Framrap

Strength: DL worked up to 155# but I can't remember
Framrap (11 min AMRAP): 6 thrusters (65#) / 10 pull ups
6 rounds + 1 thruster

If this was a straight Fran, I wouldn't have picked 65# to throw around but since it was only 6 reps, I could do it. 65# has been feeling light for me lately but that will probably soon end. Everything about the WOD felt ok and I really had to manage my rests as thrusters is one movement that winds me.
DLs are another movement I have had some strain in the lower abdomen (before pregnancy) so I am careful with weight here now that I am pregnant. That being said 155# is still about 60% of my max so I thought it was fine. I didn't go any heavier.

The Seven

The Seven
7 rounds of
7 HSPU (pike on 20" box)
7 thrusters (55#)
7 KTEs
7 DL (135#)
7 burpees
7 KBS (1 pood)
7 pullups
38:33

First time ever with this WOD and I approached cautiously knowing this will take me forever. HSPUs made me dizzy :(

Mike N programming continues

In 12 minutes:
A. Row 2K for time
B. Shoulder to Overhead (rx, 95#) for reps

Rest 2 minutes

In 6 minutes:
A. Run 800m for time
B. Pullups for reps

2K row: 9:17
SH to OH: 10
800m run: 4:24
Pullups: 22

Paced the cardio a bit. Jerked all the SH to OHs.

Going easy

Jerk: worked up to about 105#
Metcon: 50 pull ups / 75 KBS (12kg, mod) / 150 DU / 75 sit ups / 50 push ups
22:50

I'd say everything went rather well but with lots of breaks (that I'm okay with). I didn't have to resort to singles with the pull ups or push ups until the last 5.

6 rounds...

Metcon: 6 rounds of
12 med ball cleans (14#)
12 pull ups
12 box jumps (20")
12 push ups
18:28

Six rounds is a lot but this went by faster than I expected. Interestingly enough, push ups were harder for me than pull ups today. Longest number of pull ups I've gone without rips so I am happy.

CFC drop in!

Been dying to check out the new space since the grand opening and it is enormous with all the amenities! Really love the new space and congrats to Rudy and all at CFC for this amazing milestone!

Dropped in for a partner WOD on Saturday morning. Partnered up with Carolyn for 5 rounds of:
5 pull ups per person
10 burpee box jumps (16") per person, alternating
400m run
17:21

4 this week

Strength: BS 3-3-3-3-3-3 (95-115-125-135-145-155)
Metcon: 21-15-9 of DL (165#, rx) / pull up / slam ball (20#, rx)
11:32

I hit a BS 3RM PR at 155# at the beginning of December during the Wendler but regressed a little two weeks later due to lack of squatting. Today, I planned to finish at 155# and made it. Used too much quads on my last rep but felt ok overall.
If I remember correctly, my DLs went 9-6-4-1-1/7-3-3-1-1/5-4. In retrospect, I probably could have gotten rid of those singles at the end but I could feel my back arching a bit and my hands hurt from gripping. May have felt better than the last WOD with 165# DL but I can't be sure.
Pull ups went 7-5-4-3-2/5-4-3-3/3-2-1-1-1-1. Didn't resort to singles until later which is an improvement for me. Still got those blood blisters.
Broke up slam balls once in first two rounds, unbroken in last round.

New week

Strength: FS 5-5-5-5-5-5 (65-75-85-95-105-115)

Metcon: 4 rounds of 50 DU / 10 hang clean (65#, rx) / 6 TGU (1 pood, rx)
19:35

Post: 1 ME set of kipping pull ups: 11
Post: 1 ME set of push ups : 11

Last recorded FS 5RM was from May 2011 at 105#. I knew I had more having nailed a FS 3RM at 125# in June 2012. I don't think I maxed out at 115# and only the last rep was slightly sticky/slow. Shoot for 120# next time.
I've never done a TGU with a 1 pood KB, let alone 12 of them per arm. These were the toughest and slowest on me. At one point, I thought my left shoulder was going to bend the wrong way but I held it together. Much easier on the right side than left side, no surprise. DUs and hang cleans were no problem other than my arms getting tired out from the TGUs. Definitely an arm burnout issue today... no chance to get too winded here.

Nice end to rest week

Strength: DL (Cycle 3, Week 1)
5 reps @ 40% (100#)
5 reps @ 50% (125#)
3 reps @ 60% (150#)
5 reps @ 65% (165#)
5 reps @ 75% (190#)
5+ rep @ 85% (215#): 5 reps

Metcon: 3 rounds of 12 pullups / 6 burpees / 400m run
9:38

Post: Tried to work on butterfly/deadhang but hands were raw from the pullups.
Post-post: Working on my one-arm handstand. I have the strength on the right side but not quite there with balance. Left arm a little ways off.
Post-post-post: HSPUs to 1 ab mat, two in a row.
Post-post-post-post: 10x1 20# WB to 10'

I've been taking it easy this week so it was only my second time. I had energy today but I guess only 5 reps at 215#. Last cycle, I had 6 reps at that weight.
This might be my fastest metcon to date. I did the first 12 pullups in a row. Second set was 6-6. Third set was in 2s/3s with a set of 4 at the beginning. Burpees were as quick as I could get them. Run was faster than usual but needs work to get faster. Overall, quite pleased with today.
Lots of posts. Turns out resting all week gives you a lot of energy...

PR kind of day

Cycle 2 Week 2: Back Squat 1RM + 5%
5 reps @ 40% (65#)
5 reps @ 50% (80#)
3 reps @ 60% (95#)
3 reps @ 70% (110#)
3 reps @ 80% (125#)
3+ reps @ 90% (140#): 6 reps

Metcon: 4 rounds 50 DU / 6 Snatches (65#, rx)
8:00

Post: 3 deadhangs in a row (PR)!
Post-post: Worked on butterflies. Got 3 in a row (PR)! I think I'm really getting the hang of this kip now!
Post-post-post: 2 HSPUs to 1 ab mat but not in a row. HSPU to 1 ab mat is a PR!

I had four days off since my last WOD and it showed today!
Sixth rep at 140# was rough but I got it!
Metcon was good. DUs felt good and were purposely broken up. Snatches felt pretty good. Kind of liked how I forced 65# on myself because when I got tired, I really had to focus on that hip pop. I don't think I pressed too many out. All singles.
Really happy with all the post WOD work. I was really motivated by CFC's new Crossfit RX classes! You have to meet a series of tests before you're in. Here's where I'm at as of now:
1. Conditioning – Rx Fran (sub 8:00) or Rx Helen (sub 12:30)
-> 6/9/11: 8:53 Rx Fran. Need to get this one in again.
-> Never done Rx Helen. I feel like I have a better shot here but not sure.

2. Skill – 30 Double-Unders in 1 minute
-> Covered but no real stats for this one.

3. Bodyweight – Men 8 strict pull-ups/7 strict handstand push-ups to 1 abmat
Women 4 strict pull-ups/4 strict handstand push-ups to 1 abmat
-> 3 strict pull-ups in a row. Need to put in some work to get here.
-> 1 strict HSPU to 1 ab mat. Need lots of work here!

4. Strength/Mobility – Men (75% of bodyweight x 5 Overhead Squat) & (100% of bodyweight x 3 Front Squat)
Women (70% of bodyweight x 5 Overhead Squat) & (80% of bodyweight x 3 Front Squat)
-> 8/26/11: 95# (76% of BW)
-> 6/12/12: 125# (100% of BW)

5. Strength – Men Deadlift 315/Women Deadlift 185
-> 8/25/12: 250#

Need lots of work on bodyweight stuff and conditioning for sure!

Pull up fun

Metcon: 4 rounds of 15 pullups, 30 KBS (1 pood, rx)
19:57
Post: None

I went three rounds rx'ed and they felt strong. First round was in two sets. Second round was in 3 or 4 sets. Last round I was still managing some 2s and 3s but singles towards the end. Blood blisters again on both bands, non-blood blisters on parts of fingers, a rip in the pinky finger... ended up having to use a black skinny band on the last round because my hands hurt too much to hang on to the bar. I think I had plenty of strength left.
JJ thinks that I don't grip and end up relying on friction to stay on the bar. Next time, grip harder without over-gripping because that causes other problems for me!

Oh Monday...

Day 9 at Sasquatch CF

5 rounds of 50 DU / 25 KBS at 16kg (rx) / 50 air squats
21:18

Post-WOD: kipping PUs / TTBs

Felt pretty fatigued on the DUs today... not a good stringing day and had a few misses that really hurt. The 1 pood KBS felt pretty good today... this probably means that I should be going up to the 44# on lower rep KBS WODs. Air squats were air squats... slow and steady except I went too fast (and unbroken) on the first round. Really wanted sub 20 but was mentally weak in that last round (aka too many breaks).
Strung 10 kipping PUs post-WOD and 4 or 5 TTBs. Attempted 2 CTBs but no dice today.

Also, PR'ed my 500m row in the warmup at 2:03. Haha I don't know what got into my head but I guess I've been meaning to knock that one out.

AMRAP FS-PU couplet

On Sunday, JJ and I went for a long bike ride (20+ miles round trip) from Bellevue, along the I90 trail, to Seward Park in Seattle. A gorgeous day for it too! One day a week, our plan is to do something long and low intensity... so hiking and biking will fit the bill.

Day 5 at NW Crossfit Bellevue: "Good Times Bad Times"
AMRAP in 20 Minutes:
1 round =
12/9/6
Front Squats at 77# (Rx)
24/18/12
Pullups

135 reps officially + 9 ring rows + 6 FS

First round was done in 9:30ish. Didn't make it through my second round. No surprise that pullups were my usual limiting factor. It seems like my hands have a tolerance of about 65-75 pullups before I get blood blisters and rips. Maybe I'm not gripping the bar tight enough and there's just way too much friction? Anyways, in that 2nd round of 18 pullups, I decided I'd switch to ring rows before the rip but I have to grip the rings too so the rip happened. Also, totally messed up the number of ring rows I was supposed to do and ended up with 9. I guess I was in a hurry to get back on the bar (had just over a minute left) to crank out 6 FS. First round, FS were unbroken. My very last set of FS were in 2s. Good weight.
This could be my last week here on my promo and I may or may not get in another WOD. Full review to come. Next up: Sasquatch CF.

Blood blister

Day 2 at NW CF Bellevue: "Psyche!"
3 Rounds:
400m Run
15 KB Swings (@25#, Rx was 1 pood)
15 Pull-Ups
200m Run
10 KB Swings
10 Pull-Ups
25:47

As expected, pull ups were the limiting factor. Big blood blister on left hand, little one on the right. Max chain of 7 today in round one. Round two were doubles and triples. Rushed last rep resulting in a fail. Last round were all singles with one fail. Runs weren't too bad... It was gorgeous outside. Could have gone Rx with KBS but wanted to ease in to it.

Weaning off bad foods like sugar and dairy for about two weeks now. Last gluten cheat was maybe 3 or 4 weeks ago. I'm off that stuff to fix my leaky gut.

Sigh... that's it from me this week

Wednesday's WOD
Metcon (double purple for strict pullups): 5:40
Trip ups in the 50 round of DUs, tripped at 37 on the 40 round, the rest unbroken! Could have used "less band" given my time but when I tested out just one purple pre-wod, I wasn't sure I could make it. Mixed grips through the 8 round, underhand for the rest... no fails.

Post: 5x200m (3min rest): 47.3, 45.5, 46.5, 47.0, 46.6
My butt hurt after this :(

Was planning on getting another WOD in today but apparently, I pulled my left groin from running last week and during the warm up yesterday. I am not quite sure what is wrong with it but it was painful enough to stop running. Acts up anytime I try to propel myself forward (walking fast included) so it needs rest. On top of that, I am about 90% sure I fractured my big toe about 2 months ago playing tennis. Bruising under big toe nail doesn't appear to have improved and after last night's DUs, it's definitely not 100%. It's time to bite the bullet and lay off it... no running/jumping/etc... though right now, I am still planning on doing FGB...

8/30-9/4

Tuesday: 8 x 1:00/1:00r on C2: 237-240-239-240-240-240-241-243
Average pace was 2:05/500m at 32s/m. Looks like I paced a bit too much in the first round.

Wednesday's WOD
Metcon rx’ed: 18:18
First round of PUs were 10/5. Then some 5s in the second and third rounds but mostly singles. Fourth and fifth round runs were slow but tried to pose throughout and it felt okay. Popped blood blister about 3 PUs in the last round and tore hand another 2 PUs later. Last 10 PUs probably took 2 minutes... ugh. Thanks to Karen for suggesting deadhangs!

Friday's WOD
PC&J Int: 1×103# and then 2×93# to work on dip and jerk stance.
Smaller and more upright dip instead of trying to dip lower and end up folding forward. Back leg heel out for more stability. Stance has been a little narrow in the past as well.

Metcon at 80# and purple band: 7:01
Tried to get in sub 7 but couldn’t lock out the last two reps so I had to break. Unbroken FS on the 20 and 5 rounds but broke once on the rest.

Post – 4×8 JM Press with 5# DBs

Saturday: 2 hours of rock climbing at Vertical Endeavours
Sunday: 18 miles on the bike (9 miles one way) to the Chicago Botanic Garde

8/24-29

After FOUR days off to rest up my quads, they finally felt ready to work out again despite some lingering soreness. Seriously needed some mobility work on the hips before I took on Wednesday's WOD
Pre: 15 min of hip warm up that I reeeeally needed.

Power Clean 4×3 @ 95#
Worked on form a little more since I am still not coming in contact with mid-thigh. Kurt’s tip to stay in heels a little longer during the pull was helpful.

Metcon with 9 pull-ups/9 plyo push-ups on knees: 15:20
Sucking wind halfway through third row... pace dropped off pretty bad. Need to get back on that rower at home and do intervals, possibly once a week.

Post – Pendlay Row 2×8 at 42#, 2×8 at 45#
PostPost – 1 strict ring dip!

Monday's WOD on Thursday
OHS 65(5)-75(5)-85(5)-95(5)-100(3)
Hmm... I wonder what my 1RM is...

Metcon @ 55#, 24″ box: 18 through all 10 rounds
My goal was to stay pretty consistent through all the rounds. I had like 3 seconds left in a few rounds... just not enough to pick up the bar for another snatch and I had a couple of rounds where time was up after I clapped on my last burpee.

Post: 3×5 deadhangs with red band. Lats were complaining so I stopped.


Topped off the week with a 20+ mile bike ride from Morton Grove to the Botanic Gardens along the Chicago North Branch Trail on a gorgeous Sunday afternoon.

8/19-20

Friday WOD
5×2 FS at 130# (just under 75% of 1RM BS)
This felt pretty good thanks to the extensive hip warm up courtesy of Glenn (those hip circle things worked out a kink I had all day).

Metcon at 55#: 9:23
Thank you Megan for challenging me to do CTBs. I got to 9 with a couple of fails and then a few more fails before I abandoned that and did regular PUs (didn’t count the fails as part of the regular PUs). Thrusters: 10-5-5-5-5-5-5-5-5. Best thrusters I’ve ever done but I still hate them. I can’t seem to breathe through these. Probably spent about 5 min on thrusters alone. Yuck.

Post: L-sits on parallettes. Best 8s? Worst 3s. Total: 8-4-3-3-5 = 23s haha

Saturday, we checked out a trapeze class at TSNY Chicago! So much fun!


For the record, heavy FS and thrusters destroyed my quads for almost five days. Ice bath next time even if it doesn't feel necessary that night!

8/8-11

I didn't make it to the box on Monday so I played with some KBs at home (12kg, 16kg, 20kg, 24kg). Worked in random sets of 10 through the weights up to:
24kg: Russian swings, SDHPs, and single-leg DLs holding it out front.
20kg: goblet squats
16kg: single-leg DLs, holding it from the side (jug carry style)
12kg: one sit up haha. Also attempted a TGU with this but 12kg is too heavy for me.

Tuesday's WOD
Ring Dips (toe assisted) 4×10 @ 40×1 tempo ish
Ring Rows (straight leg) 3×10 @ 40×1 tempo ish
Jacked up the right rhomboid so cut it.

Metcon rx’ed: 16:17
Pullups all singles (as planned). 16″ box was too high... use 12" box or plates next time. Rowing and pullups in a wod are definitely not my favourites.

Post: 1x400m (1:50ish). Right calf close to a cramp so cut that too.


Wednesday, JJ worked with me on pose running for about two miles. Focused on cadence, tempo, breathing, the pull (hot coals tap tap), and the lean. Afterwards, I got my Killer Kage on (messed around with the monkey bars at the kids playground).

Thursday was a hodge podge of strength work:
Snatch Pull 4x4 at 83# (101% of Snatch 1RM of 81#)
FS 5x3 at 123# (<73% of BS 1RM of 175#)
3x10 GHD sit ups and 3x10 back ext
Messed around with a 14# and then a 20# WB haha

8/1-4

Monday's WOD
Snatch 6×2 at 63#
I can’t seem to chain these as I needed to reset my feet each time.

Metcon (subbed 20# DBs strict presses for HSPUs / 24″ box / 1 pood): 9:01
Sub due to wrist. Kept presses strict throughout. Left shoulder is weaker than my right… resulting in a bit of back arching. Quite happy that I managed to string some 24″ box jumps. KBS broken only once in the 4th round.

Post – Snatch Grip RDL 4 x 8 at 65#
Not 110% of snatch but had some trouble gripping the bar. Hamstrings could have handled more weight though.

Sweet! I got an article posted on the blog! Yay!

Wednesday's WOD
C&J 6×2 ish at 83#. Did a couple at 105#... felt good. Per Bryce, don’t pull/bend arms before bar hits upper mid thigh.

Metcon at 55# and regular pullups: 6:57
Blood blister on my right hand... every time!! :(

Post: tabata row max: 84, min: 78 (84-84-83-79-79-78-78-80)