Back From London and Back to Paleo!

So I got back from London last Friday after a grueling 3 week trip for work.  I was only able to get to a CrossFit (CrossFit Central London) twice -- the last Saturday and Sunday I was there.  Other than that, I stuck with the hotel gym, which was an LA Fitness.

The good part was that I was able to try a lot of new movements/skills on the two days I was able to train at CFCL.  We did sandbag carries with a sandbag weighing about 60 kg and then a metcon involving kettlebell snatches and supine ring rows, neither of which I've ever done in a WOD.  It's a little surprising that 2 years into CrossFit I'm still brand new to some of these skills!  The other accomplishment was increasing my press max to 42 kg (92.4 lbs).  Still not to the 95 lb -- let alone triple digit -- benchmark, but I'm getting closer.  My workouts since getting back are below:

10/16/10

Team WOD at WCCF

In teams of 4, 1 set of partners works on the first 6-set metcon and the other works on the second 6-set metcon.  Switch during the 5 minute rest.

6 sets each (1 minute on/1 minute off):
3 hang squat cleans (65#)
5 box jumps
- 5 minute rest -
6 sets each (1 minute on/1 minute off):
3 pull ups
6 jumping lunges

Total team reps: 962

10/17/10

Soccer Game

No subs, so this was a good way to try to get my legs back from the long flight.  It seriously takes my muscles a week to get back to normal after those trans-Atlantic flights.

10/19/10

Back to CFC!

Deadlift: 135 x 10, 185 x 5, 225 x 3, 255 x 3, 275 x 1, 295 x 1, 315 x 1, 325 x 1 (stopped there)

3 rounds:
15 hang power clean (95#)
15 burpees
5:30

I was tempted to go for more on the deadlift, but I already had a ripped hand from Saturday's workout and didn't want it to re-rip before the metcon.  As it was, I had to tape it up before I started the cleans.  My back and legs still weren't feeling back to 100% either. 

As of the 19th, I'm also in for the Paleo Challenge and am on a team with Scott and Emi.  Yay!  I'll post my food log in the next post.  This one is already too long.

Hanging in There

Today marks Day 22 of the Velocity Diet, and I'm still alive.  Woo!  I've maintained about 80-90% compliance on the diet, although Dave and I have implemented solid meals with the same protein-fat-carb breakdown as our dinners a few times a week.  I know that takes away from some of what the people who market that diet so fanatically advocate, but from reading other V-Dieter's blogs, this alteration is VERY common and still produces pretty much the same results.  The whole point of the V-Diet is mental discipline and strictly portioned meals, and if the solid food comes in those exact proportions, you're accomplishing the same thing.  Sorry, T-Nation.  ;)

I have been really busy at work, so the blog posting has been less frequent than I'd like, as have the weigh-ins and measurements.  I will do another weigh in and measurement next week to check my progress.  A lot of changes apparently happen during the 2 week period following the initial 28 day super strict timeframe, but everyone responds differently.

As far as MY progress: Physically, my weight has fluctuated day to day (like usual), but overall I'm down about 6-7 lbs.  I've lost more in the way of inches than anything else.  My clothes fit more loosely, and I noticed that my bodyweight exercises like pull ups and rings feel easier.  It's amazing what a small weight fluctuation can do to those movements!  In terms of energy and attitude, it's been rough.  I get tired in the afternoons due to the very low carb levels, and I really don't like "meal" times because I dread the shakes.  They really don't taste bad; I'm just freakin' SICK of them. 

I'll just do a catch-up summary of a couple of my workouts below and add more as I find time:

9/2/10 Workout

Quads Gym

Warm Up: high incline walking - 15 min. (I was feeling particularly sluggish this day and needed to loosen up a lot)

Good Mornings (in kg): 20 x 10, 30 x 5, 35 x 8, 40 x 8

Press (in kg): 30 x 5, 35 x 3, 40 x 2

Note: I have been doing presses a lot lately, and there is some interesting anecdotal evidence from Dan John that women should be pressing every day.  Check it:

"'Press more' in terms of volume, of course…women should press probably every day, doing something in a pressing movement. I didn’t say heavy, I didn’t say 100 reps. In the same vein, wom[e]n should stop stretching all the time. They are predisposed to flexibility, yet lack in pressing strength. No, for total candor, I like the female design and I am not being critical. My point is that everyone likes to play to their strengths and ignore their weaknesses. Women need to press. Women tend to have a narrow shoulder base vis-à-vis the waist and it is difficult to press with that issue. I would argue that a guy can get away with just one press in his program, but a woman should master every variation they can find. I have had some great insights, by the way, from training women, as working with this 'problem' has given me some insights to improve my own lifting. So, I decided to add more variation into my training and it has made it more fun and more productive."

Source: http://www.begin2dig.com/2010/06/pressing-matters-wee-chat-with-dan-john.html

3 Round Circuit:

Incline Single Arm DB Press: 25 # x 10 each earm

25 Sit Ups

9/3/10 Workout

CrossFit

Squats (5-5-5): Bar x 10, 145 x 5, 165 x 5, 190 x 5 --> felt WEAK.  Ugh.

MetCon (rx'ed): my breakdowns of reps are listed after rep scheme

30 Pull ups -- 23-4-3

30 Front squats (65#) -- 19-6-5

30 Kettlebell swings (35#) -- unbroken

1k Row

8:19

Shorter Time Domains

The recommendations for the first 28 days of the Velocity Diet are to focus on lifting 3 times a week, general active behavior (long walks are encouraged), and limited cardio.  I was trying to ignore that last bit for awhile, but after how Sunday's soccer game made me feel, I acknowledged that it probably makes sense to focus on shorter duration metcon -- at least for now.  A calorie restrictive diet based mostly on protein doesn't do much for one's cardio energy, and I'm learning that lesson.

9/1/10 Workout

Press 5-5-5+ (60-70-80%):

55 - 63 - 72 x 15

21-18-15-12-9-6-3:

SDHP (55 lb)

Push Press (55 lb)

6:48

The rest of the 7 PM class was doing a FGB variation that was taking people anywhere from 13 - 20+  minutes, so I went with a shorter metcon that still focused on 2 of the key FGB movements.  Workout went pretty well; the round of 21 was unbroken.  I got a bit lightheaded toward the end, but overall I felt alright.  

 

Post WOD:

One-handed handstands

Butterfly pull ups: got 10 in a row, then 8 (rhythm was solid on the first set but fell off on the 2nd)

 

Confession #1: I missed 2 of my shakes during the day because I got buried with other work and tightly scheduled conference calls, so I was at a severe calorie deficit for the workout.  I really have to make sure I get the shakes in, even if they are starting to make me gag just thinking about them...

Confession #2: Dave and I used the same macro nutrient breakdowns as the "dinner shake" after the workout (40g protein, 20g fat, 10g carb), but we made salmon and green beans instead because my momma was in town, and I'd feel like a horrific hostess making her drink a shake for dinner after she drove all the way here (with a bunch of our wedding gifts in tow)!  Dave and I have talked some about subbing in a solid meal every few days -- just for dinner -- if the headaches and stomachaches don't subside.  A lot of V-Dieters have used that modification with pretty much the same results.  We'll see what happens. 

7 Days Complete

I've survived 7 days on the Velocity Diet so far, and I'm still going.  I wouldn't exactly call it going "strong", but I'm slogging through.  I'm battling a lot of boredom already, and I have gotten a few headaches.  The shakes are no longer treats, and my stomach turns a bit when it comes time for another meal, but I have always had a reactive stomach and am not that surprised.  Haven't been able to get away from the office in time for CrossFit yet this week, but the plan is to go tonight. 

On Sunday, I had my team's championship soccer game.  I play for a pretty high level league in the city over at the Rauner YMCA on Western.  Our halves for the championship were 35 minutes, and WOW did I feel it.  We only had 1 female sub, so I had maybe a 5 minute break each half.  Normally this isn't much of an issue, but I now understand why the V-Diet advises that you don't engage in long, high intensity cardio.  I was utterly drained.  Luckily, the team we were playing in the finals didn't pack too much of a punch, and we won either 8 or 9 to 1. 

Sunday also marked Dave's and my very first HSM (healthy solid meal) of the 28 day diet, so as soon as I got back from the game, we headed to Whole Foods to do some damage.  The great part of the HSM is that you don't have to worry about quantity at all -- just HIGH QUALITY food.  So here's what we did:

Appetizer (Dave did this on a whim since the oven was taking too damn long to get to 350 degrees)
Seared steak with some salsa tossed in -- We ate this right out of the pan.  Yeah, we were excited for solid food.

Dinner
Chilean sea bass filet -- oven roasted with butter, salt, pepper
1/2 baked sweet potato -- mashed with cinnamon and a little butter
Sauteed green beans and red peppers

Dessert
Sliced pineapple

We were so stuffed after this meal that both of us were completely dazed for the rest of the evening.  The bad thing was that we were so full that we missed our bedtime shakes.  Oh well.

I weighed myself this morning (morning of Day 8), and I've lost 4 lbs so far.  I am going to try to drink more water today to see how that impacts the headaches, nausea, and general lack of energy.

Thursday's Workout: Sectionals WOD #3

One of my first ever muscle ups!

8/26/10

After posting twice yesterday, I figured I'd wait a bit to post my recap of Thursday's workout and diet to avoid blog overkill.

Muscle Ups:
5 pre WOD
5 post WOD

Didn't manage to string any together this time around, although I got about 3/4 of the way there on 2 of them.

Sectionals WOD #3:
5 min row - 72
4 min box jump - 90
3 min hang snatch (45 lb) - 14
2 min wall ball (14 lb) - 33
1 min HSPUs - 0

Feb. 2010 total: 176
8/26/10 total: 209

This would have placed me 23rd in the event at Sectionals.  I don't remember what my breakdowns were in each of those exercises, but I know my score was substantially higher on box jumps.  Bryce told me I should have stopped earlier on the hang snatch to grab some more wall ball reps, and I'm sure he's right.  Either way, it was another big improvement.  Just have to get those HSPUs!!!

So, here's my breakdown from the 3 workouts, using the scoring method from Sectionals:
Air Force WOD: 7:00 min --> 420 pts
Ground to Overhead: 36 reps --> -180 pts
5-4-3-2-1: 209 pts --> -209 pts
Total: 31 pts

Therefore, with those scores, I would have placed 3rd overall in Sectionals.  I know you can never compare scores from one point in time to those from another (everyone has improved, different conditions, etc.), but that is nonetheless eye-opening for me and REALLY lights a fire under my ass for next year.  Bring it on.

Diet Update:
Day 2 of the V-Diet was mostly uneventful.  My energy has still been high throughout the day.  By eating roughly every three hours, I am not only never hungry but also avoid any crashes.  I think the casein in each shake really helps since it's such a slow-digesting protein.

Dave and I did indulge a smidgen with 2 of our friends by having a bit of tequila with soda water and unsweetened lemon juice.  I had 2 weak glasses and promptly fell asleep.  I had to wake up for my bedtime shake, which I'm glad I did since that's my favorite of the meals (the bedtime shake contains 2 tbsp of natural nut butter...yummmmmmmmmm)!

Newlyweds vs. The Velocity Diet: An Introduction

The Guinea Pigs: on our honeymoon in Barbados

So, Dave and I have decided to embark on the infamous Velocity Diet, which is essentially a 28 day all-liquid protein fast.  This was Dave's plan, and, being the supportive brand new wife that I am, I let him talk me into joining him.  Here goes nothing...

My diet breakdown is here: http://velocity.t-nation.com/programs/vdiet30/downloads/V-DietMenu1.pdf

The "Superfood" is comprised of a crapload of fruit and veggie extracts.

The "Flameout" supplement is fish oil.  The diet site also calls for a specific thermogenic (Hot Rox), but Dave and I are substituting Nitor for it.  We're also adding a fiber supplement.

We eat 6 liquid meals a day, with a post-workout drink on workout days.  Once a week, we get an "HSM" (healthy solid meal).  It's not a cheat, though.  The point of the diet--apart from being a brutal mental challenge--is to shed weight quickly but also to develop a different approach to eating.  What I've seen from people's logs and discussions is that post-dieters tend not to have as much of a sweet tooth and make healthier, cleaner food choices.  All of this sounds great to me.

So far, I'm midway through Day 2 and feeling good.  I haven't felt fatigued, and I haven't missed real food...yet.  Dave is convinced that I'll still make strength gains even on a strict diet like this since I'll be getting so much more protein than I usually do on a daily basis.

We'll see how the Sectionals Workout #3 feels tonight.  I felt good doing the strength work yesterday combined with the short (5 min) met con, so it will be interesting to see how the V-Diet affects me on a somewhat longer time domain.

Wish us luck!

Revisiting the Sectional WODs - Workouts 1 & 2

This week at CFC we've been attacking the WODs from the Sectionals in February 2010.  This was a sore subject for me since I fared so poorly at Sectionals back in February after having spent the last 6 months traveling non-stop and battling illness throughout the month of January.  I was in a bad place, and my performance showed it.  I know that my conditioning, strength, and body composition have all vastly improved since February, but I still get knots in my stomach anticipating these workouts.

8/23/10

Press 5-3-1+ (70-80-90% of 1RM)
63 x 5
72 x 3
81 x 7

It's time to get that 1 rep max higher than 90 lbs.  Need to hit pressing more often.

Sectionals Workout #1: The Air Force WOD
20 min. cap
Women's Rx: 65 lbs
Start with 4 burpees, then do 4 burpees on the minute until all 5 movements are complete.
20 thrusters
20 SDHPs
20 push press
20 OHS
20 front squats

Feb. 2010 time: DNF -- went decently fast until I hit OHS (around the 8 minute mark I think), and then I couldn't control my legs and got too dizzy to stand after a burpee.  My body essentially shut down, and I ended up on the floor surrounded by medical personnel with a bottomed out blood pressure.  Not quite the auspicious start to Sectionals I had been hoping for, to say the least.

8/23/10 time: 7:00

Quite the improvement.  Would have been 4th place going purely by Sectionals results, although I have no doubt that everyone has improved since then.  Still, it felt great.

8/25/10

Deadlift 5-3-1+ (70-80-90% of 1 RM)
(warmed up with 135 x 10, 185 x 5)
245 x 5
280 x 3
315 x 5

315 felt heavier than I'd anticipated.  Note that I used my 350 lb 1 RM, although the heaviest I've gone lately is 345.  Hoping to try for 355 or 360 after I finish the Velocity Diet (more on that later).

Sectionals Workout #2: AMRAP 5 Minutes Ground to Overhead
Women's Rx: 105#

Feb. 2010: 24

8/25/10: 36

I was shooting for 30 on this and was surprised by how easy--and quickly--the first 15 reps flew up.  I focused on resting the bar at my shoulders for as little time as possible because I tend to lose my breath faster the longer I hold the bar in the clean.  Split jerked the last 2 or 3.  This would have been good enough for 6th place based on Sectionals results. 

Wednesday was my first day of doing the Velocity Diet (more info here and here), too, which is my 28 day "protein fast" challenge that I've embarked on with my husband.  It was his idea, and he convinced me to join him.  My energy level felt good, and I wasn't hungry at all throughout the day.  In fact, it felt like I was having to force feed myself to "eat" (i.e. drink a shake) every 3 hours as prescribed.  The post-workout shake was too sweet, so I'll have to water that sucker down next time.

Back At It

I know a lot of my CFC brethren stopped blogging after Sectionals, and I was one of them.  The primary reason was that I was so disappointed with my Sectionals performance that I wanted to distance myself from it for awhile.

Well, the CF 2010 Games are over, and it's time for a whole new year of training.  Maybe this time around I can spend some more time in the States so that I can stay healthy and hit up the box as often as I'd like!

I have met some goals in the past 6 months, so I'll recap them here:

Bench 1 RM: 150 lbs

Press 1 RM: 90 lbs

Note that this is not really a milestone, and I'm not HAPPY to only be pressing this weight.  Still, it's an improvement from being stuck at 85-87 for so long.

Squat 1 RM: 245 lbs

The most I've ever squatted was 275 lbs, but I weighed about 15 lbs more than I do right now, so I've had to accept the decrease in strength.

Strict Muscle Ups: I can get them one at a time, FINALLY!

Multiple Muscle Ups: By "multiple" I mean 2 with a kip.  Hey, progress is progress.

Hotel Gym Workouts = Pure Exhibitionism

So, the entire first week at the London office involved work hours too long to get to the hotel gym before it closed, so I spent a few minutes each evening after dinner doing various basic moves to try to get some kind of workout.  I was also working another 3 hours back at my hotel each night, so sleep quality deteriorated massively.

In my hotel room, I did sets of sit ups, push ups, squats, and HSPUs onto a throw pillow.  I didn't dare try anything higher impact because the hotel we always stay in on these trips, while gorgeous, is over 100 years old and has lots of creaks.  I can't say my downstairs neighbors would have appreciated me doing burpees at 2:00 AM.

Finally got to the hotel gym for a workout on Saturday, which was crowded with people on the cardio machines as well as some painfully deluded dudes working on "full body curls" (bicep curls which involve lots of pelvic thrusting and back arching to get the weight up) in front of the mirror.  When I gravitate over to the weights, I always get a fair amount of looks because women working in the squat rack is apparently something that is just not *done* here in the UK.  Just wait til I started doing pull ups and burpees....

1/23/10 Workout

Press (kg): 15 x 10, 25 x 5, 30 x 5, 35 x 3, 35 x 3
Deadhang Pull Ups: 3-3-3-3-3
Clean (1x) & Push Jerks (kg): 35 x 5, 40 x 5, 45 x 5
Burpees: 10
Push Ups: 10

Did this in a circuit, so the pull ups, burpees, and push ups were thrown in between sets of the press and the jerk.

Then I ran up 5 flights of stairs from the gym to the hotel room to get ready for a fantastic 10 hours in the office.

London Week 1 Diet

I have maintained a lot of discipline here despite the lack of paleo-friendly food choices and the fact that every meal is prepared by someone else.  Breakfast at the Exec Lounge in the hotel typically consists of a piece of smoked salmon and a piece of cold turkey, a pinch of sunflower seeds, and a slice or two of whatever fruit was available.

Lunch is almost always a salad of some kind.  They use a lot of bitter greens in their salads in London, which I find awful, but my other choices are deep fried everything or meat pies drowning in gravy.  Yummm.

Snacks consist of fruit or these chili cashews from Pret, which are tasty but have a few too many ingredients to be considered truly paleo.  I'm definitely eating more fruit in London than recommended, but given the limited access to veggies other than on salads, I'm making do.

Dinner has actually been the easiest.  I usually just order a cut of meat and a salad.  I've been having wine with the meal, but after the days we work, it's necessary!  My work colleagues have been really supportive of the food choices, although I don't think any of them are going to give up bread any time soon.  Oh well, that means less for me to lust after, right?

Makeshift workout at Heathrow?

So I am on my second full day in London and have managed to avoid dietary disaster for the most part.  Unfortunately I've been up til almost 4 AM both Monday and Tuesday nights between work on another case and still being on Chicago time.  Haven't been able to get to the hotel gym yet, but I've done extensive walking around with the co-workers.  Monday night's "workout" was a 20 minute haulin' ass speedwalk through Heathrow (including a flight of stairs) from the gate to customs.  Instead of a weight vest, I had my purse as well as the trusty backpack filled with workpapers and my laptop.  I made it my mission to beat everyone in front of me, and I am proud to say I prevailed.  I guess no one else in Business Class was a CrossFitter.  I win!  Granted, most of the other folks in line at customs gave me odd looks when I arrived flushed and panting but victorious.  The border patrol agent also told me to "behave" after he checked my passport and cleared me to enter the UK.  Not sure how he could have gleaned that much insight about me from my ID, but oh well.

In other news, my knee is still getting back to normal after the flight.  Transatlantic flights really affect my ACL knee, and it doesn't start feeling right again until a few days later.  It must be the changes in pressure combined with not fully extending it for most of the trip.

I'm hopeful that I will get a workout in at the gym tonight or tomorrow morning.  At the very least, I'll work on push ups, sit ups, and squats in the hotel room. 

So Anxious

I'll be working in London from January 18 - 29, and I am petrified.  I know that sounds bizarre, but my fear arises because every trip I take to London ends up hurting my progress.  We end up working long hours which precludes trips to the hotel gym or the London CrossFit boxes, and the food choices in the UK are, in a word, horrendous.  Perfect recipe for Sectionals prep, right?

1/12/10 Workout: 6 AM

January 12th marked my embarking on my 6 AM Odyssey, in which I will try to fit at least 2 6 AM classes into each week.  Rudy challenged me to make the commitment and to post it, so here it is.  My work schedule has made consistent attendance at the 7 PM classes next to impossible, so the only way to keep up training is to throw a couple morning classes into the mix. 

2k Row

8:39.4

Pathetic.  My previous 2k row times were 8:16 and 8:06, so this is terrible for me.  My CNS was fried from the CrossFit Total less than 12 hours before, but I still shouldn't have sucked so badly.

1/15/10 Workout: 6 AM

Snatch Balances

53 x 3, 73 x 3, 83 x 3

3 Rounds (3 min rest in between)

20 pull ups - 30 push ups - 40 sit ups  - 50 squats

Time: 3:34 - 11:03 - 18:17

Breakdown per round: 3:34 - 4:39 - 4:14

The most pull ups I was able to string together was 17, which isn't great but was better than what I expected given that this was my first pull up workout in over a month since battling the bicep injury.  Push ups were broken up, but I made sure every one was legit (chest to ground -- freaking slamming the ground if need be). 

As for diet, I'm keeping my food log in a notebook and will probably add periodic posts to this blog, but the blog won't be the primary logging point since I can't update this at work.

Fingers are crossed that the London trip isn't a big step backward...

CrossFit Total!

Day 1 of the Paleo+ Challenge started Monday, and we also had our CrossFit Total to set the benchmark for the challenge.  My last CFT was back in March I think, so I was really looking forward to seeing how my numbers changed.

Prior CFT (March 2009)
Squat: 210
Press: 85
Deadlift: 350
Total: 645

Since then, I increased my squat max to 225, but I had stagnated on both the press and deadlift.

1/11/10 Workout -- CrossFit Total

Going into the workout, I really wasn't sure how I would do.  I had eaten paleo during the day but hadn't gotten enough to eat, so Kerry graciously gave me a spare ThinkThin protein bar.  As it turned out, my energy and strength really felt great once I started the workout.

Squat: 135 - 175 - 200 - 215 - 235 - 245f

Squats felt easy.  235 went up pretty quickly, and I was able to get about 2/3 of the way back up to vertical with 245, but I just couldn't stand all the way up.

Press: 70 - 80 - 85 - 87 - 90f - 90f

FINALLY broke through the 85 lb barrier.  I know it's only by 2 pounds, but I feel like I conquered a huge frustration of mine.  90 almost went up both times, but my right arm hindered me.  I got the bar up with the left side relatively easily, but I got all lopsided with the right arm still much more bent.

Deadlift: 185 - 205 - 240 - 305 - 325 - 335

This is 15 lbs shy of my CrossFit PR (best all time was 370, but I was heavier then and used a belt, too), but I wasn't too upset that I didn't try for it.  I used a lot of energy on squats tonight, so I was not surprised that deadlift suffered.  I have eliminated the arm jerk at the beginning of the lift that I used to do, but I am still struggling with the lockout at the top.  What concerned me was that 335 felt SO damn heavy to get off the floor.  Getting the bar off the floor isn't usually my problem.  It just messed with my head, but I need to get over it.

New CFT (January 11, 2010)
Squat: 235
Press: 87
Deadlift: 335
Total: 657

12 lb improvement over last time.  Still room to get more!

1/11/10 Nutrition

I haven't decided whether I will track every day here or what, but here is what I did for Day 1:

7 AM: 6 cashews, 2 shortbread triangles (finishing off the Christmas cookies...bye bye refined carbs)

11 AM: 16 oz hot tea (vanilla almond), black -- not adding cream or splenda was a massive accomplishment for me

1:30 PM: spinach salad w/ organic chicken, broccoli, carrots, bell peppers, red onion, sliced almonds, cherry tomatoes, EVOO, balsamic vinegar

3:30 - 4 PM snacking: hard boiled egg, carrots, broccoli, 1 tsp organic ranch dressing

5 PM: 12 oz vanilla black tea

5:45 PM: 1 hard boiled egg

7 - 8 PM: most of a ThinkThin bar (Kerry had a bite)

9:30 - 10:30 PM: 6 cashews, 1 dark chocolate square (90% cacao), 1 fried egg, 4 slices natural salami, sauteed peppers, 1/2 sweet potato (cut into chips and baked in oven with EVOO and cinnamon)

Last Week's Recap

I was swamped at work and wasn't able to keep up with the daily posts last week, so I'm using this mega-post to recap the workouts and feelings associated therewith (oh wow, that was blatant lawyer-speak) in a nutshell.

As mentioned before, I was battling the remnants of an ugly cold last week along with a stupid bicep strain that was interfering with a lot more movements than I anticipated. Pressing, jerking, etc. all felt great going up, but it was the returning the loaded bar to starting position at my shoulders that caused a ton of pain and eventual imbalance and failure on the right side. I took it relatively easy in an effort to avoid doing more damage to the muscle, so I can't help but feel like it was a bit of a waste of a week. On a better note, my diet continued to improve. I had my last hurrah of cheat meals pre-paleo challenge over the weekend and am rarin' to go now that the challenge is in full swing.

Here are my workout summaries from last week:

1/4/10 Workouts

PART I: CFC
Jerks 3-3-3+
98 x 3, 112 x 3, 126 x 3 -- was supposed to go max reps, but the landing of the bar back onto my shoulders hurt too much each time. I started coming down really imbalanced and the pain in my arm was radiating up to my shoulder, so I called it quits after 3 reps.

4 Rounds: 15 KBS (20kg), 15 push press (53#)
5:38
1st 2 rounds were unbroken for both movements. KBS were a sub for pull ups since I couldn't do them due to the arm.

PART II: Quads
After the 7 PM class ended, I was too frustrated to go home, so I went to Quads to meet Dave for another workout. I'm really glad I did this because I was able to work through some of the anger developing regarding my arm, lungs, and general shitty schedule.
Bench Press
Bar x 10, 65 x 10, 75 x 8, 85 x 5, 95 x 5

"Clean" Deadlifts (deadlift with clean form rather than deadlift form; used oly shoes)
60kg x 5, 70kg x 5, 70kg x 5

Hang Snatch Drops (another accessory lift recommended by Roger; start position is legs barely bent)
20kg x 5

1/5/10 Workout

3 x L-Sits for max hold on parallettes (1 min rest)

33s, 30s, 29s

20 Rep Squat @ 140 lbs

Rudy suggested I work on strength endurance and a mentally challenging workout since my arm and lung capacity had me so hindered.  I had heard about the 20 rep squat program, and if anyone's looking for something mentally taxing, that is IT.  Good grief.  Here's the progression of feelings: Around rep 8, you decide you're not having fun anymore.  At rep 11, the legs get very tight and protest every descent, so you try to "fix" the bad feelings by shifting the bar alternately higher and lower on your back.  When you complete rep 14, it dawns on you that the end is near and you're actually capable of finishing the set.  Reps 16 - 20 are all singles, each time willing yourself to stand back up with the weight.  Then, you're done and you can admire the developing bruises on your back and enjoy the lightheadedness.  I finished the set pretty quickly, I think.  My longest breather was about 3 seconds, and I stayed under the bar the whole time.  Phew...

1/9/10 Workouts

PART I: WCS w/ Roger (and Mandie!)

(All weights in kilos here)

Snatch

25 x 3, 30 x 3, 35 x 1-0-1, 40 x 2, 45 x 1, 45 x 1, 45 x 1, 47.5 x 1, 47.5 x 1, 47.5 x 0 (too slow), 47.5 x 1 (good, fast)

Clean & Jerk -- arm felt OK for awhile, but then I had to stop

35 x 3, 40 x 3, 45 x 2, 50 x 2

Jerk -- the upward movement felt great, but bringing the bar back down hurt too much to continue much higher in weight

55 x 1, 60 x 1

Hang Snatch Drops

15 x 3, 25 x 3

Dynamic Start Snatch Work -- Roger is trying to get me to move to a dynamic start on my snatches to avoid losing my power by sitting at the start of the lift for too long

25 x 5, 25 x 3

PART II: CFC

OHS (trying to find 1RM -- previous was 125#)

Bar x 10, 83 x 5, 103 x 1, 123 x 1, 133 x 0 (couldn't get bar up overhead to start), 133 x 1!

Took the bar from the high rack for the successful 133 attempt at Alison's suggestion, which made it much easier.  I need to get better at getting the bar overhead.  It's ridiculous that my OHS has been limited by my ability to get the stupid bar up into position.  IMPROVE THIS.

Pull Ups -- arm was feeling a bit better, so I maybe pushed these farther than I should have

10 kipping, 5 CTB, 5 CTB, 5 CTB (last rep took 3 attempts), 15 kipping (broken into 3s as the arm started fatiguing)

1/10/10 Workout

Bench (find 1RM -- previous best was 135# more than 2 years ago)

Bar x 5, 86 x 5, 105 x 2, 115 x 1, 125 x 1, 135 x 1, 140 x 1 (woo!), 145 x 0, 142 x 1 (woo!), 145 x 0

Lots and lots of thanks to Mandie, Amy, Kerry, and Rick for helping me through those later attempts.  I was shocked by how easily the 135 went up to match my previous best, which, as I recall, was a hell of a struggle back when I made it (weighing a fair amt. more than I do now).

500m row

1:55

I can comfortably row sub-2:00 on a regular basis now, so I'm pleased with that.  Now that I'm all recovered from the cold, it's time to jump back into those metcons.

Another day, another injury

I'm profoundly frustrated right now. I'm sitting here with a cold that won't go away because I work too many hours to get a decent night's sleep, and I also have a strained bicep that has effectively paralyzed me when it comes to several of the fundamental movements that make up most of the workouts. Who knew the damned bicep would come into play so much in a workout philosophy that scoffs at the bicep curl?

The injury happened on Sunday, so I'll recap that day's workout below:

1/3/10 Workout

Warm up consisted of the usual jumping jacks, T push ups, butterfly sit ups, etc., and then we got into a few rounds of pull ups. Because butterfly pull ups are a skill I've been trying to develop, I did several of those. My right arm was particularly sore afterward, but I brushed it off.

Power Snatch 5-5-5+
67 - 78 - 88(5)

Form really deteriorated doing multiple reps at 88, so I stuck to 5.

RDL 3 sets of 5
137

Clean & Jerk Max in 4 min
120 x 5

The general "arm pain" that I had felt after the pull ups came right back with a vengeance on this. On my 2nd or 3rd rep on the c&j metcon, I started feeling a sharp pain when the bar came down onto my shoulders for the clean. I managed to get 5 reps in, but with a minute left, I attempted 2 more cleans that both resulted in "dead arm", and the bar crashed back down on a weight that I should have been good for at least 3-4 more reps on. The dead arm was also a bizarre feeling. My arm started bruising a bit, which indicated it was most likely a bicep strain.

This put one hell of a damper on the rest of the day, but Rudy worked with me to find substitute exercises. All I could keep thinking about was how much this stupid injury was going to impact all the goals I had set for myself, not the least of which was to get back into doing high rep pull ups.

OHS
83 x 5
83 x 10

Banded HSPUs (to get full ROM)
Green band
5 - 10 - 8 - 7

Ring Dips
3 - 2 - 1

Wall Ball (20# to red line)
5 - 5 - 5

KBS (55#)
5 - 5 - 15

It was helpful to train with the 20# med ball since I know it will make it easier when I'm using the women's rx'ed ball in future workouts.

Diet was decent on Sunday. Probably didn't eat enough, but what I ate was clean.

1/3/10 Diet

Breakfast:
1 cherry pie Lara bar

Post-Workout Snack:
6 oz coconut water

Lunch:
Leftover chicken & avocado salad from Angels & Mariachis

Snacks During Football:
Split some zucchini bread with Dave
Cashews (handful)
4 pieces of dried mango

Dinner:
Shrimp, pepper, and tomatoes over quinoa
1/2 sweet potato (sliced into chips and baked with EVOO and cinnamon)
2 glasses of wine

1/2/10 Oly Lift Training Recap

I've been training with Roger Nielson up at WCS Gattone Sports Performance on Saturdays since November whenever I've been in town. He is an amazing weightlifting coach, and I've improved a ton on my snatch and clean & jerk with his help. This Saturday, I decided to go heavy and see what I could do. I hadn't tried one rep maxes since the Windy City Weightlifting Meet, which didn't really go particularly well since I didn't plan my progressions well enough. Winning the weight class was fun, but since 1) it wasn't the weight class I belonged in, and 2) I didn't get a PR in either c&j or snatch, I know I could have done a hell of a lot better.

Note that even though I list reps after each lift, these weren't quick rep progressions or anything. There was a lot of getting re-set and ready between lifts. I just wanted to record how many times I did the lifts. All weight is in kilos, since that's how we roll in oly lifting...

Snatch

30 x 3
35 x 3
40 x 2
42 x 2
45 x 1 - barely moved my legs and apparently made the lift through sheer will. Roger said it was impressive that I got it up. I just felt goofy.
47 x 0
47 x 1
50 x 0 - didn't commit to the lift
50 x 0 - got under the bar but couldn't stand up from the bottom
50 x 1!!! PR! Finally hit the 50kg threshold (110 lbs). So happy!

C&J

35 x 3
45 x 2
50 x 2
55 x 1
60 x 1
65 x 1
70 x 0 - got the clean, but it was such a battle that I failed the jerk
70 x 0 - got to bottom of the clean, but I couldn't stand up with the weight and my right knee (the ACL knee) kinda bowed inward, which demonstrated that there is still a strength imbalance in that leg.

70kg would have been close to my previous 1 rep max on clean and jerks, which was 155 lbs back in September. I'm a little confused as to how the hell I was hitting the PR then and not now, but there were a couple London trips in between, which wreaked all kinds of havoc on my training.

Hitting the 50 kg snatch was thrilling for a couple reasons. First, I'd obviously never succeeded at that weight before, so that's always fun during a time when I have basically stagnated in a lot of my lifts (cue the frustration). Second, it felt easy. It really left like the two failures before were at a completely different weight because the third attempt went up so easily. I am finding myself getting really addicted to this type of lifting because of the technique and challenge. Don't get me wrong; I'll always be a deadlift girl first, but I'd love to really push this olympic lifting stuff as far as I can take it.

Roger also told me to compete in their weightlifting meet on January 30, too, so I am viewing that meet as a nice "midway" competition to get my mental game in gear for the February Sectionals.

Happy New Year!

I'm not going to bother with the food blog for 12/31 through the rest of the weekend because, let's face it, it's not pretty. Despite the cheat eating the last few days, I'm feeling good regarding workouts lately and am really looking forward to the start of the Paleo challenge at the gym.

12/31/09 Workout

Although deadlifts are by far my favorite lift, I have managed to miss every deadlift strength day since the Games due to a combination of ridiculous work schedule and bad luck. So, I decided to make up for lost time and finally do some heavy sets.

Deadlifts 5-5-5+
65-75-85% of 90% of 1 rep max
1 rep max = 350

205 - 236 - 268(10)

The last 4 reps of the max-rep set were a grind. I wasn't getting the glute activation on a couple and really had to throw my shoulders back to finish off the lift. It was a hell of a challenge, though, and I'm glad I pushed through to get that many reps.

I was still congested from being sick, so instead of a metcon, I worked on items from my "Suck List."

Muscle Up: finally got one again after losing it for about a month

Butterfly Pull Ups: 5 - 3 - 3

Double Unders (just trying to string some together): 6 - 3 - 5 - 8