial in my form. I'm also going very light on the upper body work to see if I can get the damn elbow to heal (I know, I know, I need to get it looked at). My copy of Starting Strength is likely to get dog-eared in a hurry.

WOD Thursday, 22 January 09:

Buy-in: 3 rounds of
10 MB squats (5kg)
10 incline situps
10 hip/back extensions
Back squats: 10 @ 45#, 5 @ 55#

WOD: Deadlifts 3x5

• Warmup sets @ 65#, 95#, 115#
• Work sets - 3 x 5 @ 135#

Thoughts: Set grip. Lower hips. Back flat. Eyes forward and down. Keep the bar close to the legs and drive through the heels. Damn, I really need to get video on this to make sure I'm doing it right. Whoa, that came up nicely, I need to elevate the bar on my lighter weights. Repeat. Wonder why people are staring at me. Oh, well. This is cool.

Cash out: 400m sprints treadmill, speed set at 6:30 pace (thanks, Jay!). Only did two before Son called and said that his practice had finished early and could I please come get him RIGHT NOW. Sigh.


I took Friday and Saturday off, as I was feeling a little run down. Back at it today sometime. Probably after laundry.

Meeting Mr. Joshua

Pulled this one off the main page and, amazingly enough, actually did it on the day it was scheduled. This was my first meeting with Mr. Joshua, and he's an ass-kicker for sure.

Buy-in: 5:00 rowing
10 GHD situps (testing my Smith machine setup)
DL's - 8 @ 65#, 5 @ 95#, 5 @ 105#

WOD: "Mr. Joshua" (Pack scale)
3 rounds for time of:
400m run
15 GHD situps
15 DLs, 105#

Time: 15:11

Thoughts: I did the Pack scaling to try to keep this fairly short, but in retrospect I probably should have subbed 200m runs to make it a more true "heavy" metcon. All the runs were on the dreadmill at about a 7:45 pace. Actually, the dreadmill might have made it worthless for 200m runs, given how long it takes to get the damn thing up to speed. DLs really suck the life out of my legs and I swear someone dropped a piano on my back during the last run. When I finished, I sat my ass down on a bench and just breathed for 10 minutes. I love how much these metcons suck.

Cash out: Sucking for air, stretching.

A little love for my Y

After yesterday's rant about the asshole in the gym, I feel like I need to express a little love for my Y. Chain gyms and Y's get a pretty bad rap in the CF community, and while my Y has its downsides, its upsides more than make up for it, at least right now.

Biggest upside? The price, which for me is zero. Nada. For me and my entire family at every Y in the NWNC YMCA area. That's nine facilities spanning an area from Wilkesboro to Kernersville. The only thing that could make that better is if it included the Hartley Y, since I spend so much time in High Point.

My Y is one of the biggest, both in terms of membership and facilities. We have a 25 yd pool, 3 full-size basketball courts, 2 racquetball courts, 2 indoor tracks, a large fitness room and a number of other amenities. And because I'm a Y employee (I'm a lifeguard and the Masters' swim coach), my kids get significant discounts on sports and other youth activities. The staff is friendly and helpful. Except for the lifeguards - we're all pretty snarky and relatively antisocial. :p

Are there things that frustrate me? Sure. The crowds are a major source of frustration, as I bitched about yesterday. The Y has several wealthy benefactors, but the board and/or executive director can't seem to decide what needs to be done. A new and/or upgraded pool is badly needed, as well as a general facilities expansion. The free weight area needs more equipment, especially as more people are drawn to programs like Crossfit. There isn't enough gym space to accomodate all the youth program needs. I could go on and on.

To answer Daniel's question from yesterday: I have a kinda-sorta home gym in progress in my living room. I can develop it to a certain extent, with KBs, a pullup bar, some parallettes, etc - what I think of as CF-specific equipment. A fully-equipped home gym, with racks and weights and such, is not really feasible for us right now.

So despite my sounding off yesterday, the Y is meeting most of my fitness needs for the time being. I need to make a pilgramage to one of the local affiliates, if for no other reason than to get some instruction. I haven't made it a priority, mainly because of money (my kids consume the bulk of our recreation/sports budget). Maybe I will make an affiliate punch card a birthday present to myself.

"...at least do a real f***** workout."

Does anyone know if weight training (or training in general) increases testosterone and/or aggressiveness in women?

I was looking forward to my workout today. It's a holiday, which means I can go anytime and stay as long as I need to. I tried to time it so that the morning senior citizen crowd would be mostly gone when I got there.

Well, it seems that everyone else did the same thing. It wasn't quite as bad as a weekday evening, but still way more crowded than usual for 11:30 on a Monday. And I was already in a pissy mood because I got all the way to the Y and realized I'd forgotten my watch. Doing a timed metcon without a watch is pretty much pointless, so I went back home to get it. I made it into the fitness room and warmed up. I grabbed the first available cage to do my WOD.

Now, I'm not that knowledgeable about gym culture and etiquette. I figure if I have made an obvious claim to a piece of equipment - my towel hanging on the bar and my notebook, cell phone and bag on the footplates - then I should be able to walk away long enough to fill my water bottle and reasonably expect to be able to use the equipment I get back. But when I returned from the water fountain (time of absence <1:00)>I found that some guy had dumped all my shit in the floor and was busy loading plates onto the bar. When I told him that my stuff had been on the cage and that I had intended to work out there, he just said, "Too bad. You weren't here. You snooze, you lose."

We're not talking about some young guy. I would have cut a youngster some slack. I have a teenager, and I understand how incredibly self-centered they can be at times. No, we're talking about a dude in his mid-40s. And to add to the insult, he sneered "Anyway, shouldn't you be over by the dumbbells with the other ladies?"

I did not know until today that the expression "seeing red" was more than just an expression. My first inclination was to haul off and kick him in the balls. In fact, that urge was so strong that I had to back away from him. When he refused to move, I called him an asshole and went to see the trainer. The trainer, of course, wanted no part of any confrontation. He told that I would have to find another place or wait until Asshole was finished with the cage.

So I found an empty Smith machine next to Asshole's cage and improvised a setup for my WOD. And while I did a kick-ass metcon with GHD situps, back extensions and thrusters, Asshole proceeded to do 200# quarter squats followed by wimpy knee raises while hanging from the ab straps. When I walked by him on the way out, I said "If you're gonna be an asshole about the equipment, you could at least do a real fuckin' workout."

My Smith workout area


None of this was smart on my part. I'm a Y employee, and if management ever found out that I had cussed a patron, I'd lose my job (and my free membership). But it's only 3 weeks into January and already I'm so sick of the New Year's Resolution Noobs already that I could scream. The Y is a zoo, and after work it's so crowded that no one can really work out. They're mostly just standing around waiting for machines to become available. It's no wonder most of them give up after several weeks. I know the Y is supposed to be all about inclusion, but when you have trouble serving the 12,000 members you already have, does it really make sense to encourage hundreds more to join when you don't have the space for them?

Buy-in: 3:00 rowing (damper on 2 for easy pulling)
3 rounds of:
10 OHS w/dowel
10 dowel presses
10 incline situps
10 back extensions

WOD: GHD situps, back extensions and thrusters

10 GHD situps
10 back extensions
20 thrusters (35#)
20 GHD situps
20 back extensions
15 thrusters (45#)
30 GHD situps
30 back extensions
10 thrusters (45#)

Time: 7:29

Thoughts: Needed to go heavier on thrusters. I did 35# in the first round because I grabbed the wrong bar when I set up. Didn't realize it until I was doing the thrusters and thought "This seems awfully light." I had grabbed the 35# bar, so I added 10# to it for the last two sets. Still, I needed to do this with at least 55# on the thrusters.

Cash out: Thrusters 2 x 10 @ 45# (to make up for the too-light first set)
3 x hollow holds (:45/:30/:30)

Motivated by KAD

I wasn't really sure I would work out this weekend. We got got up before 5 AM both Saturday and Sunday to drive KAD to her swim meet over in Hillsborough. Silly me, I thought that when she turned 11 and moved up to swim in the "big kid" sessions, the friggin' 6:30 AM warmup times would be a thing of the past. Apparently not.

Saturday was...meh. KAD is not a morning person, and trying to get her out of bed at 5 AM is like trying to wake the dead. And when the dead awakens, she has bed head and attitude. Not a pleasant way to start your day. She dressed, crawled into the car and promptly went back to sleep, which meant going through the whole "wake the dead" ritual when we got to the pool. We were late, which caused her coach to fuss at her, which did nothing to improve her already foul mood. Then she had two poor swims, and that didn't help either.

So when she came to me before her third race complaining of a stomachache, my first thought was that she just didn't want to swim. The event she wanted to skip, the 50 free, is her favorite event and the one where she is closest to qualifying for regionals. But the poor kid was in tears, and I could feel the distension in her belly. The only way she could keep from crying was to stayed curled up in a ball on the bleachers. I called the coach over and told her that I was scratching KAD from the 50 free. Then the coach asked if KAD was going to skip the last relay as well. I said yes, but then KAD asked if there were going to be enough girls to make a relay if she didn't swim. The coach said no, that the relay would have to scratch as well.

KAD looked at me and said, "Mom, I'll swim the relay. I don't want to make everyone else miss it." Even though she could hardly stand up straight on the blocks, she gutted her way through it so that the team could participate. I was very proud of her.

She felt much better today, despite the early wake-up, and swam very well. She dropped significant chunks of time in all her events and came home very pleased with herself.

Even though I was worn out from the early mornings and travel this weekend, I figured that if my 11year-old could gut her way through a swim meet with an upset stomach, then I could shake off some fatigue and get my ass to the gym.


Buy-in: 3 rounds
10 OHS w/dowel
10 incline situps
10 back extensions
10 walking lunges

WOD: Back squat 5x5

• Warmup sets @ 45#, 65#, 95#
• Work sets 5x5 @ 110#

Split jerks 3x5

• Warmup set @ 45#
• Work sets 3x5 @ 55#

Thoughts: The squats felt really good. I added 5# to the bar this week to bring the weight up to 110#, and got through the 5x5 straight across. In fact, it didn't feel any heavier than the 105's I did last time. So I'm gonna add 5# next week and see how it goes.

I kept the push jerks light and concentrated on leg drive. Stil nervous about moving too much weight with my upper body. Experimented some with my grip/hand placement on the bar for the jerks, and found the it seemed to go up more easily when I kept my grip fairly narrow, with my hands close to my shoulders.

Cash out: Leg raises 3x10

Gotta get goin'

Just a quick post tonight - have to be up early to take KAD to a swim meet tomorrow. At least the early start means I will be home in time to get in a WOD tomorrow.

Buy-in: Mish-mash of stuff - 100 rope skips, 25 GH situps (done on swiss ball), 15 pushups, 3 burpees, 5 KB swings

WOD: 21-15-9
KB swings (25#)
Burpees

Time: 6:48

Thoughts: This wore me out. I almost forgot how much I effin' hate burpees. And as I lay panting on the living room floor, our cat climbed onto my stomach, flopped down and went to sleep.

Cash out: 20 4-count flutter kicks
20 bridges on swiss ball
10 swiss ball ab rolls

PS - Apropos of nothing whatsoever, "Let's Get Retarded" by the Black-Eyed Peas is a great song to do burpees to.

"Never eat more than you can lift"

This morning I did something I haven't done in a while: stepped on the scale. Not my bathroom scale - which must be broken because it's been showing me the same number for years - but the doctor's-office-type scale in the Y locker room.

It turns out I've gained 3 pounds, which brings my weight up to a whopping 128 lbs. I'm not particularly concerned yet, since I'm 5'7" and can afford a few pounds. I'm guessing that the weight gain came from two possible sources: 1) the gargantuan amount of bad food I consumed over the holidays, or 2) my increased emphasis on strength training.

I'm choosing to go with door #2 for a couple of reasons. My vanity is certainly one of them, because I'm as capable of self-delusion as anyone else. But the main reason is that my clothes still fit. As a matter a fact, some of them are looser in the butt and thighs than they were before. So I weight more, but my body is the same size (maybe smaller in some places). And KAD pointed out to me that I have muscles showing in my back and arms. Maybe it's time to post the obligatory pic of me flexing for the camera. :p

I've always had some muscular definition - even in my spud phases I had abs - but I really have it now. My arms, shoulders and back are definitely more defined, even more so than when I was swimming in college. Of course, back then I weighed 145# and had very wide shoulders. But even now, as then, I'm greeting the weight gain with some trepidation. I knew that weight gain would be a consequence of concentrating on strength gains. But watching the scale inch up will be difficult. For whatever reason, I've gotten it into my head that 125# is my ideal weight.



Buy-in: 3 rounds (8#/12#/15#)
10 medicine ball squats
10 medicine ball presses
10 medicine ball lunges

WOD: Deadlifts and Push Presses, 3x5

Deadlifts

• Warmup sets @ 65#, 95# and 115#
• 3 x 5 @ 130#

Push presses

• Warmup set @ 45#
• 3 x 5 @ 55#

Thoughts: Really concentrated on form for both these lifts, with lighter weight than I used previously. On the DL, I worked on keeping my back flat and driving my heels into the floor. Felt pretty solid. On the PP's, I really worked on leg drive, trying to give my arms as little of the load as I could. The weight went up easily, which gives me a little more confidence about working my elbow.

Cash out: Pistol progressions

Not all who wander are lost...just some of us.

Since I started logging my workouts here at Blogger, I've gotten kind of lax at keeping up with what's going on at the CF discussion board. I go to the boards, click on the User CP and catch up on my favorite threads, which are mostly workout logs for various CF'ers I keep up with. Veronica Davis, Matt Bahen, Christin Street and Camille Lore are just a few of them, and they all bring different ideas to the table as well as being great all-around folks.

But I've gotten out of the habit of wandering around the boards just checking out interesting threads. So I missed this heavy metcon thread, even after it was made sticky. Well, today in my desperation to find a heavy metcon that wouldn't destroy my slowly-healing elbow, I finally stumbled across it. A big thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou to all you creative heavy metcon-loving CF'ers!

Buy-in: 3 rounds:
15 OHS w/dowel
10 back extensions
10 presses w/dowel
Deadlift 10 @ 65#

WOD: For time 21-15-9
Deadlift 95#
Thrusters 45#

Time: 7:35

Thoughts: This kicked my butt. The DLs weren't bad, but the thrusters destroyed me. I didn't get through any of the sets without a break, although I did take my rest with the bar in the rack position. This is exactly the kind of metcon I was looking for - short and brutal.

Cash out: 25 incline situps w/10# plate
20 medicine ball twists (20# ball)
10 medicine ball rolls
:30 hollow hold

Also had my first RL conversation with a fellow CF'er. There are a few of us at the Y, but the was first opportunity I had to chat at length. Dave does a lot of his CF at Fort Bragg, where there is a lot of Crossfit going on, plus he's also been to Crossfit 24/7 (one of the Winston-Salem affiliates). He told me that CF 24/7 is "a nice little gym," but with the exception of bumper plates, he had everything he needed for CF right there at the Y. That was nice to hear, as it somewhat validates my laziness in getting to one of the local affiliates.

Back to wandering the wilds of the CF message boards. Who knows what little gems I'll find this time?

You can sleep when you're dead...

This time of year always brings major suckage for me in terms of time management. The convergence of swimming, basketball and soccer seasons happens in late January/early February, and I still haven't figured out how to be in three places at once. Here's what my calendar looks like for the next month:




On top of all this, the captain of my old soccer team has asked me to come back and play again for the spring season. I'd love to play, but I'm not sure I want to give up what few free days I have on the weekends for the next 3 months.

So you can see why I have some trouble with my programming. I'm not sure I can maintain the kind of strength-centric program I'd like to do with my schedule. Following the main page or doing metcon-centric WODs meant that I didn't necessarily have to be at the Y; a lot of those can be done on a playground or at the soccer parks where I spend so much of my time. But I absolutely HAVE to be at the Y to lift, because I just don't have the equipment at home (and I won't even be at home that much!). Plus the Y is starting the masters' swim team back up in February, and I've agreed to coach it. I have trouble saying "no" sometimes. So sleep gets sacrificed to everything else I want to do. :p

Actually, I could probably make the strength program work if I put a lot of effort into planning it. Unfortunately, planning is not one of my strong points. I've spent much of my adult working life pulling things out of my ass, and I'm very good at that. My jobs have been well-suited to that strength. Maybe it's time to teach myself a new trick.

Speaking of pulling stuff out, here's my WOD from last Friday (Jan 9, 2009):

Buy-in: 3 rounds of
100m jogging
20 walking lunges
10 medicine ball DLs (20# ball)

WOD: "Kelly - Redux"
3 rounds for time of:
400m run
30 box jumps (used a 22" step)
30 wallballs (20# ball - subbed MB squats)

Time: 17:35
400 times - 1:57/2:09/2:16
Round splits - 4:56/6:08/6:31

Thoughts: Obviously, I died after the first round. My runs weren't as bad as I thought they might be, given that I haven't run at all in over a month. Box jumps continue to be a goat. *sigh* I guess I have no excuse not to work on them while I'm taking it easy on my elbow. Dammit.

Cash out: 3 rounds of:
10 DU's (done mostly by alternating 1 DU/1 SU)
Farmer's walk w/20# MB, one trip up and down the stairs

Decided to take the weekend off, both to give my elbow a break and because of kids' games. KAD had a basketball game and Son had an indoor soccer tournament that lasted all day. My mom decided that KAD really needs a cell phone, and so she bought one for her on Saturday. So I spent all day Sunday getting the plan straightened out, figuring out how to add ringtones without paying for them and various other tasks related to the new phone. Jeez, Mom, can't you indulge your grandkids with candy, like Grandma did with me?

Workout for Monday 12 January 08:

Buy-in: 2 rounds of
10 OHS w/dowel
15 incline situps
10 back extensions
10 lunges

This was supposed to be 3 rounds, but the squat racks were full when I got there, and I jumped in the first one that came open. So I did an extra warmup set of squats.

WOD: Strength

Back squat 5x5

• Warmup sets @ 45#, 65#, 85#, 95#
• 5 x 5 @ 105#
  

Presses: 3 x 5 @ 45#

Thoughts: The squats felt pretty good - think I might be ready to increase the weight. Took a couple of videos with my cell phone camera - the quality isn't all that great and one of them is sideways, but any feedback you want to offer will be appreciated (except for comments about the size of my ass and/or legs - I know about those already). :p

My elbow was feeling pretty good, so I tried some light sets of presses to test it out. No problems, but I didn't press my luck (hee) with heavier weight. Good thing, too, since I nearly tore it apart with a power drill later that afternoon.








Cash out: 3 rounds of:
10 hanging leg lifts
5 floor wipers (45# bar)
Pistols - 5 ea leg (done standing on a weight bench)

A Place for My Stuff

Following up on my last post, here's a pic of my "home gym" -


Obviously, it's in need of a bit more equipment - a few more KBs, a better jump rope, some parallettes (sp?), maybe a homemade medicine ball. All suggestions are welcome! ;)

And if that's my gym, I guess this is my locker room:


What's really scary is that with the exception of the ski-length Adidas slides in the bottom center of the pic, all of these shoes belong to KAD. This doesn't include her cleats, her Chucks, her boots, or any of her other footwear that is scattered about the house.

And finally, here's how we use our formal living room:




Oh, and I did work out today. :p

Buy-in: CFWU minus dips

WOD: Back squat 5x5

• Warmup sets @ 45#, 65#, 85#
• 2 x 5 @ 95#
• 3 x 5 @ 105#

Thoughts: Did not do a supplemental lifting exercise today because of the elbow. I've finally owned up to the idea that it may actually be injured, as opposed to just sore, and I am going to have to give it some time to heal. Pushing movements and KB swings don't hurt during the actual exercise, but they come back to haunt me about an hour after I work out. So all weighted arm movements are in no-go territory for at least the next week, and then I'll re-evaluate where I am. Could be boring while I try to keep myself busy with just lower-body stuff.

Anyway, I think I'll be ready for a weight jump on the back squats before too long. The 105's went up more easily than they ever have, with no failed reps. Gonna try 105# across the whole 5x5 next time and see how that goes.

Cash out: 3 rounds
10 DU's (can't string these together, but did manage a 1 DU/1 SU pattern)
25 situps
25 supermans
Time - 7:32

Putting my Christmas present to good use in my kinda-home-fitness-room

So far, I've used the kettlebell I got for Christmas exactly once in a workout. As a matter of fact, my dad has hauled around more than I have. He brought it back from Michigan in the trunk of his car, which means he loaded it into the car, unloaded it from the car, and carried it up the stairs into my house. And he's 75 years old. I should be ashamed of myself.

I was racking my brains today trying to come up with a heavy metcon that I could do at the house because, quite frankly, doing a WOD in the rain at the squishy soccer field in High Point didn't appeal to me. Inspiration didn't strike until I tripped over the damn kettlebell in my living room.

But what to do with the KB? Swings are an obvious choice. Cleans, snatches and high pulls are out of the question right now because of my elbow. Hubby put the kebosh on any release moves in the living room. I tried Turkish Get Ups, but 25# is still a bit heavy for those. Creativity (at least in exercise) does not appear to be one of my strong suits. But I finally came up with the following WOD, which I was going to call Kettlebell Fran, but I like Kettlebell Jenn better. :p

Buy-in: Arms swings, hip and knee rotations, 100 rope skips
3 rounds:
10 OHS w/broomstick
10 GH situps (used swiss ball with feet hooked under the couch)
10 pushups
10 supermans

WOD: AMRAP in 10:00 (used 25# KB)
21 KB swings
15 KB thrusters
9 bench dips

Total: 3 rounds + 21 swings + 15 thrusters + 5 dips

Thoughts: As with most metcons, this sounded easier than it was. I made it through the first round doing all the exercises unbroken. Second round, I had to catch my breath halfway through the thrusters. Third round, only the dips were unbroken. Thrusters were broken up not only because I had to catch my breath, but I had a dire fear I was going to drop the KB and break my foot, or worse, put a dent in my living room floor.

Cash out: 3 x hollow holds (:45/:30/:30)
Inhale a bowl of leftover beef stew before taking Number One Son to High Point

On a somewhat related note, my living room is slowly turning into my workout room. I started doing BW metcons in there because it's fairly open and has a decent-sized rug over the hardwood floor. Now, in addition to my nice furniture, it has a couple of swiss balls, a jump rope, a broomstick, a foam roller and a kettlebell. In the near future, I can picture a couple more kettlebells, and perhaps a pullup bar across one of the doorways.

This drives my mother bonkers. It's a formal living room (as opposed to a den or family room). In her mind, that means it's there for show, not for actual use. The best furniture and art are in there. It should be as dust-free as an Intel clean room. One is not to sit on the sofa as much as perch on its edge, and then only on special occasions. The kids and the cat should never be in there unsupervised. You can only imagine how she reacted when she came in and found me merrily swinging a kettlebell in the midst of the finery. Well, I wasn't merrily swinging it, but you get the idea.

But we have this funny way of actually living in our house. IMO, it's really too big for just the four of us, and we have this thing about using stuff we buy. So the formal dining room has fine china and a nice big table where we stack mail, catalogs and all the work Hubby brings home from his office. The formal living room has become an informal fitness room, as well as a repository for KAD's guitar and music books along with a collection of Christmas tins and baskets while I decide what to do with them.

Heck, if the room was big enough, I'd abandon all pretense and install a lifting platform and squat rack. If only....

Ready for my closeup...?

Finally got a chance to get some video at the Y. Not really the day I would have chosen if I'd thought about it in advance - I'd rather have some video of my back squat or deadlift - but the opportunity presented itself, so I took it. It was either that or listen to KAD whine endlessly about wanting to go home. KAD is the videographer, so you'll hear her commentary as well as watch her try to get the hang of taking the video.

Buy-in: 2 rounds
10 OHS w/dowel
10 incline situps
10 back extensions
5 pullups

WOD: Front squats and presses

Front squat 5x5

• Warmup sets @45#/55#/65#
• 4x5@75#
• 1x5@80#

Front Squat @ 75#





Front Squat @ 80#




Presses 3x5

• Warmup set @45#
• 3 x 5 @ 55#
• 2 @ 70# (yeah PR!)
  

Press @ 70#




Thoughts: Warmup was rushed, primarily because the Y was so crowded (damn New Year's resolution people!). I jumped on the squat rack as soon as it became available, and I wasn't as loose as I would have liked. Pulled the 75# start weight for the squat out of my fourth point of contact, as I really wasn't sure where I was on it. Then KAD came in, tired from swim practice, so I put her to work with my cell phone camera to keep her from whining. Any tips on form are gratefully received.

After the 55# presses, I felt like I had some juice left, so I slapped another 15# on the bar and went for a new PR. Got it over my head not once, but twice (although the second one was shaky, as you can see in the video). So I was able to leave feeling at least mildly accomplished.

Cash out: 2 rounds
5 kipping pullups
5 Renegade Man-Makers w/15# DBs (Thanks, Melissa!)
Time: 3:57

RMMs were a bad idea - elbow started hurting on the renegade rows.

Revised, but still Unworthy...and THAT'S what glute activation means

The elbow pain from Friday's workout seems to be a bit more than muscle soreness. Yesterday it hurt like hell and I had trouble gripping much of anything. Lateral movements with my hand or any rotation of my wrist caused pain in my elbow. I couldn't write or even use the mouse. It was a better today in terms of outright pain, but I still had trouble pouring milk from the nearly-full carton this morning. I'm taking ibuprofen and treating it gingerly.

However, I didn't really want to skip another workout day. I tested a number of exercises to see what bothered the elbow. Pulling movements, especially like the ones involved in cleans, were a no-go. Pushing movements seemed to be okay. Based on that, "Unworthy" seemed to present itself as a feasible solution. Because I was a little worried about the effect of KB swings, I decided to switch the pushup reps and KB swing reps. I was also a bit concerned about losing my grip and sending a kettlebell flying across my living room, but that would be better than dropping it on my foot, right?

Buy-in: 2 rounds of:
10 squats
10 V-ups
10 pushups
10 supermans
5 KB DLs

WOD: "Unworthy Revised" done w/25# KB

• 80 squats/40 pushups/20 KB swings
• 40 squats/20 pushups/10 KB swings
• 20 squats/10 pushups/5 KB swings
• 40 squats/20 pushups/10 KB swings
• 80 squats/40 pushups/20 KB swings

Time: 18:07

Thoughts: This is another one of those WODs that looks easy on paper and then morphs into an elephant on your back in the second round. I'm still pretty strong on pushups despite the elbow - never did less than 10 in a row even on the last set.

My major epiphany on this WOD was the idea of glute activation. I've heard the term bandied around, but never really understood what it meant until today. Because of my elbow, I had to use glute activation to get the kettlebell to swing. Wow. Just pop the hips hard, and the damn KB goes up, taking my arms along for the ride. Just hang on so the bell won't break some expensive knickknack that my mother has placed in my living room.

Then it occured to me that glute activation might work on the air squats as well. Worth a shot, especially if it keeps me from crippled by DOMS in my quads tomorrow. So I tried it out and sure enough, the air squats went a lot easier as well.

I have to admit I'm a little embarassed by all this. I mean, I've been Crossfitting for 8 months now, so you'd think I'd at least have the flippin' air squat figured out. Apparently not.

Cash out: Hollow hold - :30
Front plank - 1:00
Side planks - :30 each side

I Yam What I Yam

When I started Crossfit in general, and began working on strength in particular, I had several ideas about how I might look. I'll admit to checking out my guns in the bathroom mirror on numerous occasions (okay, daily), but after today's workout, I'm wondering if my arms will end up looking like this:




Seriously. Today's WOD, which I grabbed from the main page, was an effin' grip killer.

Buy-in: 3 rounds of 10 squats, 10 situps, 10 pushups, 10 supermans
5:00 rowing (1055m)

WOD: AMRAP in 20 minutes
55 pound Thruster, 5 reps
55 pound Hang Powercleans, 7 reps
55 pound Sumo Deadlift High-pull, 10 reps

Total: 5 rounds + 5 thrusters + 7 HPCs

Thoughts: Holy shit. After I finished this, I just lay down right where I was. My first genuine sweat angel. I musta laid there 5 minutes or more just sucking wind. When I reached for my water bottle, it slipped right out of my hand. Yep, my grip was so fried that I couldn't hold my flippin' water bottle.

Cash out: 10 half-hearted ab ball crunches. I had nothin' left.


Okay, it's been about 5 hours since I worked out and my right elbow is killing me. Hope I haven't screwed it up.

Happy New Year!

That seems to be the way of things at the Y here. Every January, all the folks who make resolutions to "lose weight" or "get fit" flock to the Y like politicians to wealthy donors. The place is a zoo at the first of the year, and despite the economy, this year doesn't look to be any different. The Y's 5 membership office desks were three-deep with people waiting to join, and I saw at least half a dozen more staffers giving tours. In another week, the fitness room will be butt-to-nut with noobs.

Fortunately (or not), most of the noobs keep those resolutions about as long as a politician keeps a campaign promise. So my own New Year's resolution is to be patient and flexible and hope that I can get through the first six weeks of the year without too much disruption to my routine (such that it is).

Buy-in: 2 rounds of 5 DU's, 10 wallballs (20#), 10 back extensions, 5 pullups
Note: First time trying DU's and wallballs - a little awkward on DU's with no rhythm, but I CAN do them! Wallballs are much more fun than thrusters.

WOD: Deadlifts and Bench Presses

Deadlift 5x5

• Warmup sets @ 65#, 95#, 115#
• 5 x 5 @ 132#

Bench Press - decided to do a 1RM, since I didn't have one for this exercise

• Warmup sets of 5 @ 45#, 3 @ 65#, 3 @ 85#
• 1 @ 95#
• 1 @ 100#
• 1 @ 105#
• 1 @ 110# (1RM)
  
• 115# - fail
  

Thoughts: Deadlift weight was the same as the last time I did them. I thought about going up to 135# starting with the 3rd set, but I was having a little trouble keeping my back flat, so increasing the weight didn't seem like a bright idea. Failed on the BP at 115# (glad I had a spotter!), but I definitely think I can get that weight up. Three warmup sets was probably a bit much, and I should have started my 1 work sets at 100# instead of 95#.

Cash out: 3 x 5 kipping pullups
10 DU's (managed to get 3 strung together, but still no rhythm)
2 x hollow holds @ :30
3 x handstand holds @ :20 (managed an unsupported hold for 5 seconds on the first one!)

I also did a mishmash of stuff with one of the trainers - some pistols, ab wheels, medicine ball tosses, but nothing organized. Just playin'.