Back at it this morning, BlogLand, and it felt great. Sometimes, I wonder why I get off track, as I always feel SO much better when I'm training. Dear Self, Learn this Lesson.
So, it was a CrossFit morning, today. I haven't been to CrossFit in a week or so (*sigh*), so I was a little apprehensive today was going to be evil... but as it turns out, today was going to be a Strength Day (YAY! My Favorite!).
We began with a Warm Up:
- 5 min. Jump rope: Things to ponder, to prepare for mastery of Double Unders... Try jumping slower, and letting your heel gently tap the ground each time, rather than staying on the ball of your toes. This was much harder to execute than I anticipated.
- 5 min. leg/hip stretch to prep for today's WOD: Note to self: remember these stretches. This was awesome. It was like mini-yoga, and really stretched out my hip flexors and quads, etc.
- 2 min. in full down-squat position. Ow. There's not much else to say there.
- 2 min. on the foam roller: working on the upper thoracic region of the back, to help with flexibility/tightness, allowing more upright of a back while lifting.
Then, after a little practice it was onto the WOD:
The first challenge was to complete two of the one-minute benchmark activities. I chose:
- Burpees (result: 15 in a minute)
- Sit ups (result: 25 in a minute)
My burpee number felt pretty respectable to me, but one of the other guys in the class busted out 22. Geesh. I felt like I was moving. HMM. Must continue to work on this.
Then, we got to the Strength Activity:
This was how it was set up (before I modified it):
Not for time; complete:
- 1 Thruster @ 1 rep Max weight
- 10 Thrusters @ 80% 1RM weight
- 1 Thruster @ 1RM
- 20 Thrusters @ 65% 1RM
- 1 Thruster @ 1RM
- 30 Thrusters @ 50% 1RM
Sets of 10, 20, & 30 should be unbroken
That's not quite what ended up happening, mostly because I had no idea what my !RM was going to be, so first, Tyler (the CrossFit Instructor of the day) and I had to find that. As it turns out, I had a solid 1RM at 100#. Apparently, this is pretty good? It caused this other lady in the class to come over and ask me how long I'd been doing CF, etc. and comment on the weight. The tricky thing with a Thruster is that it is basically a front squat - which I am good at - with a Push Press - which my arms/shoulders are not as strong at. It was frustrating to feel like I could've put MORE weight on for the squat portion, but just couldn't QUITE get it over my head, without killing myself. Next time!
So, after a few minutes and 5-10 reps of trying to find that one rep max, I did. Rawr. That felt good.
Then, I backed it down to 70# and did 10 thrusters in a row. THAT may have been harder than the One Rep Max, as you must just keep going. For someone with whiny shoulders and arms (me), that is the hard part. Squats, no problem, but when you must suddenly convince your body that you're going to "explode" and throw this up over your head... there can be protests.
Back to the One Rep Max. 100# was definitely trickier this time. Did I do it? Yes. After a little break, a sip of water and a quick self-pep talk. Thankfully, I like the challenge of lifting, so I was up to this task. It did not STAY above my head for long, but it got there, my elbows locked out, there was a pause... SO, it counted.
Whew. Little break. Back to 70# (My reps are not quite as prescribed, as I didn't have the proper weights to divide them up, and I was mixing up the WOD anyway. ). 20 reps at 70#... THAT was evil. I broke this one into 2 sets of 10. You were supposed to shoot for going straight through the 20... but I was getting tired, and I know that keeping form is more important. Plus, not for nothing, but 70# was slightly heavier than prescribed. So there!
And, I loaded on the One Rep Max, again. 100#. This was REAL UGLY, by this point. I got it to the rack position (at my chest, ready to go up into a push press), and wasn't totally sure I was going to make it down the squat and up overhead. BUT, the worst that could happen was I dropped it (rubber bumpers! Yay!), so I'd at least give it a shot. Dooowwnn to squat. Check. Quick Pep talk. Up! Over head! I made it... but I must admit, I didn't quite get my arms locked over head, and I definitely dropped this bad boy - not set it down gently. So, we'll say I got half credit, here.
Finally (what a relief!), it was on to 40#, and a set of 30. Picking up that 40# felt SO LIGHT after all this. It was a beautiful thing. However, by this point, my muscles were All. Done. so 30 of these things in a row was grueling. I managed 20, then I had to give in, put the bar down and have a couple of seconds, before banging out the last 10.
It was actually my wrists that were the limiting factor. I must work on keeping them straight when the weight is over my head, etc. , to reduce the stress on them.
All in all, I was happy with today's WOD. I put some good work in, found out what my 1RM is, and got my sweat on. Now, a few hours later, I'm definitely feeling it in my shoulders.
After the work out, I was switching my shoes and the lady that commented earlier, came over to ask me about my shoes (Inov-8, for the win!). She asked me how I liked them, and I told her I loved them, though they do take a little getting used to (they're minimalist) for the sake of your legs/joints, but since she was in Vibrams, she'd probably be fine. I commented that I use them to run in, and still love them a lot. And she looked at me dubiously and was like, "Oh? You run in them? Like a couple of miles?" I was like, "No... actually, I've run up to 6 or 7 in these, and never had an issue...".... to which she replied "Oh" and raised her eyebrows at me.
I wasn't sure how to take that. Old Me chimed in her two sense about how that woman must not think a fat chick like me could possibly run 6-7 miles.... but then, I tried to remind myself that she just watched me do a respectable heavy thruster... surely she must think of me as slightly more capable "athlete" (I use the term loosely). But... Who knows. I didn't like the tone of her look at me. Bleh. I think it is just the mind-set that I've been in, lately. Still not quite out of it... but seriously, BlogLand, I swear, she gave me an "oh reallllyy..." look, like I was making that up.
Ah well... I will leave you with these words to reflect on:
"Some of the greatest battles will be fought within the silent chambers of your own soul." - E.T. Benson
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