I am so behind on updating this. I can't even remember what workouts I've done, I could check the Crossfit website, but I think I'll just skip over them and just assure you that I have been a couple of times at least since I last posted!
Although, I haven't actually been to Crossfit since last Wednesday because I had a friend staying with me for a couple of days and we went out for dinner on Friday when I would usually go and then last night I had to madly finish my assignment. I probably won't go tonight either because I've only had about 8hrs sleep total for the last two days and I'd rather just chill out and do nothing for one night at least. So.. I will be sore when I go tomorrow, that's for sure!
My eating went completely off the rails on the weekend and I ate far too much chocolate and far too many lollies (yay stress eating), and also had some risotto, noodles, a sandwich and some sushi when my friend was in town. I'd noticed that my clothes were fitting way better last week too, so I hope I haven't completely reversed any of my progress! I'm back trying to be a bit more strict this week, although I'm going out for lunch and dinner Thursday so that day might be a write-off. One day at a time!
Monday 30 April 2012
Wednesday 18 April 2012
Crossfit session 53 (Wednesday) and fasting
We did sit-ups today, which means only one thing... ass crack rash!! It really hurts today, I think it's been a while since we did sit-ups, I clearly need to get some ass callouses happening like I have on my hands!
In case you have no clue how doing abs could cause a rash on your ass-crack, there are actually lots of Crossfitter blog posts about it, for example - http://www.fitbomb.com/2010/11/infamous-abmat-ass-crack-rash.html. Just one of the fun side-effects of doing Crossfit!
Fasting
So, a couple of weeks ago I mentioned that I was going to try intermittent fasting, which is really big in the paleo community. If you're interested in what it's all about, Mark's Daily Apple has had a great series of posts recently about the reasons why it can be beneficial.
I'd already stumbled on the leangains website, which is one of the most commonly referred to methods of incorporating fasting into your routine, but one of the trainers at my gym also mentioned it and said he'd found it really helpful at cutting some weight, so I went back and had a better look at it. Note that the leangains guy is not paleo, but lots of his clients are, so instead of eating the carbs he mentions, I eat sweet potato.
He recommends a 16hr fast (14hrs for women) and an 8hr feeding window (10 for women) daily. There's more details about it on the website which vary depending on your routine and work hours, but for me it means finishing eating by 10:30pm and then not eating again until 1:30pm the next day. You can have coffee and tea during the fast but that's it.
For people who usually skip breakfast this probably sounds easy, but I've never ever been someone who skips breakfast, so it was a huge change for me, even just mentally. To be honest though, it was way easier than I thought it would be, I think this may be because I've been mostly paleo for a while now and my body has adapted to fat burning instead of sugar burning, so it complains initially for food and then gets on with burning fat (I hope!). Previously if I'd have skipped breakfast I would feel so hungry it would make me feel nauseous and I'd be really cranky, so it's good to know that I can go without food and I won't get faint or shaky or anything, which is great news if there's a zombie apocalypse!
So for the last two days I've done 15hr fasts and I've had no issues, I get hungry when I get up but it goes away and then I get hungry again at about 11-11:30, but I just drink water and it goes away. It's actually really convenient to fast as well, because it means I don't have to bother organising breakfast when I get up, so I get to work earlier!
I won't fast every day because some days I just really like eating breakfast, but I am definitely going to continue experimenting with it and see how I go. Anyway onto Crossfit..
Warm-up
10 x dips (red and orange bands)
10 x squats
x 5
(50 dips, 50 squats)
Strength
We worked on our hang power-cleans to get our 3 x 5 rep max. I quite like power-cleans, even though I don't really have the movement completely down yet.
Here is a video of one - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzQJB9XHd5c (she makes it look easy)
I think I did something like 8 reps at 20kg before one of the trainers told me to add some weight and stop messing around with tiny weights cuz my technique was fine! So then I did 2 x 5 reps at 25kg and again got told to add more weight, so I then did my 3 x 5 reps at 30kg. I still got told to add more weight, but 30kg was heavy enough!
So that's 33 power cleans total.
WOD
20 x box jumps (I wussed out and used the small box)
10 x dumbbell push-press (7kg dumbbells)
20 x ab mat sit-ups
x 5
(100 box jumps, 50 push-press, 100 sit-ups)
This was a pretty easy workout, very quick, I think I completed it in 12mins something. Again one of the trainers was trying to get me to go heavier, but I tried the 10kg dumbbells and they were just too heavy for 10 reps and unfortunately they don't have any weights in between.. which is kind of annoying because the 7kg ones were a bit too light.
After that we worked on some stability exercises and then went home! Woo.
In case you have no clue how doing abs could cause a rash on your ass-crack, there are actually lots of Crossfitter blog posts about it, for example - http://www.fitbomb.com/2010/11/infamous-abmat-ass-crack-rash.html. Just one of the fun side-effects of doing Crossfit!
Fasting
So, a couple of weeks ago I mentioned that I was going to try intermittent fasting, which is really big in the paleo community. If you're interested in what it's all about, Mark's Daily Apple has had a great series of posts recently about the reasons why it can be beneficial.
I'd already stumbled on the leangains website, which is one of the most commonly referred to methods of incorporating fasting into your routine, but one of the trainers at my gym also mentioned it and said he'd found it really helpful at cutting some weight, so I went back and had a better look at it. Note that the leangains guy is not paleo, but lots of his clients are, so instead of eating the carbs he mentions, I eat sweet potato.
He recommends a 16hr fast (14hrs for women) and an 8hr feeding window (10 for women) daily. There's more details about it on the website which vary depending on your routine and work hours, but for me it means finishing eating by 10:30pm and then not eating again until 1:30pm the next day. You can have coffee and tea during the fast but that's it.
For people who usually skip breakfast this probably sounds easy, but I've never ever been someone who skips breakfast, so it was a huge change for me, even just mentally. To be honest though, it was way easier than I thought it would be, I think this may be because I've been mostly paleo for a while now and my body has adapted to fat burning instead of sugar burning, so it complains initially for food and then gets on with burning fat (I hope!). Previously if I'd have skipped breakfast I would feel so hungry it would make me feel nauseous and I'd be really cranky, so it's good to know that I can go without food and I won't get faint or shaky or anything, which is great news if there's a zombie apocalypse!
So for the last two days I've done 15hr fasts and I've had no issues, I get hungry when I get up but it goes away and then I get hungry again at about 11-11:30, but I just drink water and it goes away. It's actually really convenient to fast as well, because it means I don't have to bother organising breakfast when I get up, so I get to work earlier!
I won't fast every day because some days I just really like eating breakfast, but I am definitely going to continue experimenting with it and see how I go. Anyway onto Crossfit..
Warm-up
10 x dips (red and orange bands)
10 x squats
x 5
(50 dips, 50 squats)
Strength
We worked on our hang power-cleans to get our 3 x 5 rep max. I quite like power-cleans, even though I don't really have the movement completely down yet.
Here is a video of one - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bzQJB9XHd5c (she makes it look easy)
I think I did something like 8 reps at 20kg before one of the trainers told me to add some weight and stop messing around with tiny weights cuz my technique was fine! So then I did 2 x 5 reps at 25kg and again got told to add more weight, so I then did my 3 x 5 reps at 30kg. I still got told to add more weight, but 30kg was heavy enough!
So that's 33 power cleans total.
WOD
20 x box jumps (I wussed out and used the small box)
10 x dumbbell push-press (7kg dumbbells)
20 x ab mat sit-ups
x 5
(100 box jumps, 50 push-press, 100 sit-ups)
This was a pretty easy workout, very quick, I think I completed it in 12mins something. Again one of the trainers was trying to get me to go heavier, but I tried the 10kg dumbbells and they were just too heavy for 10 reps and unfortunately they don't have any weights in between.. which is kind of annoying because the 7kg ones were a bit too light.
After that we worked on some stability exercises and then went home! Woo.
 |
| Push-press |
Tuesday 17 April 2012
Crossfit session 52 (Monday)
A couple of times after Crossfit I've noticed little red dots all around my eyes from broken capillaries, I assumed it was just from the exertion of lifting weights, but now I've realised that it's probably from the handstand holds!!
When I'm doing them, there is this weird pressure in my head and it just doesn't feel right and I can't stay up there for anywhere near as long as I should be able to. I'm not sure if everyone gets this feeling, or if I have some strange thing going on which also causes my capillaries to burst? I will have to do some research.
My chest is still really sore from this workout!
Warm-up
Max handstand hold (handstand push-ups for the less crap)
15 x over-head squats
x 5
Then max dips x 2 (extra exercise for ppl not doing handstand push-ups), I got 15 the first time and 9 the second.
I hate handstand holds because they make my head hurt (and ruin my capillaries!), so I think my max was maybe 20 seconds.
WOD 1
1.6km row (run for everyone with good knees)
Then 5 rounds of:
12 x overhead squat (maybe 12kg, not sure what a training bar weighs)
12 x push-ups
Then another 1.6km row.
Fun, not. The rows took me about 7 mins each time but I wasn't going flat out.
I went really light with the overhead squats so that I could get my technique right, which was a good choice!
WOD 2
15 x hanging leg raises
15 x back extension
3 rounds
When I'm doing them, there is this weird pressure in my head and it just doesn't feel right and I can't stay up there for anywhere near as long as I should be able to. I'm not sure if everyone gets this feeling, or if I have some strange thing going on which also causes my capillaries to burst? I will have to do some research.
My chest is still really sore from this workout!
Warm-up
Max handstand hold (handstand push-ups for the less crap)
15 x over-head squats
x 5
Then max dips x 2 (extra exercise for ppl not doing handstand push-ups), I got 15 the first time and 9 the second.
I hate handstand holds because they make my head hurt (and ruin my capillaries!), so I think my max was maybe 20 seconds.
WOD 1
1.6km row (run for everyone with good knees)
Then 5 rounds of:
12 x overhead squat (maybe 12kg, not sure what a training bar weighs)
12 x push-ups
Then another 1.6km row.
Fun, not. The rows took me about 7 mins each time but I wasn't going flat out.
I went really light with the overhead squats so that I could get my technique right, which was a good choice!
WOD 2
15 x hanging leg raises
15 x back extension
3 rounds
Wednesday 11 April 2012
Crossfit Session 51
I weighed myself this morning and I was lighter than when I finished Whole30, which is surprising given I spent all weekend eating crap.. lots and lots of crap!
First day back at Crossfit since last Thursday and I was feeling quite unfit and lazy I can tell you!
Warm-up
10 x stick roll
10 x squat
Repeat 5 times
WOD 1
"Kelly"
Woo a named workout.. always fun, not!
400 run (row in my case)
30 x wall ball
30 x box jump
5 rounds for time.
This is a total of a 2km row and 150 wall balls and box jumps, nasty!
I did it in 37mins 30 seconds I think. I had to rush to the bathroom in the 4th round because my stomach was doing dodgy things, which is not so good for jumping and squatting!
I went with the small box and I'm so glad I did because my legs were just not working after the wall balls, for the first few jumps each round it was quite a struggle just to get to the small box so I'm glad I wussed out on the taller box!
As per usual I got coached (aka yelled at) for my squats with the wall balls. We have a new coach who was the one that was trying to get me to squat properly and he was quite good actually, usually they just yell at me to get lower, which I never thought was the problem and this guy was saying that I'm not shifting my weight into my heels and I'm coming forward instead, which makes sense to me and probably explains why my knees are dodgy.
I talked to him after and he said next time he was coaching he'd help me out with squats, so that's good, I do want to be able to do them properly because they just make me want to cry at the moment, which is no fun.
Wall ball - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XJm3u27fEc
Box jump - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UweKybOuivA (I do jump up, step down)
WOD 2
1 min hollow hold
1 min plank
1 min rest
3 rounds
I almost can hold a plank for a minute.. almost!
Hollow hold - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QMpN9uFHeI
First day back at Crossfit since last Thursday and I was feeling quite unfit and lazy I can tell you!
Warm-up
10 x stick roll
10 x squat
Repeat 5 times
WOD 1
"Kelly"
Woo a named workout.. always fun, not!
400 run (row in my case)
30 x wall ball
30 x box jump
5 rounds for time.
This is a total of a 2km row and 150 wall balls and box jumps, nasty!
I did it in 37mins 30 seconds I think. I had to rush to the bathroom in the 4th round because my stomach was doing dodgy things, which is not so good for jumping and squatting!
I went with the small box and I'm so glad I did because my legs were just not working after the wall balls, for the first few jumps each round it was quite a struggle just to get to the small box so I'm glad I wussed out on the taller box!
As per usual I got coached (aka yelled at) for my squats with the wall balls. We have a new coach who was the one that was trying to get me to squat properly and he was quite good actually, usually they just yell at me to get lower, which I never thought was the problem and this guy was saying that I'm not shifting my weight into my heels and I'm coming forward instead, which makes sense to me and probably explains why my knees are dodgy.
I talked to him after and he said next time he was coaching he'd help me out with squats, so that's good, I do want to be able to do them properly because they just make me want to cry at the moment, which is no fun.
Wall ball - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4XJm3u27fEc
Box jump - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UweKybOuivA (I do jump up, step down)
WOD 2
1 min hollow hold
1 min plank
1 min rest
3 rounds
I almost can hold a plank for a minute.. almost!
Hollow hold - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QMpN9uFHeI
 |
| Plank! |
Wednesday 4 April 2012
Crossfit session 50 - 17 minutes of hell
Woo, I've been to Crossfit 50 times! Doesn't really sound like that much actually, but I normally go 3 times a week and have done since November. I am definitely improving at most things and do really enjoy it.. most of the time..
Tonight's workout was horrible however, really really horrible. It was all squat-related movement, which are my major weakness. I have incredibly tight hip flexors and I just really suck at squats, I'm always being yelled at to go lower but I just can't a lot of the time. I really need to work on them I guess. Tonight's squats were dreadful, I just couldn't get down and was almost in tears throughout the entire 17mins.
Warm-up
10 x dips
10 x squat-jumps
x 4
Strength
Work to 3 x 3 power cleans (max weight for three rounds of three).
I hate power cleans! They just feel unnatural to me and I can never tell if I'm doing it properly or just lifting with my arms and not using my hips at all, which is the point.
I started at 20kg and got up to 35kg.
Power-clean video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TlbDQUWs0s
WOD
There were two parts to this workout:
1.) The complex (all at 25kg)
2 x power clean
2 x squat power clean
2 x thruster
2.) "Cindy"
5 x chin-up
10 x push-up
15 x air squat
One round = 2 x complex and 1 x Cindy and we had to do five rounds total.
Squat power cleans and thrusters totally suck if you suck at squats, I struggled every single rep and never got low enough. I also almost cried every time, haven't felt like that at Crossfit for a long while!
I completed this workout in 17, horrible minutes.
Here's a video of the difference between the power clean and the squat power clean from a guy with a porny moustache - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVpsiAtVx7s
Here's a thruster - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OhqIGYqELk
I'm really going to have to work on my hip flexor mobility outside of Crossfit and see if I can sort out my squats.
Tonight's workout was horrible however, really really horrible. It was all squat-related movement, which are my major weakness. I have incredibly tight hip flexors and I just really suck at squats, I'm always being yelled at to go lower but I just can't a lot of the time. I really need to work on them I guess. Tonight's squats were dreadful, I just couldn't get down and was almost in tears throughout the entire 17mins.
Warm-up
10 x dips
10 x squat-jumps
x 4
Strength
Work to 3 x 3 power cleans (max weight for three rounds of three).
I hate power cleans! They just feel unnatural to me and I can never tell if I'm doing it properly or just lifting with my arms and not using my hips at all, which is the point.
I started at 20kg and got up to 35kg.
Power-clean video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TlbDQUWs0s
WOD
There were two parts to this workout:
1.) The complex (all at 25kg)
2 x power clean
2 x squat power clean
2 x thruster
2.) "Cindy"
5 x chin-up
10 x push-up
15 x air squat
One round = 2 x complex and 1 x Cindy and we had to do five rounds total.
Squat power cleans and thrusters totally suck if you suck at squats, I struggled every single rep and never got low enough. I also almost cried every time, haven't felt like that at Crossfit for a long while!
I completed this workout in 17, horrible minutes.
Here's a video of the difference between the power clean and the squat power clean from a guy with a porny moustache - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVpsiAtVx7s
Here's a thruster - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OhqIGYqELk
I'm really going to have to work on my hip flexor mobility outside of Crossfit and see if I can sort out my squats.
Tuesday 3 April 2012
Crossfit Session 49
I wasn't sure whether to go to Crossfit tonight, I had a sore throat and was feeling very lazy. In the end I decided that seeing as I didn't go on Monday and I can't go on Thursday or Friday because I'll be in the country, that I should just suck it up and go, otherwise I'd only get one workout in this week, which isn't good enough.
I'm glad I went, the workouts were short and involved deadlifts, so I was happy.
Warm-up
Stretching
10 x stick roll
10 x leg swing each leg
5 x overhead squat
x 4
First up we warmed up our deadlifts, so I did 6 x 30kg, 10 x 40kg and then maybe another 5 x 45kg, which was the weight I went with for wod 1.
WOD 1
9 x deadlifts (45kg)
15 x box jumps (20 inch box)
21 calorie rowing (eg. row until you've burned 21 calories, about 350m)
x 4
The point of this workout was to do it as quickly as possible. I did it in 15mins 10 seconds. The box jumps at 20 inches still freak me out and I think I'm going to smash my shins every time, so that slowed me up.
WOD 2
7 x dumbbell power-clean (7kg dumbbells, so 14 total)
14 x sit-up
21 x double unders
10min AMRAP
I think I only managed 3 rounds because I was sucking at the double-unders. I think I only got through about half the double unders each round too, after a lot of attempts!
Dumbbell Power clean - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5xU6ZP1M_8
Double-unders - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ix8TbKyvJcw
I'm glad I went, the workouts were short and involved deadlifts, so I was happy.
Warm-up
Stretching
10 x stick roll
10 x leg swing each leg
5 x overhead squat
x 4
First up we warmed up our deadlifts, so I did 6 x 30kg, 10 x 40kg and then maybe another 5 x 45kg, which was the weight I went with for wod 1.
WOD 1
9 x deadlifts (45kg)
15 x box jumps (20 inch box)
21 calorie rowing (eg. row until you've burned 21 calories, about 350m)
x 4
The point of this workout was to do it as quickly as possible. I did it in 15mins 10 seconds. The box jumps at 20 inches still freak me out and I think I'm going to smash my shins every time, so that slowed me up.
 |
| Crazy huge box jump! |
WOD 2
7 x dumbbell power-clean (7kg dumbbells, so 14 total)
14 x sit-up
21 x double unders
10min AMRAP
I think I only managed 3 rounds because I was sucking at the double-unders. I think I only got through about half the double unders each round too, after a lot of attempts!
Dumbbell Power clean - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5xU6ZP1M_8
Double-unders - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ix8TbKyvJcw
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