So. I’m pretty bad at this…

…the blogging,  I mean.   Where did the time go?   It has been an eventful couple weeks,  though.   Proceeding through the 90 day just fine,  with clothes suitably looser and eating impressively cleanly.   I chucked some tilapia and chicken breasts into the freezer here at work,  and go through multiple bags of frozen (read: to-be-steamed) veggies each day.   Today I got a lovely bottle of EVOO to cook my protein in,  and the plant matter is ducky on its own.   Also in the fridge: eggs. I haven’t figured out what to do here with that yet,  because the fridge is communal (and I don’t want to be a jerk and take up all the space).  Still,  I feel cool and savvy because I’m not much of a cook.   But this?   This I can manage.   Add in in a big bag of pistachios and I’m all set!

I’ve been hitting WODs steadily,  though I’ve been a little run down because I work some nights and my sleep schedule sucks.   On top of that,  I’ve been working in extra strength sessions,  a thing I’ve enjoyed but may have to moderate when my recovery is extra suck.   Also on the radar?   Back to school!   This shouldn’t interfere with crossfit much,  and might even improve my 3-on-1-off plan.   Hard to say,  but I am excited.  College again.   Long-term goals,  yo.   Sadly,  it’s been a frustrating bureaucratic nightmare getting registered (ongoing.   I’m not done yet),  but I hope to make with the learning soon.

All told,  motivation is high,  diet is 98% on,  and exerciseis going well!   Hopefully I’ll get to more writing sooner.   Until then,  Faithful Reader…

Is it 90 yet?

yeah, i didn’t think so.  I’ve had my 3 day run, and I’m feeling pretty beat, frankly,  ut there have been some good moments. Here are some:

Wednesday: back squat PR @ 200 lbs.  Wretched workout followed (not great, but I did it).  Wretched WOD is as follows:

5 rounds:

10 Toes 2 bar

10 power snatch (65)

10 wallballs (14)

10:20      (ugh)

Thursday:

1 on

Caleb:

Front squat complex  (pausing front, 1 1/4 squat, full front squat), which i finished at 155 (didn’t quite complete that final lift, but that’s my 1RM, so whatever).

10k row.  48:37   a little slice of hell, that.

butterfly pullup skill work

Today (Friday) 04 on an ugly snatch at 115.  good pull and pull under at 120.  it shall be mine.

food?  it’s been okay.  i’ve been good, my worst sin being quinoa last night, and that being a mistake I won’t make again. Gassy and yuk, reminiscent of my recent gluten exposure.  Strictly legal, but I guess no monkeying around like that for me.  Rest day tomorrow, which I think I will make active and try either snowshoeing or cross country skiing.  I have country.  I’m sometimes cross.  Should be interesting.

UPDATE:  Not active.  I spent most of the night awake, so I spent most of the day asleep.  Fasted ’til ~3, had an AMRAP bar (whey protein, almond meal and almond bits, some honey, coconut, some cinnamon), followed that a few hours later with some eggs with bacon and an end of sweet potato.  Followed that a couple hours later with steak, some more sweet potato, some cherry tomatoes, some blueberries, and not nearly enough water, which I will have to catch up on tonight.    Got some more protein for recovery in my future.  Still kinda stiff from the last few days.   All told, though, things are going well.

Gotta get my pics and numbers in before it all goes right and I look better!   Fran tomorrow!

Willpower:  9.  Occasionally tempted but staying strong!

It worked so nice last year…

I can’t believe it’s been a year since I started last year, this whole 90 Day Challege thing, and I’m going for it again.  Even more clean eating!  Even more pain!  Even more broccoli!   I actually don’t have much to say yet, but ya gotta start somewhere, and this whole blogging/documenting thing is a good habit to get into.  For a bit of a laugh, check out last year’s entries.  (what it will demonstrate is that I’m not a real interesting blogger, but there you go).

I came home this morning after a long 24 yesterday during which I’m not sure I actually slept.  That was truly one of the worst nights I’ve ever worked, just non-stop.    Totally beat today, even after a few hours sleep, and I think my neck is kinda wrecked from it, a la headache.  Awesome.  I’ve also been enjoying some intestinal yuck, including sour stomach, cramps, acid-y feeling, and fast-moving food, the details of which I’ll spare you.   The point of that is that I’m concerned I may be able to link it to wheat-product consumption, unsure of other grains and such yet.  I’ve been having and considering this for several weeks now, and when I have it, it lasts for days and makes me feel… just… blah.  I have WODed through milder days and been okay, but the constant sensation of needing to yak is a bit off-putting for the metcons.  This could also resolve any cheating questions regarding holiday cookies and other eating-out maybe-just-this-once problems…

For what it’s worth, anyway, I’m feeling mostly better if still a bit run-down, and I’ve been eating clean and hydrating today.   I’m declaring Primal like last year, which worked so nice for me.   I’ll probably give Zone another shot, but I’m going to get my prep and planning down first.   I did pre-emptively order a pile of Steve’s PaleoKits (4-block size)  and also some of the PaleoKrunch Bars.   Food on the go:  check.   Still have a good working relationship with the Chinese joints, too, so they’re the answer I have at work.   I plan to make some cocoa-date-nut balls like last year, and I’m planning another trip to Honest Weight for drinking chocolate.   Tricks worked; why stop?

I’ve also got a nice bar and set of bumpers, so I plan for more accessory work at home, but I gotta get firm on my getting in to WOD, though that should be easier when I get this GI yuck figured out.

Eating today:  3 egg omelet w/ taco-style chicken, cheese, and spinach.  Cocktail shrimp w/ low-carb cocktail sauce.   ~6 oz broiled steak.  Yum.  Not enough water, but I’m working on it, and I did spend much of today asleep, in fairness.

Plan for tomorrow:  Makeup Fran.  Hit the WOD.  Work tomorrow night.

Plan for this week:  Rolf’s in Albany for LandJaeger and other storeable smoked meats.  They do their own smoking without weird chemicals.  Good stuff.  Honest Weight for drinking chocolate and other potential snacks — nuts and such.   Need to pick up a stash of coconut water and milk for the drinking chocolate (no sugar added, with vanilla flavor for smoothness.   Mostly fat and fantastic!)   Hitting all the benchmark WODs.  Another heavy lifting day, including Squats!

Also this week, map out for next week my exercise and accessory work schedule.  if I go in with a plan and I actually do it, I don’t waffle on what to do or if I should.  There you go.

More soon, Faithful Reader!

Less Rockstar. But still pretty great.

I know.  I’ve been really bad about writing down the food.   I still have, but I’ve been good.  Staying strict Primal, as promised.    Lots of chicken and broccoli, steamed, with auxiliary broccoli.   Lots of steak.  Some Cacao Krunch.   Occasional whole milk, which is legal for me.  I have removed the rice from my Chinese eatin’ (who do steam chicken with broccoli and some carrots for me, no sauce).

As for workouts, which I am worse at tracking, here you go:

Thursday:

Russian Gymnastics Warm-up, day 2.

Annie.

50-40-30-20-10

Double Unders

AbMat situps

7:24.   (ow, ow, ow)   PR, thanks.    also PR today on 30 DUs unbroken.

L-sits x3 minutes.  Not really.  I was smoked from Annie.

also, pre-WOD:  1 x 10 minute volume kipping pull-ups.   I stopped at 10 because I failed x2.  So hard on the shoulders.

 

Friday:

Russian Gymnastics Day 1

7 minute AMRAP burpees.

Score:  91

I think I could have done better, but shoulders/arms were burned from yesterday.

partner WOD:

2 rounds:

1 min each, 1 partner working at a time.

KB swings (35)

pull-ups

jumping lunges

rowing

 

Saturday:

Gymnasty.

100  DU’s    new PR @ 35 unbroken!

some partner med-ball ab exercises (twists, sit-ups, throws)

2 rounds:

1 min each

overhead hold 45 lb bumper

beat swings

knees-to-chest

hollow rocks

plank

rest

This all hurt because my abs still hurt from Thursday.

After:  1RM back squat, which I’m starting because I want to get my posterior chain stronger.   Today:  185 lbs.  I should have had 195, but I gave up because I relaxed my back.  I was tired.  I was mostly up.  I’m stuck with the 185, though, and nothing better happened, but no argument there.  I’ll try again soon, and that’s 10 lbs more than I’ve ever squatted, and 25 lbs more than in the past year-and-a-half.    awesome.

I thought about Nasty Girls today, too, but with my shoulders wrecked today, I thought it better to leave them be.  Probably in tomorrow early for the WOD before Strongman, but gosh, I bet those T2B are gonna hurt.   Right now it is uncomfortable to sneeze, stand up straight, and yawn.  awesome.

 

Meh.  Back to it.  Just didn’t want to forget anything.

I need to start tracking my PRs better, because they’re starting to pile up a bit!  awesome!

Today I felt like a rock star.

I know it’s not really true, but I felt really awesome.  I was hesitant about coming in today because I felt tired and out of it; I haven’t slept well this weekend after a poor-outcome veterinary emergency.  I am, however, very glad I came.  

I was actually kinda psyched when I saw the WOD:  the final WOD from the Crossfit Games last year.  Look at all those rope climbs!  Love it!od.  I love bodyweight movements!  I’m not as enormously strong as some of our mighty Competitors, but I’m pretty good at moving myself around, and I feel pretty cool about that.  I was all excited to go Rx and crush this, but those top weights are a little iffy for me.  My 1RM C&J is 125, and I jerked 145 once, and I was certainly game to test myself, but Niki reigned me in a little.  Thank God.  ‘Cause that was hard, and the rope climbs were killer.  But I felt awesome.  Powerful.  In command.  I get an “I feel great” WOD about once every two weeks.  

Anyway, great WOD tonight.

I know it has been a couple weeks. I’ll write about my Throwdown Competition experience tomorrow.  I did have an awesome time at Throwdown, and I learned a lot about myself.  Good stuff!

Rest assured, since my last post, I’ve been good.  Eating clean and all, except for a 8 oz of Mountain Dew post-Throwdown, and another 20 oz the next day.  Again I say, THAT’S MY CHEAT?  Pathetic!

Today’s WOD:  

5 rope climbs (15′)

5 Clean and Jerk, 95 lbs.

4 rope climbs

4 C&J 105

3 rope climbs

3 C&J 115

2 rope climbs 

2 C&J 125

1 rope climb

1 C&J 135  (PR)

11:00.   probably could’ve shaved 30 seconds off this, but whatever.  It was hard.

Tabata Grasshoppers.  I didn’t count.  but they sucked.

 

Food today:  

Early snack:  1 cup 2% milk. (3:30?)

4:45:  pork, asparagus, and sweet red pepper stir fry w/ 1 cup brown rice.  1 pint whole milk. yum!

Post WOD:  1 shake w/ 1 scoop Progenex recovery and 1 scoop more muscle.  1 pint coconut water.

dinner:  3 large trees of steamed broccoli.  2 square-cut-pizza sized (fooled you) crustless quiche w/ sausage, mushrooms, and spinach.  1 cup drinking chocolate w/ 1/2 coconut milk and 1/2 whole milk.

 

Great day!  I’m still doing Intermittent Fasting, and I’m loving it!  I think it’s working really well for me, and to prove it, I’ve seen some significant PRs this week, to go along with my WOD shorts fitting looser!  

Anyway, there it is.  More thoughts written tomorrow!

my posterior chain is uncomfortable.

Technically I think this means I have a pain in my ass, though it’s actually my hamstrings giving me grief this week.  For years my quads and hams and bum have been woefully underdeveloped.  I had a very real problem growing up, that being one of my knees would dislocate with very particular movements and angles, and would sublux with others.  Specifically, it would dislocate with certain squat/push motions, and would sublux oddly with leg curls and similar.  What this means practically is, even being a catcher when I played softball, that I did a lot of very careful transitions in ranges of motion that were comfortable/safe for me, leaving many of my muscles sadly underdeveloped.

Thus, my sad little deadlifts and nearly non-existent hamstrings.    Enter Strongman.

Two weeks ago, at my first real Strongman class, I learned to lift and elevate kegs, the lighter of which I can even motivate to my shoulder and beyond.  The heaviest was a bear, but I enjoyed chucking up into the air as far as I could via forceful hip extension.  At least, I enjoyed it until the next day, when I could barely walk for the stretch in my hammies, who wondered in tandem what had just happened.  Last week with Keg Carry and Farmer Walk wasn’t as bad, but I followed it up this weekend with consecutive days of heck.   Allow me to elaborate.

Saturday I did GymNasty, one of my favorites, and Kia always leads me through bad bad things that I willingly do to myself.  This included ring pull-ups (3×5) with weighted abmat situps (3×10 with 45 lbs),  crab walks, bear walks,  and DUs.  The WOD at the end was horrible and left me feeling terribly sluggish, what with more DUs, burpee boxjumps (because burpees aren’t bad enough), and T2B.  Cat showed up exactly on time to teach me Atlas Stones in a little one-on-one, and it was awesome, but really really hard.  See aforementioned statements about posterior chain, which was already toasted after rounds of heavy squats, heavy deads, heavy KB swings, and boxjumps earlier in the week.   I also removed the skin from the inside of both forearms, an apparent normal consequence of lifting concrete orbs.  I got the 115 up to my shoulder and 130 up to nearly chest.   Awesome.    One-on-one lessons are wearing because you’re not waiting for everybody else to cycle through the generally large class; it’s just you standing there while Cat stares at you.  Extra fun.   Special thanks to Cat, though, for showing up and teaching me the fine art of lifting odd things.   I’m hooked.  I am.  Can’t keep me away.

I’m not going to go into my Food experience over the weekend, except to say that I stayed strict except during the game.  Saturday included Eggs, bacon, steak, pineapple, broccoli, protein, and coconut water.   Sunder looked much the same except during the game, when we opted for iffy  veggie chips (baked, but with “natural flavors”), salsa, and guacamole.  And Mountain Dew.  Not as much as I thought I would, which is good, and I hadn’t planned on a lot, which is better.   And I felt fine today, which is also great.  I drank a decent amount of water and coconut water post-game in hopes of washing out the Dew.  It was fine.  and completely worth it.

 

Funny, I don’t feel very crossfit…

Long nights at work make for tired Sonya the following day, no matter how much I try to catch up prior to going out.  I didn’t sleep much at all last night (<45 minutes), and I slept for several hours this morning and afternoon, but interruptions happen.  Salesmen call (why do they call when everybody else is at work too?).  Things happen.  Anyway, I got up and dragged in and actually felt pretty good about getting out to exercise.  Through the Russian Gymnastics warm-up, and I’m feeling good.  Exciting, right?   And I’m going to hit this bad boy Rx.  I’m psyched.  Got through those first 15 and in my head I hit a wall – the world was moving in slow-motion — and I thought, very slowly, “Oh.  My.  God.  This is.  TOO. Heavy.”  Doubt ensues:  Should I tell Kia to bring me a lighter Kettlebell?  What if I don’t finish?  

Fortunately for me Jay apparently noticed me dragging and came over and offered gentle encouragement, as in yelling at me to pick up that bar.  “Come on, Sonya!  You’re not that tired!”    Kia joined in.  People cheered.  I was just beat.  I had a hard time believing in myself right then.  I felt worn and defeated, but Jay and Kia and all my friends carried me forth.  That self-confidence is really hard for me sometimes, definitely a serious weakness for me.  I was glad I went heavy today, though, and I really appreciated the strength of coaching tonight.

I sat through the meeting post-WOD with Jay talking, and he talked about my very difficulty, and I felt like he was talking to me.  I need to step up my “I can do it!”  Lot of work to do there, but, hey, add it to the list of sucks.  Keep working, and it’ll get better.   

Right now, though, I’m tired.  I’m questionably underfed, if only because I got distracted once I got home.  I might pay for that tomorrow.  Fortunately, tomorrow’s an early day.  Gymnasty, followed by a private StrongMan lesson with Cat.  I’m so excited!     

Here’s the uninteresting:  

Thursday’s Food:

17:30:  1 cup whole milk.

1 quart chicken with broccoli and carrots, steamed, and 1 pint rice, 1/2 at @ 19:30 and 1/2 at 22:30.

 

Friday:  

food:  Post-WOD:  1 SFH shake  1 cup coconut water

19:45:  3/4 lb carrots.  2 tbsp almond butter (to slow down those carrots).

23:00:  5 eggs, scrambled, w/ 2 slices bacon.  1 SFH shake.  1 cup pineapple, extremely fresh.  1 cup drinking chocolate in coconut water.

 

WOD:  Gymnastics Warm-up Day 1

5 rounds

5 HSPU

Frog Stand x10 seconds

3 rounds 

5 pistols (each leg)

5 glute/back extensions

===============

presses   3-3-3   65/85/95      95 is 1RM for me.  Sexy!

===============

15-12-9-6

power snatch  (65)

KB swing  (53 lb)

7:49

 

Jay is right;  I expect I let myself run down more than I was this tired.  I need to believe in myself more.  Nonetheless, this is nothing to be ashamed of, I feel.  As Rx, and I did it!

Willpower:  10 and awesome.  I am LOVING Intermittent Fasting, even though I’m still getting into the swing of it.  Quantities are a little tough to gauge, but keeping the times flexible is easy, and the food is fantastic.  It even has me drinking more water!

 

WOD cancelled due to sinkhole.

Indirectly, anyway.   I had a late trip at work that I had hoped to make it back from in time to WOD.  Albany to Springfield, pick up at 2.   If I hurry…  so we get there early, load up quick, drive out, drop off the patient, and…. sit in traffic.  45 minutes to drive 4 miles.  A sinkhole had opened up and sucked in 4 cars last night; consequently, traffic was F***’ed, and I punched out at 7.  Seems pretty pointless to show up to WOD at 7:30.

Anyway, I did come home and do most of the gymnastics warm-up (Intermediate, but no back extensions) and the WOD except for the OHS, since my ceiling is too low to allow overhead anythings.  Still, great workout, especially all those pistols!

Here it is!

Food:  

5pm:  1 small orange  (yum!), 1 tbsp almond butter, 1/2 lb baby carrots, 1 More Muscle shake. 

post-WOD:  1 SFH protein shake.

dinner:  probably 4 eggs, 2 broccoli trees.  consider avocado?  Probably some drinking chocolate.

 

workout:  

warmup:

5 rounds

5 HSPU

10 second frog stands

5 rounds

5 pistols, each leg.

 

WOD:  5 rounds

15 front squats (65)

15 burpees

DNF:  4 rounds + 5

 

Armstrong pull-up day 2.

Willpower:  10 and strong!  I’m feeling great, despite occasional ups and downs whilest I figure out this intermittent fasting thing.  So glad my boyfriend is eating clean with me.  Very supportive!

Gratifyingly heavy.

I’m not gonna say I was breaking any records today, that’s for sure.  But I wasn’t THAT far below Rx, and I didn’t do bad.  Not great, but not bad.  I don’t squat as often as I should, a pattern I am actively trying to improve, and so while I scaled a bit and perhaps could have gone even slightly closer, I was happy with my squats today.  That low back position also wreaks havoc with my shoulder ROM, but I try not to think of it too much while I work; I was very unfortunately reminded of that stretch when I did the follow-up burpees, and promptly fell to the ground because my arms wouldn’t catch me.  Exciting!

Today was also a little odd because I’ve been doing this Intermittent Fasting thing and, frankly, really liking it.  It wasn’t a choice today, since I ended up on a long-distance ambulance trip, and there’s always a meal involved in that.  The trip was early, the crew hits a restaurant afterward, then returns.    The only real difficulty I’m still working on with the IF is quantity:  how much to eat when.  I know what not enough feels like.   Today I found out what too much pre-WOD feels like.  Ugh.   It was Red Robin, and I went bunless, though I did have some steak fries (tubers are legal in Primal, and I stayed away from the ketchup.  I was good.).   To my dismay Red Robin no longer offers Sweet Potato.  Sad.   Anyway, I went into today’s WOD all gassy and concerned I might yak.  Which I did not.  I did okay, but it was an unfamiliar feeling, and so perhaps less would have been more.

I still finished, though, and my relatively heavy deads and back squats felt great, actually.

I still have my pull-ups tonight, and I’ve got a steak upstairs to get to, and some more foam and fish oil, ’cause my low back is kinda wrecked.  Here’s the score for the day:

Food:

~11:00   1 quart whole milk over ~45 minutes.   1 square dark chocolate with some almond butter.

~3:30   1 Bunless mushroom and swiss burger,  1 potato worth of steak fries.  1 cup broccoli, steamed.

post-WOD:  1 SFH shake.   1 cup coconut water.

Dinner to come:  6 oz steak, rare.  big tree of broccoli, steamed.  maybe 2.

 

WOD:

Part 1

30 bodyweight back squats  (145, scaled to 125)

30 burpees.

didn’t see the time.  Not fast.

Part 2

5 rounds

7 deadlifts  185  (scaled to 175.  awesome, right?)

14 box jumps  20″

9:15

foam.  3 rounds max-rep push-ups.

I’ve got 5 rounds max deadhang pullups tonight, too.  I’ll edit those later.

Strongman fascinaletes me.

Seriously.   I spent an hour on Sunday carrying kegs and Farmer’s Walk handles up and down the triple.  And I loved it.  And I wished I had my shoes.  (Really?  Did I say that?  Seriously?)  When you’re carrying heavy things, especially for speed, that land-on-the-forefoot walk barefooters like so much is largely impossible.  So, could’ve done with my Minimus.   I will say, though, I am completely intrigued by the class and can’t wait to find out what the next toy will be!  I’m fascinated by the simplicity of the idea of Atlas spheres, big cement balls, and the things you do with them!  Continental lift?  Excellent!  Who knows what I’ll be fumbling around with next?

So I did GymNasty on Saturday, which I always love.  Guided practice moving one’s own bodyweight around.  Extremely practical and fulfilling, with success built in:  as you get stronger and lose weight, your strength-to-weight ratio invariably improves.  It HAS to get better, and that’s palpable.  Beside which, I have a personal little thrill in being upside-down.  Those flips and hand-balancing and such give me a particular exhilarated thrill that’s hard to match.  I considered doing the WOD after Gymnasty, but the 10 o’clock was crammed because the 11 was cancelled, and it was just too crowded for me.  

As for food for the weekend, I’ve been good.  I know there was a lot of steamed broccoli and steak, and there’s nothing wrong with that at all.  I’m still not drinking enough water, but I”m consciously trying to improve that.   And been sticking to the intermittent fast, limiting my grazing periods to what I’ve got between a WOD and bed, to a maximum of 8 hours.  I was a little wound up and off my game on Sunday evening, and I far too little food, which left me kinda grumbly-hungry all day today.  I gave in and had an apple with almond butter around 4;  I was just running down.  Kept to my 8 hours anyway, and it had become apparent I wasn’t going to make the WOD, so it mattered less.  I have been sticking to WODing fasted, and I think I like it.

For food:

4:30 the aforementioned apple.

7:15:  1 tbsp almond butter.

10:00:  3/4 tomato.  4 small mozzarella cheese balls in olive oil.  5 oz steak.  3/4 cup steamed broccoli.

11:30:   1 1/2 tomato in olive oil.   6 oz steak.  1 cup hot drinking chocolate w/ coconut water.  

I really crammed in the tomatoes and the steak.  apparently, for me, eating until I’m really full is critical for tomorrow and for recovery.  At least there’s lots of vegetables about.  My boyfriend has been awesome in the Keeping Vegetables in the House realm.  There’s also plenty of steak left for tomorrow.  Awesome.  

Hopefully WOD tomorrow.  Bedtime now.

Willpower:  Holding strong at 10!  I have goals!  Strongman!  Gymnasty!  Grrrrr!