Chris spent 20 mins or show helping us learn the proper form. I had trouble keeping the bar close to my body at first. Had a tendency to lift it up and out. Got the hang of it eventually. Didn't actually do the 5x5 like we were supposed to but it was okay because I was just learning how to do the movement correctly.
WOD:
Power Snatch (#65) 1-->10
Box Overs 10-->1
12:55. Box Overs were easy for me, and I used the higher box. Power Snatch was fine on the way up, but hurt my lower back like hell on the way down. This has been a recurring theme, and is getting annoying. Gotta strengthen my core, and actually engage it when lifting
3x225 Deadlift. The first one of each set was the hardest.. like slow motion. Was weird.. dunno if thats normal. Felt pretty strong tho, and did a better job of keeping abs tight/in hollow position or whatever
2 miles, warmup on treadmill (8.5mph)
"Death by treadmill" (see 2 days ago, below). Did it ladder style, increasing the running time by a second each minute. A second seems like nothing, but after a while 10 seconds more running + 10 seconds less rest made it hella hard. Finished the whole thing and thought I was gonna puke at the end. Realized its actually 16 minutes total b/c you do one at 0 incline/10mph at the end. 10 incline/9mph was the hardest one.. holy f
Was finally able to do some double unders, but could only do it every third or so. Baby steps I guess
Strength
20 Rep Back Squat
140#.. 5 pounds up from last time. Gonna try and make all of the 20 rep squat days, or at least do it on my own. The thought of doing 20 reps at 190 is kinda crazy, but if everything stays on track, thats where i'll be! Hip flexors weren't as tight as last time. Will showed me a good stretch
WOD 1
10 min AMRAP
10 rep Deadlift (#95)
10 hang clean
4 rounds. Hang cleans still kinda shaky cuz my wrist flexibility isnt there yet. Need to be more explosive.
WOD 2- No rest after WOD 1
1/2 Cindy (10 min)
5 Pullups
10 Pushups
15 Air Squats
AMRAP
6+6 rounds. Probably made it harder on myself by doing regular pullups, not kipping pullups, but I couldn't find the "kipping rhythm."
Quick treadmill workout. I'll call it "death by treadmill." 15 mins, but you only run half of that because its 30 second on 30 seconds off. Start at 8.5mph and 15 incline. Increase speed by .1mph and decrease incline by 1 every minute until last 30 seconds is 10mph and 0 incline. It actually got sortof easy towards the end. I'm thinking next time, increase the running time by a second ladder style. So the last run is 45 seconds. Did some dips and pullups after. Looking forward to 20 back squats against tomorrow.
Didn't know what weight to pick but honestly picked the perfect weight because I don't know if I could have done another rep. Need to get a little bit lower by my freaking hip flexors are so damn tight.
Skill
Kipping Pullups - First time doing kipping pullups. Actually got the hang of them. Just need to remember to push myself out harder after getting to the top. Sometimes I would brain fart and come straight down, and then I'd be screwed
Kipping Pullups Ladder set on 1 min. Add 1 rep every min
Did 7 reps, failed on 8
WOD
Stacey:
150 air squats
2000m row
150 air squats
21:15 (8:02 on the row)
2.5 mile run back home
Hip flexors hurt like hell on the squats, especially after the strength set. Was really hurting towards the end but I really like Stacey
Failed at 135 like 3 times. Probably could have gotten it if I had done less of the other weights, but I was working on getting my form down before I jumped up in weight too much.
WOD
7 Squat Clean (#95)
14 KB Swings (used 40lbDB b/c no KBs left)
Didn't finish the 5th round in the allotted 15 mins. Left the gym kinda frustrated. The last couple days, I wish I had done more weight. Today, I wish I had done less weight. My lower back was killing me and I was forced to stop.
In reality, it was probably a good thing I had such a frustrating workout because it made me realize what I was doing wrong. I talked to Will and Aaron about it and they helped me realize that I need to get my abs engaged more. I have always been lazy about getting my abs engaged, in every sport I've done. I can't get away with it in crossfit, and my lower back paid the price during the WOD. Gotta focus on keeping those abs tight.
Still can't do double unders. They are def the thing I want to learn the most. Feel like a jabroni when I'm the only one in the class doing singles.
Skill
Power Clean
10x75
6X95
4X115
Didn't do the specified reps cuz it was my first time doing power cleans and I was trying to learn the proper form. Need to work on exploding my hips forward and bringing the bar straight up. Got the hang of it towards the end, but definitely need more work.
WOD
5 Rounds for time:
15 Power Cleans (#85, Rx was #135)
400m Run
14:42
Could have, and probably should have done more weight.. but didn't really know what to expect before I started so I went with 85.
Baseline:
500m Row
40 Air Squats
30 Sit Ups
20 Pushups
10 Pullups
4:58. I think this was about 20 seconds faster than last time so pretty happy with the improvement. I am definitely better at these bodyweight exercises or other ones such as burpees. It's still gonna take a while to build up the strength for barbell exercises, but seeing improvement already is great.
WOD - Death by Barbell
5 rounds for time at 85. 75 was beginner and 95 was intermediate for men.. I was going to do 75 but knew that I could do more so I threw on some 5lb weights. Glad I did b/c I still finished within the 25 min cutoff
15 Deadlift
12 Hang Power Clean
9 Front Squats
6 Shoulder to Overhead
24:14
The deadlift and front squats were definitely the easiest. I don't know if its because my legs are pretty strong from my running background or if those are just the least technical movements... probably a combination of both. Hanging power cleans were tough and I need to work on form on those. Power cleans were the only one that I consistently had to break down into smaller sets. Forearms were on fire and were definitely the limiting factor throughout. Will explained that it was because I was pulling too much on the power cleans. I need to work on being more explosive instead.
Had a blast.. Can't wait to do it again and see my improvement
Warm Up
3x:
30 Seconds Plank
10 Pullups
10 Pushups
10 Air Squats
Strength
6x2 Box Squat
Worked on my form for the most part. Was having trouble at first trusting myself to keep a wide stance and allow the torque to come from pushing the knees outwards. Eventually got the hang of it. Got up to 115
Felt better on the thrusters this time but my wrists still hurt. Definitely my least favorite exercise so far so just gotta keep on working on it. Finished in 12:10
WOD 2
50, 40, 30, 20, 10:
Double unders (I did regular jump rope and 2x the number.. Can't do double unders yet)
Air Squat
Quads were on fire at the end.. holy crap. Awesome workout
So I know this log is supposed to be for my own personal use, but since its my first post, I figured I'd give a short background in case anyone else actually reads it. I was a swimmer in college at UC Santa Cruz. I first heard of Crossfit there as some of the other sport's coaches were Crossfit trainers and incorporated Crossfit into their training. After graduating in 2008, I shifted my focus to running. Since then, I have run a bunch of races, both road and ultra. Ran a 2:48.44 marathon last March and just did my second 50 miler last weekend. I have decided to give running a break and finally try crossfit. I am a competitive person who likes lifting weights and am excited to push myself in a new way. Yesterday was my first day of Crossfit, and I had a blast.
Strength
7x1 Behind the Neck Push Jerk
(Got up to 95, but spent most of time focusing on form since it was my first time doing the movement, so prob not truly my max)
WOD
800m Run
30x Thrusters (95 Rx, used 85)
800m Run
Finished at like 13:01.. ugh
Running was no problem for me as that's where my background is. On the Thrusters, my legs/shoulders were actually fine, but it was my wrists that were killing me. I had to stop a few times and give my wrists a break. Reflecting, I think that my elbows were too low which put more pressure on my wrists bending backwards..
I think that for the next few weeks, exercises that focus legs like backsquat and deadlift will be better for me. More upper body movements and things like thrusters/front squat that put pressure on wrists and other areas that I rarely use will be more difficult. Looking forward to building some upper body strength though!
