Sleep 7p-4a Took a melatonin around 6:30. Slept well.
Great energy whole morning.
Training @ 7am
A. back squat @ 20X2; (3 x 3 @ 80%)(4 sets of 3 @ 95%); rest as needed b/t sets - effort based %'s
3x135lbs, 145, 150. 3x165lbs, 165lbs, 170lbs, 175lbs. The first set at 165 felt hard and so I got nervous & stayed there for a set. Once it was all over I remembered that I did 5x175 a couple wks ago.
B. every 30 sec build till you get to an "almost" max at a squat clean thruster - one movement, no pauses
105lbs, 110lbs, 115, 120, 125, 130F. Pushed away from my face. Didn't want to end on a miss. Was probably about a min rest b/f I decided to do it. You know I was tempted to try 135, but I already broke the rules for the day. haha
C. 15 chin ups unbroken - rest 45 sec for as many sets as you can
Goal for myself was 5 sets. Once I hit 5 I thought, maybe 7? Ripped my hand on the 6th rep of the 7th round. Typically my hands will burn a bit before ripping, but I didn't feel any warning here. Oh, and I learned how to use YouTube Video Editor!!
Saturday night 2 glasses red wine, 2 norcal margaritas (we left our cave in the country for a few hrs :)) Sleep: 10:30/11-6:30
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Too much sitting this morning and felt stiff going into the run. Spend 8am-after 2pm getting caught up on admin stuff for the business. This will be the year that Corey & I stop working from Sundays so that we can have a legit day off each week. I was having internet issues at home today and it made the updates take far longer than normal. But it got done.
3pm Headed out to Max Patch for the workout. Corey had 60 minutes during which he had to accumulate 40 minutes of running. There was not a cloud in the sky, but up at the bald it the wind was a bit brisk. I did a longer warm up to avoid being done well before Corey and freezing the rest of the time. Looked like this:
5 min walk 25 minutes of run z1/2 2-3 min with walking 1-2 minutes. Then I got into the workout: 30/30 x 30 90% run 50% brisk walk x 30
I took this 90% run to be a sustainable 90% vs an all out 90% which would have deteriorated over time. Felt strong throughout. Some sets my brain was just on auto-pilot counting steps (averaged 95-98/30s). Later sets I worked on some visualization and found myself losing track of time & running upwards of 40/45s a few sets.
Until these past couple of days when I dug old journals out of the closet I had forgotten just how many years I've existed with this sense of excitement/wonderment towards success yet being so fearful to achieve it at the same time. I was feeling those positive feelings again while letting go of the negativity that I've been carrying with them.
What have I been afraid of? Mostly the expectation that once I achieve a certain level of performance that I will be unable to replicate it. Another consequence of not simply allowing myself to "be in the moment". I'm letting go of the past and not worrying about the future. One day at a time.
Sunday night sleep in bed 6:45-4am. Sleep didn't happen fully until after 9p & a sick dog woke me up at 3:30.
Considering, energy feels good today. Hamstrings are rather sore today. Thanks to some good manual work from Dawn they are doing better already!
One of my biggest areas of opportunities is practicing being and staying in the moment. Here are two videos from regionals 2011. The 21-15-9 deadlift (205lbs), box jumps (24") workout. It was the first workout of day 2 & I allowed myself to get all freaked out over the weight. I put the story in my head, "this is too heavy for me" and rested far too often and for too long.
Both videos are of the last set of 9. I'm in the top video & the second of Becky Conzelman (1st in the region). In my video ~20s in I put the bar down after 6 reps. It's besides the point of why I felt the need to put the bar down, but the issue is that I step several steps away from the bar and start looking. I wish I could report that I'm thinking positive things about myself during this time, but I'm far from it. I don't have any video from the earlier portion of the workout, but this was the pattern: resting often and looking around. On the contrary Becky puts her bar down after 5 reps but she stays with it & keeps focus on the bar. She's right back to it to finish the set.
I've had a handful of solid showings in competitions and when I'm on, I'm ON. However, other times my stingy voice, "you're not good enough, strong enough, mentally tough enough" wins the battle.
I think only Corey & Kate know this, but I completely broke down after this workout. I was in the car with Corey asking him to take me back to the hotel b/c I wanted to quit. Poor guy. Trying to tell me to stay in it, but I didn't want to listen. I was disappointed in myself, as I knew it was not a good effort and I was not excited for the next workout 100 pull-ups, KBS, DUs & OHS despite that it favored my strengths. Honestly, I wanted to pull out and give someone else a chance to get to the final day. Why? I didn't want to do the final workout or specifically I didn't want to do 40 reps of 35lbs DB ground to overhead. I kept having these visions of the DBs flying everywhere and me being the last one working at that station & I was preoccupied with this thought the majority of the wkend.
So what happened? We were on the road driving back to the hotel and I got my head right (or at least better) and I went back to the gym. My showing in the 100s was certainly sub-par, but I chipped my way through it and managed to keep my cool even when the judge started taking KBSs away from me (a common theme for many that wkend).
I made it into the final day and actually killed the DB ground to overhead portion in my heat moving to the T2B just behind the leaders of that crew. I should have then continued to knock it out on the 50 T2B and won that heat, but I was not mentally prepared to be in position to do so. When I'm not prepared I easily fall into moments of self-sabotage.
I have a story in my head that I regularly "choke" due to some performances in my past. Kate and others are helping me realize that this is simply just that...a story. I can continue to relive this scenario or I can acknowledge my bad habits to be prepared to win the battle over my stingy voice when it does try to speak up during times of stress/competition time.
I feel like I have a new frame of mind going into this season and feel refreshed as a result.
A. OHS - build to a solid 3 - NOT a 3RM 3x88lbs, 98, 110, 120, 125, 130lbs
B. Snatch - build to a tough single 65x3, 95x2, 99x1, 104x1, 109x1, 114x1, 119F, 119F, 119F. Next time!
The 95x2 was a TnG which I have never done before. It felt solid & I knew it was going to be a good day. Somehow I missed a vid at 114lbs, but it felt better than 109...less forward movement. I was a bit intimidated at 119, but my mind is getting stronger by the day.
C. 90% part B - single every 20 sec for 5 min if you can I was using the clock the class was on & got confused as to when I should stop. I ended up missing my 2nd rep, but then hit all others & felt good. Went a full 6 minutes plus the first rep at the start of the 7th minute. So this was a total of 18 snatches @ 102lbs with 1 miss. Felt solid. I used to do workouts similar to this with snatching & C&J typically every 30s at a high percentage of my max. You could say this is my favorite thing to do...throw heavy weight overhead over & over again.
Sleep 10p-4:30a
Good energy despite two days of less than ideal sleep thanks to a little help from the power of Starbucks.
Last night I attended my friend, Jana Kellam's, first workshop "Creating Mindsetopia". I loved the experience and it was definitely worth a night of less sleep. There is nothing like the positive vibes of being around great people & acknowledging the power we hold as individuals to create and experience a life of happiness!
Growing up I had visions of greatness for myself, but I remember often feeling like they were simply distant dreams that would never become reality. I had some incredible people that when I gained the courage to share my BHAGs they encouraged me to believe in myself and go for it! Thankfully, I still have similar-yet different- people in my life today.
I did some reading today and came across an article about humility and leadership. One of the last paragraphs particularly resonated with me:
Something interesting happens, too, when we approach situations from a perspective of humility: it opens us up to possibilities, as we choose open-mindedness and curiosity over protecting our point of view. We spend more time in that wonderful space of the beginner's mind, willing to learn from what others have to offer. We move away from pushing into allowing, from insecure to secure, from seeking approval to seeking enlightenment. We forget about being perfect and we enjoy being in the moment.
Then today I also randomly pulled one of my old training logs out of the closet. I'm not sure that I've read this particular journal since I wrote the entries. It was from my junior year in high school. This was the year my mom and I had a momentous fight over whether I was going to run track or get a job. She wanted me to start working and save money for college. I got all pissed off and told her that I was going to earn a college scholarship for running. She only had the best intentions for me, and honestly I remember thinking I was nuts when I said it, but in a moment of teenage rage I put the idea out into the universe.
To put it into perspective I never even got to run in the league meet my freshmen or sophomore year and two of my teammates/classmates for that matter had run times significantly faster than myself. (only 2 per event get to run varsity in track) However, it was also the first year I attended Camp Fitch Championship Running Camp. One of the big things Coach Garcia lectured us about was the power of the mind and how we are no different than anyone else if we only believe in our own abilities. It lit a fire under my scrawny ass & I spent many hours in my room reading the motivational articles over & over and journaling/visualizing myself achieving my goals. These goals struck not only excitement, but fear. A glimpse into my mind from 13 years ago...
Jan 2, 1999 103lbs-feel chunky, but look decent push-ups 30, 51, 25, 25, 30:161 Sit-ups: 50, 50, 31, 50, 31: 212. 8+glasses H2O Form running: 2 sets of 50 (used to pump my arms as if running with dumbbells in hand...oh my!)
I am afraid of failure. I am afraid to push and feel the pain. I need to feel the joy of accomplishing my goals-expectations-aspirations. This year I'm determined to overcome that. Train like an animal & race like an animal. Prove myself-to me & everyone else-everyone that doubts my abilities & those that have faith in me. I feel that the two most important people to do this for are myself & my coach. As Coach would say, "Nothing to it, but to do it." 9 1/2 hrs sleep
Some old school photos from my first CF competition the MidWest Regionals 2009. This was the final workout. 30 C&J @ 95lbs ~400m run 30 Snatches at 75lbs. My PR snatch at the time was 82lbs. I finished dead last in that final by about 7 minutes, but made the 20 minute cut off! It was an extremely humbling moment. Yet a time that I fell in love with the community as all were standing around cheering for every lift.
Sleep Was less than ideal last night. Was in bed at 7:30 but didn't fall asleep until an estimation of 9/930. I didn't look at the clock during this time except at 8:30 when the phone rang. After that I went to the guest bedroom as Corey was sleeping a bit too peacefully for me. I fell asleep at some point only to wake up at 2:30, go back to my bedroom and only slept very lightly at most for the next hour. I felt OK this morning, but can tell that I'm a bit tired.
The biggest improvement is that in the past when this lack of sleep became an issue I'd get very angry and frustrated & wake up Corey at some point to tell him how ticked off I was for my inability to sleep. This time I never got stressed out as I have finally acknowledged that some rest & relaxation is better than a night of anger & frustration.
Training @ 7:30am 5 rounds for time: 15 push ups Row 350 m
Push-ups UB for all rounds. I would pause at the top to breathe around reps 7/10/12 but never had to put the knees down. Thighs were quite fatigued on the rower.
Round)Row split/500m pace/overall split 1) 1:25.1/2:01.5/2:00 2) 1:27.7/2:05.2/2:15 3) 1:29.6/2:08.0/2:20 4) 1:30.4/2:09.1/2:25 5) 1:24.2/2:00.2/2:05 S/R for all was 28-30. Overall time: 11:05
Could have definitely pushed more for those middle rounds.
Sleep 6:45p-4a woke up several times ~11:30, 2ish & 3:30.
Went to bed with a headache last night & it was persisting when I woke up this morning. I was particularly sensitive to temp changes as it started throbbing when I first got into the shower this morning. I took an excedrin which did the trick. I try to avoid painkillers except for that one day of the month, but I think it made my morning far more productive & enjoyable. Thank you modern medicine.
Training @ 7:30
Felt more motivated today, but being that I've been a bit off the past day or so I went into it a bit conservative.
Part 1: 4 sets: 1 power clean 5 jerk TnG tough 10 burpees AFAP rest 2:30
Set 1: 105lbs 33s
Set 2: 110lbs 32s (missed opening my hips on the power clean b/f the first jerk)
4 sets: 5 tough clean grip DL TnG Airdyne 20 sec max effort rest 3 min
Set 1: 175lbs 13 cals (no roll over)
Set 2: 195lbs 8/10 cals
Set 3: 205lbs 7/8 cals
Set 4: 210lbs 7/8 cals
Well, felt good during first part today and then I went into this section. Deads felt slow and not super crisp. AD went well for the first set, but then I didn't have much nor the motivation to drive through. I'd call it 80-90% effort final 2 sets. Didn't feel like it was a good idea to push too deep.
Set 1 MU:1, DU UB (buddy lee) -I didn't warm up any MUs prior to this. Stupid.
Set 2 MU: 4, DU 29+1 (Buddy Lee) Obviously should have warmed up 1st set.
Set 3: MU: 3, DU UB (speed rope) experimenting w/this one. Just cut the length yesterday & it's shorter than my Buddy Lee. I have to keep my hands really close to not trip. Worked for this set.
Set 4: MU: 2, DU -rope issues. Well, being that I cut the rope too short I had the handle as far as possible on the end of the line. I wasn't too sure how long it was going to hold and I think it held for less than 100 total DUs. BUT this was good to show me just how much lighter that rope is than my treasured Buddy Lee. When I picked up the BL to finish it out it felt like a weighted rope. Good thing I ordered the multi-pack of the cable speed rope or whatever it's called.
Regarding the MUs they're feeling fair-good, but straight arms & turn out could still use some work. Was babying a scab from when I ripped on MU practice last Thursday, but the tape held up well. I have struggled to MU w/out tape as it is.
Energy levels felt much better post workout especially relative to yesterday. (perhaps I would have been OK to dig a little deeper on that AirDyne! Next time. :)
Sleep 730-4a Two nights in a row of some vivid dreams. Last night I woke up at 1:15 after dreaming about driving while trying to get an address from my mom & input into my navigation system. I was driving to go back to school (unsure as to what for) & was frustrated that I was late (again). No clue what I was going back to school for, but I was getting irritated with my mother as she lectured me, "Are you driving while talking on the phone?" "Yes, Mom. I'm already late!" Next thing I know I'm driving on the side of a rock face like the kind where the snow leopard hunts the mtn goat and I got to a point where I could no longer go forward or safely reverse out of the situation. So I woke up just as i was sitting there contemplating if I could push the car door open and jump out before the car slid off the rocks. I awoke flat on my back with my heart pounding. One of those situations where I had to reassure myself that it was only a dream. The next thought that crossed my mind was, "I need to meditate about being more patient with my mother." I have never specifically meditated, but have been encouraged to do so recently. I'm unsure about how to start. Sitting still & quieting my mind is not one of my strengths. If anyone has any input on dream interpretation or best ways to introduce some meditation I'd love to hear about it! :)
Afternoon hike: 45 minutes. Did 4 sets of 10 GHD sit-ups at the end of the morning and about an hr later a dull headache set in. I'm unsure if it's due to the sit=ups or if I'm potentially fighting something off. Regardless I'm headed to bed early tonight!
Training @ 7:30 A. back squat cluster @ 20X1- 2.2.2 x 4; rest 4 min b/t sets - 10 sec b/t doubles 150lbs, 155lbs, 160lbs, 160lbs F on 6th rep. Last time I did this I got up to 170lbs, but wasn't feeling it today. I am still feeling Saturday's deadlifts & posterior (specifically bilateral spinal erectors of T/L area). I should have gotten some manual work yesterday, but neglected to prioritize it. I did get some work after these squats and prior to the squat clean thrusters I felt some resistance to flex forward. B. 1-5 squat clean thruster ladders unbroken in 7 min - 85# Result: 41 reps 1 rep shy of 3 rounds PLUS I missed the set of 3 on the 2nd round. Couldn't remember if I had just done 2 or 3 when I decided to do 4 which is a bit against my norm, but it was that kind of day.
Struggled with motivation here. Took me almost a full hr from finishing my squats to get myself going on this. I'd like to say that I then had an awesome warm-up, but that could still use some work. I did get my HR up briefly a couple times before starting, but not to the point of a sweat. I could use more direct guidance with what to do for warm-ups. I get so lazy going into work outs. My husband is the king of pushing himself before workouts.
Once I got going my back felt fine and was a non-issue. My mind, breathing & motivation were the main limiters. I would probably do better if this workout was 1-5 UB with 10s rest after 1, 2 & 20s rest between 3, 4, 5, but that's the beauty of having the choice as to when to pick the bar back up.
I wasn't destroyed after the workout, but physically I really wanted to go to bed. Hard to get motivation back to coach the rest of the morning. Didn't feel like my typical perky self. :) Hard to say if I'm actually fatigued (perhaps too long of a hike on Sunday??) or if it was due to my disappointment in my output for today.
Sleep 7:30-4a but probably not asleep til 8ish. Lots of dreaming and woke up several times during the night. Fell back asleep easily, but wasn't ready for the alarm this morning.
Still feeling the deadlifts today, but less.
Posterior is a bit sore from the deadlifts yesterday, but being that I have not done any heavy deads recently it's nothing out of the ordinary.
Corey and I went out to the Pisgah National Forest and hiked for over 3 hours. We didn't see a single person the whole time. It was incredible! Wore my vibrams which I often do when I hike and my lower legs were achy before bed.
Sleep 8p-5:30a (up at 1:30 for an hr or so) Felt rested. Didn't even finish my travel mug this morning.
Training @ 7am A. clean grip DL - take up to tough 3 in 3 sets; short rest - NOT a 3RM or any fails I didn't know the weight on the bar once I went to 220lbs til after but it went like this: Warm-ups 5x135, 165, 185, 205lbs. Then, 3x220lbs, 235lbs, 245lbs. Rested long enough to change weights & reset the camera. B. HSPU - 1-5-1-5 ladder for time - unbroken reps Time: 3:15. Finished the first 1-5 ladder in 58s. Didn't have any missed sets, but waited longer to get back to the wall during the second set. Watching the video I rested 20-30s before the second set of 4 & 5. I am slow in lowering down. I need to keep working on moving faster.
C. KBS - 10 tough; rest 1 min x 3 10x 1.5pood, 10x 62lbs, 10x 2pood Whew that 2 pood took 2-3 warm up swings before I got it going overhead and had to work hard to keep reps 8-10 going. I don't pick that guy up very often and I'm not sure if I've done a full swing with it previously. Maybe.
This is my third night of 9hrs of sleep. Yet this morning I said to Corey, "Is it bad that I'm excited today is Friday so that I can potentially sleep 10.5?"
It's funny how priorities shift. Sleep has gradually improved since opening business in 2009. That first year was insane. We survived on lots of coffee and adrenaline/determination to make things work. The inexperienced business owners that we were we took the approach of being open for as many hours possible to accommodate as many that may have interest as possible. We did not have 5am classes at that point, but 6am Mon-Fri and evenings had 6:30pm classes. So it was rare that we were away from more than 12 hours. We were known for sleeping in the corner of the gym that first year.
Not to mention I was also still convinced that I was "naturally a night owl" as I still hear from many people. For as long as I remembered I had enjoyed staying up at night. It was my "time for myself" to relax, reflect, journal. With this mentality regardless of working crazy hours I would still occasionally decide that I deserved some time to myself and stay up til midnight or one to then sleep sometimes as few as 3-4.5 hours and work 12+ the next day. Some of you reading this may think, "I do that" and I'm telling you it's not healthy, especially not long term.
Since college when I learned that the body tends to function on 90 minute sleep cycles I've made an effort to time my to bed/alarm time to 90 minute intervals. I found that I feel better if I sleep 7.5 hrs or 9 vs if I get up at the 8hr mark I feel groggy because my body was mid sleep cycle. Early in business this was 4.5-6 hrs of sleep & we'd crash hard on the weekends for 9+.
Even over the summer of 2011 we were regularly sleeping 7.5, but probably once/wk we'd miss the cut off and stay up til 10 which results in 6 hrs.
When my sleep suffers my training suffers. I think the only way I was able to make consistent progress over the past 3 years since I started business was #1 b/c my training age for weightlifting and the events involved in the sport of fitness were relatively low. BUT more so because #2 I regularly listened to my body and if I wasn't motivated to train, I didn't train. (This is quite the opposite of when I was in college abusing my body with little sleep and training like a mad person. No surprise that I was regularly injured, but too stubborn to give myself a rest. Too afraid that'd I'd get "fat". That's for another day.)
My whole point here is that I noticed a dramatic shift in priorities this past fall when I started paying for distance coaching. I acknowledged how many days I was resting due to inadequate sleep & became concerned about having the energy/motivation to get my training done. However, I'm thankful to say that this has been a non-issue. I'm feeling good even on my rest days.
Better yet, the hours that I am awake are more enjoyable. A couple Sundays ago Corey & I were out hiking and I told him that I used to stay up late because, like a child, I felt like I was going to miss out on something. However, with more sleep I feel more fulfilled and I am definitely more productive during those waking hours.
I encourage you to spend a month maximizing the amount of hours you sleep each week BEFORE midnight and see how you feel. I'd love to hear about your experiences!
Sleep: 6:30p-4am. Woke up 5 min before alarm. Feeling great! Afternoon hike: 30 minutes
Training @ 530am A. FS - 3 x 3 @ 70%; rest 2 min 5x45lbs, 5x85lbs, 5x103lbs, 3x113lbs, 3x113lbs, 3x113lbs. B. HPS - 2 on the 30 sec for 6 sets - moderate/fast Used 77lbs. Felt solid. C. Muscle UP work - 10 min Rather than any strict attempts like last time Corey suggested I work on pushing away at the top vs lowering back down into the dip as I tend to do to increase cycle time & perhaps tire out the arms less. I hit 3-4 sets of 3 at the top of each minute. Here are videos of my last two sets where I hit 2 each time. I ripped the base of my palm at the end of the second set. I had about 3 minutes left so I practiced some BF C2Bs. I hit about 3 of every 5, but i'm way up over the bar hitting the bottom of the bra line. Need to work to get more efficient there.
The turn out at the bottom is feeling (& looking) better again.
Sleep In bed @ 6:45am -4am. Feeling better today.
1 Gaelic Ale in the afternoon at my hair appt. Thanks Britt!
Played around with some HSPU & ring dips today 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 over an hour or so. Yesterday I practiced some deadhang pronated grip chest to bar pull-ups with the same rep scheme. It wasn't too long ago I wasn't able to do C2B without a supinated or mixed grip. Have had a good amount of manual therapy to head/neck/shoulders/distal arms & rib cage where I have had plenty of adhesions/scar tissue to work through.
Sleep 8/830-4a stayed up to finish "Secretariat". Great movie/story!
Coached 5:30-7:30a & again 9:30a-12:30a
Afternoon hike: 83 minutes. Ran 20s bursts every 1-5 minutes (literally that varied) with the intent to keep it under an hr but then we ended up on a loop longer than expected.
Legs were achy afterwards especially the quads. Feel like I may be fighting something off. To bed before 7 tonight!
Training @ 7:30am 200 m @ 80% rest walk 1 min x 2 Probably should have warmed up more, but went 45, 40/41. + 5 clean grip DL - light 5 TnG Power CLean fast, not that tough, same weight 3 push jerk tough, same weight 20 double unders AFAP rest 4 min b/t sets x 3 Set 1: 100lbs 35s Set 2: 110lbs 39s Set 3: 115lbs 38s+ 200 m @ 80% rest walk 1 min x 2 43s, 40/41 again There are two 90 deg turns on the 200m route.
Some active rest for about an hour today cleaning the gym mostly lugging the shop vac around and some sweeping/mopping.
Afternoon hike 45min @ Bent Creek
Here is Corey from Saturday's Construction Series during the first workout. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 C&J @ 205lbs, muscle-ups. His first round went well and then the second round ("Blooper" video) got off to a rough start. :)
Feeling good today. A very laid back, yet productive day at home. Only left to run to where I did the workout on a side road about 2 miles from my house. It was chilly (40s) but sunny & beautiful.
Training @ 1p
Added 2 mile Z1 warm-up run to location where Corey met me with the dogs and equipment.
Reverse Drag - 1 min @ 80% grinder Tire with 25lb sandbag. Thighs were burnin' today. rest 3 min x 3 + 5 min light run flush + Farmer walk - 100 m 35lbs KB estimated the distance with a 30s run at what my internal metronome tells me to be about 8min pace. rest as needed x 5 Did each at the top of every 2 min which was plenty of rest. First three were 33-34s, then 31s and ended with 29s. felt good + 5 min light run flush + Loaded Carry - 10 min max distance - make it tough! Carries 75lb sandbag. Corey neglected to chart the distance. I didn't have a clock on me I was just waiting for him to drive up beside me and pick me up. It went faster than expected. I can run spurts of it next time.
Sleep 830p-4a woke up without alarm (90 min before scheduled alarm). First day of cycle. A bit edgy from caffeine in pain killers. 2 extra strength tylenol (4am) and 1 excederin (5am) which got me through the morning & then was miserable through the early afternoon as I waited for Corey to complete the OPT Construction Series.
A. back squat - build to a tough 5 fast - short rests - speed out of bottom Wanted to hit 175x5 after feeling good with the 5 single there last week. Build up was something like this: 45x5, 95x5, 115x5, 145x4, 165x2, 175x5. Felt good. Much easier than I was anticipating. Thought about going up for another effort, but then thought better of it. Fun to compare to my back squat 5RM of 180lbs which was not so pretty.
B. 1-5 hang squat clean ladders unbroken in 10 min - 105# I've been thinking about this one and was honestly looking forward to it. But I sure wasn't very present throughout. Instead it seems to highlight my biggest weakness: my mind. I randomly had hoped to have 3 rounds in by the 5 min mark. When I finished round 2 at 4:20 I knew I was off. My primary goal was 5+ and if I had ever made the decision to push it a bit I could have easily hit 5. I had some spectators, but no one on me to WORK. (Which sometimes helps very well and other times I'm not in a good place and just want to be left to suffer in my own negativity.) My 2nd round was my slowest which may be evident of my inadequate warm up for this kind of workout. (Didn't do anything to increase breathing or HR beforehand. Just squatted and then did a couple reps at 83lbs and I think I did a rep or two at 105 -technically 103lbs as I used the ladies' bar- but not even sure I was sweating beforehand and my HR was definitely not elevated much.) So I did the first round and my body/brain was not welcoming to the increased HR/breathing. Have I mentioned that I'm a big fan of staying in my comfort zone? As the Big Dawg saying goes I need to "get comfortable with discomfort". Above are my splits but here is the breakdown: 1) 1:45 2) 2:35 3) 2:25 4) 2:20 4 rounds plus 6 reps or 66 total reps. Will be much improved next time around! And I'm definitely happy that my squatting is coming back around!!
Sleep In bed before 7. Did some reading and eyes felt tired so blew out candle, but took a bit to fall asleep. Feeling some excitement for Saturday's squat clean ladder. This is the first time in a long time that I'm starting to feel excitement towards workouts vs a mild feeling of dread. I attribute it towards some growth in confidence and continued interest to challenge/test my abilities.
Up at 4am. Energy levels have been good. Haven't felt the need for coffee much at all this week. I've been drinking half-caf or decaf first thing in the mornings b/c I enjoy it, but often not finishing the travel mug. It is getting colder so have been drinking a bunch of herbal tea around the gym to stay warm while coaching.
Sugar cravings are virtually non-existent! This felt impossible just a few weeks ago, but certainly liberating now.
Hike: 45 min at WWC. Chilly temps, but the sun is out!
Sleep 730p-315a (woke up w/out alarm) in bed til almost 4
Training @ 7am
30 sec amrap burpees (16, 14, 14 - 31s) rest 30 sec x 3 (rest 3 min) 1 min amrap wall balls rest 1 min x 3 (20, 22, 23) Hit myself in the jaw with the ball several times on the first set. Third set felt best. Finally found a rhythm. (rest 4 min) 3 min @ 90%: 10 double unders 5 KBS - 1.5 pd rest 2 min x 2 Set 1: 6+10 DUs Set 2: 7 Practiced getting the bell all the way overhead on the first swing which was successful & felt smooth.
For your entertainment: Here is Lloyd getting his strength work in earlier this week.
One of my fellow coaches gave me this container of Marcona Almond Butter just before the holidays. She raved about it and told me how she has to be careful not to eat a whole container.
I took it home and was unimpressed. It tasted bland. This got me thinking about the regularity of sugar in my diet.
10 days into 90 days without sugar & I pulled the almond butter back out of the cupboard. This time it was a whole different experience; a delicious one at that!
We often don’t categorize sugar as a drug, but my first few days without it I experienced headaches in the afternoons (my normal sweet tooth snacking time) and after the headaches ended some general moodiness which may or may not be connected to sugar. (As a woman it’s hard to say. However after 10 days I’m feeling great & my taste buds seem to be functioning better as well!
Here is my husband Corey on yesterday's Big Dawg Function workout. Rnd 5 @ 305lbs. This is the first time since we opened the gym (almost 3 years) that we both have been able to train more days per week than we rest on a consistent basis. I'm excited to see how he does this spring!
Training @ 6am
3 sets: Row sprints: 30 sec max effort rest 2:30
rest 5 min
3 sets: row sprints: 30 sec max effort rest 2:00
rest 5 min
3 sets: row sprints: 30 sec max effort 1:30 rest
Set 1: 149m/148/148
Set 2: 148/148/146
Set 3: 146145/145
Horrible, but longer work interval would have been much worse. I focused in for 20 hard pulls and it was over. Recovery didn't feel a huge amount different as the time became less. My HR was still up at 2:30 as it was for 1:30. Just felt like I lost some of the pop in my leg drive.
In case there was any doubt on my accuracy with yesterday's K2E I have a bruise on my left elbow to verify. haha
Sleep 730p-4a. Was in a deep sleep when the alarm went off. First time that's happened in awhile. Energy levels feel good & mood feels back to normal. Also feels like I'm past my afternoon sugar cravings. Wahoo! Afternoon hike: 45 min @ WWC
Busy morning coaching the floor. 5:30-12:30 Started the clean around 10:30 but then had to cover the floor for awhile and not able to finish B & C until around 12:30 when the morning was done.
A. Clean - build to a tough double TnG; rest as needed - no fails 100lbs, 120, 130, 135, 140, 145 all x 2. Felt good. Sorry for the horrible lighting in the video, but hey you get the profile. Felt good. Thought about going for 150, but 145 felt tough. MUCH better than my cleans here where I couldn't hit 1x148. B. Front Squat @ 32X1; knees out on up; 6,6,6; rest 2 min
6x103lbs, 6x113lbs, 6x118lbs. Wasn't sure about the 6th one at 118, but finished it. This was as hard as I was expecting it to be. C. 100 knees to elbows for time Went 20, 10, then a few sets of 6/4 then some 5s and smaller sets for last 15ish. Splits of 25 in about 35s, 50 in just under 2 min, 75 in 3:21, 4:58 overall. Kept my kip much longer than when I did 75 T2B. This time I didn't do any strict until the last dozen or so and then was able to get the kip back again for the finish.
Sleep 8p-1:15a then a very light & irregular sleep until the alarm @ 4am. Energy levels were fair today despite interruption of sleep. One travel mug of half caf got me through 6 hours of coaching with two hours leading group classes.
Should be able to get the dogs out for a hike later in the day.
Mood is much improved today. Perhaps I was just tired?
Training: noonish on trails at Warren Wilson College. 10 min warm up of mostly walking with some periods of running and a few running drills.
I took both dogs today so in order for Hoka my 12+ yr old to keep up I would run out 2 min and back 1 min. Felt really good. Legs definitely started to feel a bit heavier last 5-10 min, but still felt good to switch gears which i did for a few short bursts.
It's funny how few runs for any kind of duration I have done since I started CFing. I think it just comes down to the fact that I did so much of it for so many years that I need to be told to go out and do it again. I enjoy it when I do!
Sleep 9p-5:30a. I am back to feeling a bit irritable. Not sure the story there. Perhaps I'm low in Vit D. I usually go tanning about every 7-10 days and haven't been in a couple weeks. Also, I have been having some caffeinated drinks here and there instead of only decaf in the mornings. The only other difference is taking out sugar. I don't feel sad or that I am missing out on anything. I don' t find it hard to find energy to coach my clients, but I love coaching. I'm a bit sluggish for my own working out and then when the coaching day is done it's hard to find motivation to take care of the stuff that goes into running a gym. I'm also not super excited to do my own workouts.
Did a bit of lifting with the 7am crew before my own training. 10 min to a hang snatch double: Stayed light and focused on staying on the heels and pulling that bar in against me. 53, 63, 73, 83, 93x 2. OHS: 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 with 3 min rest b/w. 88lbs, 98lbs, 110lbs, 115lbs, 125lbs x 1 F, 125lbs x 1. I just couldn't end on a miss. The second one felt much better. The behind the neck jerk felt not so hot. I've never felt great BTN and it's definitely been awhile since I've done anything there. Got started into the following immediately after as they busted through a tough 10 min WOD of burpees & back squats that we named "Little Dutch Boy" after Dutch Lowy who programmed this workout for our affiliate back in 2010 to help determine our affiliate team that year. A. back squat - 60% 1RM; 8 sets of 3 @ 20X1; rest 45 sec b/t sets - work on knees out at bottom All lifts @ 115lbs. Felt fine. B. squat clean - 3 x 3 @ 80%; work on speed out of bottom; rest 1 min Again used 115lbs. 3rd rep of each was definitely slower. C. standing press @ 22X2; 5-6 x 3; rest 3 min 6x63lbs, 6x73lbs, 5x83lbs D. AMRAP DU;s in 10 min Went at this with small chippers. I'm not very good at large sets as it is (PR of 60-70ish consecutive) so I just stuck with what I'm comfortable with. My husband did this workout on Monday as he follows the Big Dawg's Function blog. He hit 405 so my goal was to at least better his mark. I was a bit nervous at half way, but I held on fine. Biggest limiter was fatigue of upper body. Perhaps this will improve when I convert to the lighter rope. Today I stuck with my Buddy Lee. I swear I did this before when I followed the Big Dawg blog, but could not find it scrolling through the archives. I didn't keep my training anywhere other than posting results to the website. I feel like this is definitely an improvement. Next time I'd like to hit 500. Started out with 30 then a few sets of 20 but most sets were 8-20 with numerous around 10 especially the second half. 230 @ halfway 400 @ 9 min 440 overall
Feeling more back to normal today. Ate plenty of food to make up for yesterday.
Late afternoon hike of 1:40 at Bent Creek. Such a great day with highs in the 60s! A much welcomed relief after those freezing temps earlier in the week!
Sleep 7:30-4a
Hike: Quick 20 min evening walk with dogs
Past two days I have been a bit irritable. I'm thinking it's probably the shift away from sugar. And I'm making a point to eat more real food carbohydrate sources to curve it. We made a big batch of sweet potatoes, turnips, golden beets that we first baked and then put in the big ole mixer to blend with unsweetened coconut milk and some cinnamon. It's like dessert especially when warm, but I quickly tire of it.
Training @ 8am 5th: 3 min @ 80%: 1 muscle up 10 lunges I restarted this one a couple times as my muscle ups were sucking. First I tried to do the workout without taping my wrists and I just can't hang on for shit without it. Even with tape I was getting no turn out at the bottom. I finally resigned the full turn out muscle up and just got some in with bent arms. I'm on a muscle-up slump. Did 5 rounds. rest 1 min 3 min @ 80%: row 2:09 pace rest 1 min 3 min @ 80%: 5 ring push ups 5 KBS russian heavy 5 rounds + 5 ring push ups with 2 pood. rest 1 min 3 min @ 80%; 2:07 pace row
I don't think I ate enough carbs after yesterday's workout and woke up hungry this morning. I typically fast most of the morning, but when I felt that way I wanted to make a point to eat early. I went back after the first hour of training clients cleared out only to realize that we forgot our food bag at home. Doh! So instead of eating more than normal this morning I went from 4am-nearly 4pm without any significant meal. Had some almonds around the gym a grapefruit from holiday gifts and my post workout recovery drink that I recently started experimenting with. By the time for the ride home with Corey my perky personality tank was past empty.
However after 10 days I’m feeling great & my taste buds seem to be functioning better as well!
