quest for a sub 3:00 fran

as i've mentioned briefly before, i am on a quest for a sub 3:00 min fran. i've been experimenting a little bit here and there doing heavy fran (95#), light fran (45#), and breaking fran up, by doing it as rx'd with 65# but only the 21 rep round, or 15 rep round, or 9 rep round. my little experiment seems to be working.

i decided to go for fran yesterday. last time fran came up, i did heavy fran this time i was ready to go for a new pr. it's funny i knew all day i was going to hit a new pr, i just felt it. i went into the gym, calm did my warm-up

september 29, 2008

crossfit rest day

fran

21-15-9

thrusters, 65#

pull-ups

time: 3:13 (PR!)

comments: i decided to go for fran yesterday. last time fran came up, i did heavy fran this time i was ready to go for a new pr. it's funny i knew all day i was going to hit a new pr, i just felt it. i went into the gym calm and at ease. i did my warm-up, some light thrusters and yesterday i taped up the bar. that made such a difference, those rubber foamy things on our pull-up bar really do a number on your grip. i paced around for a bit while i waited for someone to time me. i got my ipod ready walked up and cleaned that bar into my first thruster. finished the 15 rep round at 2:10. that last round of 9 was a time sucker, 5 then 4 thrusters, 5 pull-ups then 2 and 2. so close to that sub 9 fran. just need to eliminate the rests and i'm there. also did butterfly kips for the first time on fran.

here is what happened post fran yesterday:

1-3min post: felt ok, tired

4-8min post: arms felt so swollen and in pain chest hurt

9-15min post: can't see straight, lightheaded, metallic taste, light cough

16min-21min post: felt like i seriously might die, is something wrong? still weak

21-30min post: felt like i'd smoked the best joint of my life. high as a kite, laughing at everything (bonus no munches!)

30min-35min: pukie came to visit

35min-tbd: fran cough like non other.

wow, and i'm sore today, still coughing.

i love jerks

breakfast has to be my favorite meal of the day. i repeatedly hit snooze on my alarm for a good 30min-1 hour because i just can't bear the thought of getting up and going to my boring job, sitting there all day and dealing with clients and their stupid questions. every morning i wake up and know that i have to get through 8 hours at the museum then workout (my "me" time) then work another 2-4 hours training my clients. i love training my clients, i really do but some days i am just so worn out from already working an 8 hour day and training myself that i just want to go home. i need to figure something out, quickly. anyway, my point being every morning i hear that alarm and think, ugh back to boring mof. the one thing that helps me get out of bed is realizing i get to eat breakfast and drink my 2 cups of coffee! breakfast is the most important (and delicious) meal of the day! above is my zoned breakfast. egg beaters, 2 slices turkey bacon, a dab of salsa, 1/2 avocado, 1/2 an apple and of corse coffee!

anyway, i had a very productive weekend. ordered new furniture, cleaned out and organized the cabinets in my bathroom, and did some serious retail therapy. between all that i had time to squeeze in some good workouts.

friday, september 26, 2008

30 muscle-ups for time

i don't have rings so subbed 120 pull-ups and 120 dips, broke them down into 12 sets of 10pu/10 dips. i was super sore from nicole which slowed me down a bit.

time: 21:23

food: zoned very well, had dinner out with the girls. chicken mole and 2 pork tacos. nice cheat meal but didn't feel too badly about it.

saturday, september 27, 2008

took a full rest day

7 consecutive days on and surprisingly i feel pretty good. made myself rest, went to work then did some me things, like shopping and getting my hair done, followed by dinner with the girls at my favorite italian restaurants. i enjoyed a caprese salad, and tagliatelle with ragu. so good. passed on the wine and bread, again all in all i don't feel so bad about my meals this weekend! came home and had two patron's with lime. heh.

sunday, september 28, 2008

Push Jerk 5-5-5-5-5 reps

95-105-110-115(f on 5th rep)-115 (PR)

pre:wux2

post: pt exercises

comments: i was so pissed i missed 115 on the 5th rep, so got angry and made it happen on the 5th try. it's amazing how anger can help with workouts. all i have to do is look at one person in particular and i'm fuming. so thank you, mr. fuckhead for getting me angry enough to pr.

food: on point again today, i'm so proud i didn't cheat all that much this weekend. spent the day shopping for furniture, art, and apartment stuff. it was great to have a day to myself to decompress.

actively resting

active rest is a popular term among us crossfitters. i'm working to incorporate more active rests into my training cycles. normally when a crossfit rest day comes up, i either make up a wod i missed or just come up with some insane workout on my own. this often backfires as i end up very sore or with other nagging issues like tendinitis. it's tough as my training schedule is usually 6 on one off (saturday-thursday, rest friday back on sat-thursday). that's a heavy training week, I think I function better on a 4 on 1 off 1 on 1 off (monday-thursday, rest friday, on saturday, rest sunday) and it also gives me a full day (sunday) to myself with no work, no training, just nothing. when i do workout on sunday's it is usually due to boredom, i just love being in the gym! so what is considered 'active rest'? a lite run, lite row, biking, hiking, playing, working on handstands etc. all things i do need to work on! this sunday is supposed to be nice, hopefully i will find something fun and active to do outside on one of the last nice days of the year! the picture above was taken from my condo in august. i'm really going to miss those summer sunsets.

thursday, september 25, 2008

crossfit rest day:

i used it as my active rest for once!

5k run on treadmill- i didn't even time it. just ran at a nice easy pace.

skill work:

2x of 50 foot handstand walk

2x25 ghd sit-ups

stretching

physical therapy exercises

1 round of cfwu

food:

totally on point today. didn't even wake up hungry once!

nicole is a bitch

i've got to figure out how to step up my training without burning out or injuring myself. i'm ready to hit it hard. i've got my drinking under control (for the most part) and my diet is falling into place. i'm ready to rock it, i want that sub 3 fran...badly. i've started a little experiment; i'm going to work on parts of fran at the end of my workouts. one day i will do a 15 rep round of thrusters and pull-ups, then another day do the 9 rep round and a different day attempt the 21 rep round. i'll do them mostly with the girl rx'd weight of 65# then play around with the men's weight of 95# and even just the 45# bar and see what happens. this should be fun.

alright yesterdays workout.

wednesday, september 24, 2008

"Nicole"

Complete as many rounds in 20 minutes as you can of:

Run 400 meters

Max rep Pull-ups

Post number of pull-ups completed for each round to comments.

round 1: 33 pull-ups

round 2: 22 pull-ups

round 3: 20 pull-ups

round 4: 20 pull-ups

round 5: 20 pull-ups

round 6: 20 pull-ups

total: 135 pull-ups (pr)

comments: wow that was difficult! i took a breather before almost all rounds of pull-ups. i also combined butterfly pull-ups with regular kipping. i could not put my arms down for a good 20 min post workout!

pre: wux2

post: med ball clean practice

food: diet was great, no tequila tonight. ate an extra zone bar in the middle of the night.

this picture is from a level 1 cert in santa cruz at the original HQ. That was one of my favorite certs ever, we had all the CF big wigs there. Great group, amazing information and a ton of fun. Nothing beats doing workouts in the place where it all began and having the original santa cruz folks there cheering everyone on.

virtual shoveling...ain't nothing 'virtual' about it

it's funny how currently everything in my life feels stagnant. i don't enjoy my job (the event job), i'm sick of dating, the fall weather somewhat depresses me and the only thing i really look forward to now is training. i'm so glad i have that in my life. it's the one time in the day when i actually forget about everything, my lame job, annoying event clients, stupid asshole men, and just pretty much everything that pisses me off. i am at peace when i do crossfit, and i'm so happy when i am in the gym ( if only one idiot could disappear, but that's besides the point). if i could workout all day, i'd always been in a great mood and feeling like i can accomplish anything. sigh. i guess i'll figure it out someday. until then i'll virtually shovel myself out of this hole i am in.

september 23, 2008

For time 30, 25, 20, 15, 10, and 5 rep rounds of:

virtual shoveling [wmv] [mov]
Push-ups

With an Olympic bar holding only one plate (men use 45 pound plate, women use 25 pound plate), touch the plate on one side of the barrier then the other for one "rep." Barrier is 24."

time: 14:13

25#plate

pre: wux1
post: wux1 + med ball clean practice

comments: wow that wod was fun, i enjoyed the 'virtual shoveling' it was tough, but interesting. fried my grip and shoulders. i have a funny story too, the night before when i was done training my clients i'm watching the virtual shoveling video in the trainer office. one of my fellow trainers (bodybuilder style for 20+years, one of the nicest guys ever) came over and 1/2 jokingly says, wow crossfit stole my exercise. ha. he does some sort of 'virtual shoveling' with his clients but a bit different. anyway, i see him today doing chest press on the nautilus machine and ask him to try this wod with me. he agrees, does it with 45# plate and quits after the 25 rep round saying his heart was beating really fast. :-) when we are done he comments, 'girl you have some endurance'. love it, gonna convert another one. sometimes as annoying as it can be i love working in a regular gym.

food: food has been normal, just super hungry, ate an extra zone bar in the middle of the night. still waking up starving around 3am every night this week. blah.

i'm gonna try to add a picture from the calgary cert of tabata squats. my new homie patrick at again faster was kind enough to send me some of the pictures he took over the weekend.

catching up

well things have been a bit busy, so gotta catch up on last weeks wod's!

wednesday, september 17, 2008

tried to do the SP, PP, PJ WOD but knee too sore and whole quad cramping.

SP: 75-80-85-90-95(f)
PP: 95x3-100x3-105x3-105x3

knee pain, called it quits.

3 rounds of:

10 pull-ups
25 ghd sit-ups

forgot to stop watch when done, have no idea how long it took. head not in the game today.

pre: wux1
post: smr


thursday, september 18, 2008

"Grace"

135 pound Clean and Jerk, 30 reps

Use 95 pounds, 65 pounds or broomstick as needed

time: 6:01 (pr of about 3:30)

i used 95# for this wod. still do not understand, i hear girl weight is 85#, but some use 95#. I'll go with the heavier weight!

food: was doing well until the evening. went to girl power hour party and had some sort of vodka/vitamin water drink, then two sips of this starbucks cocktail which was wayyyy tooo sweet. we went out after that and i had a plate of wings and 2 steak tacos. oh and a patron on the rocks with lime. :-) oh well, appetite is through the roof!

friday, september 19, 2008

rest day

food: regular stuff until the evening. went out to dinner, had pasta with gorgonzola and pancetta. yum so rich, oh and two pieces of bread, one truffle for dessert. also had 1 patron, and 1 glass of red wine.

saturday, september 20, 2008

filthy fifty

For time:
50 Box jump, 24 inch box
50 Jumping pull-ups
50 Kettlebell swings, 1 pood (used 35#)
Walking Lunge, 50 steps
50 Knees to elbows
50 Push press, 45 pounds
50 Back extensions
50 Wall ball shots, 20 pound ball (14# girl weight)
50 Burpees
50 Double unders ( no jump rope subbed tuck jumps)

time: 24:43

slower then normal, knee bothering me on jumping pull-ups, box jumps, burpees and tuck jumps. slowed me down a bit. oh well

food: good again until evening. had a bacon cheese burger and fries, then profitteroles (sp?) for dessert. had 1 patron and 1 glass presecco.

sunday, september 21, 2008

5k run

26:06

slow, knee sore a bit.

pre: wux2
post: 15 rep round of fran 0:53 seconds

food: again great all day, and had sushi at night. not so good.

monday, september 22, 2008

"Isabel"

For time:
Snatch 135 pounds, 30 reps

Use 95 pounds, 65 pounds or broomstick as needed.

time: 4:09

used 65#- did power snatches from the ground

pre: wux2 + PT exercises
post: 9 rep round of fran- 0:31

food: very good all day, had 7 choc covered cashews last night. woke up starving 3 times last night, snacked on zone bar. still hungry today.

core punisher

i've been feeling rather blah as of late. coming home after a great trip to calgary, and going from being around people who 'get it' back to being around people who think i am some sort of freak is exhausting. i'm tired of explaining why i eat the way i do, train the way i train, and live the way i live. somedays i want tell everyone to go fuck themselves. sadly the one person here that gets that part of me is the one person i cannot allow myself to talk to. anyway, yesterdays workout...

tuesday, september 16, 2008

michael

3 rounds of:

800m run
50 back extensions
50 sit-ups

time: 17:30

pre: wux2
post: nothing

i'm not a fan of this wod, runs over 400m kill me!
diet is ok, however i have been extreamly hungry. had about 10 extra almonds and then some damn chocolate covered cashews. augh.

time for an update

Well, I got super lazy with my blogging but have kept up on my training. I had a great summer, relaxed on my diet a bit and ate and drank more then I needed to! It’s time now to dial it in my diet and training and take it to the next level. I’ve been fortunate enough to get to work some certs this summer and always come back inspired and with a new outlook on training. This past weekend I worked a cert in Calgary with some amazing crossfit trainers, I took away so much from each and every one of them. One thing I plan to incorporate into my training is something I heard from Speal at another cert and it was reminded of it again by Dutch this past weekend. Both of them are smaller males but frequently train with heavier weights then rx’d on the WOD’s. I think they are onto something as they are both not only super fast but extremely strong.

As far as diet goes, Robb Wolf has been so helpful and patient while helping me figure out how to work with the zone and allow some freedom for cheats and of course drinking! I’m still on 11 blocks but have cut out 1 carb block at each meal and added 3 blocks of fat for every carb block omitted. I really like this way of eating, I’m not as hungry and actually enjoy my meals. I’ve also cut out grains and almost all sugar; I just can’t give up that zone bar with almond butter before bed!

So quick re-cap on training the past few workouts:

Last week kicked my ass!

Monday, September 9, 2009

BW: 113# (did workout based on 110# since I don’t have 1# or 2# plates)

"Linda"
10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 reps of the triplet:

Deadlift: 1 1/2 body weight (165#)
Bench press: body weight (110#)
Clean: 3/4 body weight (80#)

Set up three bars and storm through for time.

Time: 42:13

Comments: This is the first time I have completed this workout as rx’d! I was so happy, as I usually have to scale the bench press. Bench press reps were pretty much singles, but oh well I finished it! This has been a goal of mine for 2.5 years!

Tuesday, September 10, 2008

"Fight Gone Bad!"

Three rounds of:
Wall-ball, 20 pound ball, 10 ft target (Reps) (14# ball)
Sumo deadlift high-pull, 75 pounds (Reps) (55# girl weight)
Box Jump, 20" box (Reps)
Push-press, 75 pounds (Reps) (55# girl weight)
Row (Calories) (no erg sub burpees)

In this workout you move from each of five stations after a minute.The clock does not reset or stop between exercises. This is a five-minute round from which a one-minute break is allowed before repeating. On call of "rotate", the athletes must move to next station immediately for best score. One point is given for each rep, except on the rower where each calorie is one point.
Add your points and post them to comments.

Score: 293

Comments: Not my best score but I was waaaaaay too sore from Linda.

Post: 5k run on Treadmill: 26:12 I think. Nice slow pace

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Five rounds for max reps of:

Body weight bench press
Pull-ups
Body weight back squat

Post reps for all three exercises in all rounds.

BP: 110# 1-1-1-1-1 (still severely sore form linda on monday)
Pull-ups: 22-20-20-20-21
squats 115#: 6-6-6-6-6

pre: wux2
post: 4x25 ghd sit-ups

Comments: wow, I should have followed the main site as I was still so sore from benching BW in Linda on Monday! Oh well 3.2.1 go right?!

Thursday, September, 11, 2008

The crossfit workout today in honor of 9/11 was Hero workout of your choice. I chose to do Josh, as I need to work on OHS.

Josh

95# Overhead squats, 21 reps (65# girl weight)
42 pull-ups
95# Overhead squats, 15 reps (65# girl weight)
30 pull-ups
95# Overhead Squats, 9 reps (65# girl weight)
18 pull-ups

Time: 11:47

Comments: OHS killed me, I really suck at these, therefore need to work on them more.

Friday, September 12, 2008

REST DAY!

Much needed rest, spent the morning traveling to Calgary for the cert. Got in and met up with some of the trainers, drove around town, had a nice Italian meal (oops I mean chicken and broccoli with a shot of olive oil) and some wine. ;-) called it a night and got some rest for day 1 of the cert.

Saturday, September 13, 2008

Day 1 of the cert. Lots of demo-ing. That shit looks easy but it is exhausting holding positions then coaching the groups. I was the lucky one who got to demo bottom to bottom tabata squats in the morning too! At the end of the day some trainers did a workout.

21-15-9 reps of:

65# squat clean
HSPU

Time: 7:30

Comments: cleans felt pretty smooth. Dutch was on me for my hand placement on HSPU’s apparently I am too wide for his liking. Mind you he was critiquing my HSPU as he sat there eating a burger and drinking a beer ;-) He made me get my hands right at shoulder width, I prefer slightly wider. This really slowed me down and I did most reps as singles, but I appreciate the critique always looking to improve as an athlete.

Sunday, September 14, 2008

Day 2 of the cert, I am so sore. Quads are fried from tabatas and the workout, oh and lets not forget demoing. Lunchtime rolls around and Robb and I film a kipping pull-up demo, spent 30+ minutes doing pull-ups then onto the WOD with Dutch.

"The Chief"

Max rounds in 3 minutes of:

135 pound Power cleans, 3 reps (95# girl weight is 85#)
6 Push-ups
9 Squats

Rest 1 minute. Repeat for a total of 5 cycles.

Score: 18 (I think)

Comments: holy shit. Dutch made up this workout and it made the main site WOD. I have to say it was nice to see him suffer too since he created this beast. I got so close to finishing 4 rounds every time, mostly 3 squats shy of 4 rds so only get to count 3. I hit 5 rounds once I think and maybe 1 round of 4. Dutch kicked my ass with a whopping 28 rounds, oh and lets not forget the fact that he used 155 for the cleans which is BW for him. It was so awesome to workout with him, really made me push harder, that guy is an animal.
Finished up the cert and flew home. Had a great time, worked with some amazing trainers and learned that bacon makes everything better!

Monday, September 15, 2008

"Fran"

Three rounds, 21-15- and 9 reps, for time of:

95 pound Thruster
Pull-ups

Time: 8:50

Comments: knee is super tight, been sore in the quads all weekend causing knee pain. Did this WOD at 95# guy weight just to mix it up and to follow what I learned from Dutch and Speal. Happy with my time, this workout is metabolically taxing even when going heavy.

So that’s that. I’m gonna try my best to keep this thing pretty updated!