27.12.10

Getting Fit for the New Year

I don't have to worry about that. I'll just keep doing what I'm doing. Thanks Crossfit!

23.12.10

The Next Round of Goals

When I started Crossfit, I wrote down a few goals that I've managed to reach this year. One was running a 10K - I actually ran a Half-Marathon. I'm going to run another this year (http://www.eugenemarathon.com/) so I can get a better time. Do I like running? No. Do I see it as a challenge? Definitely! My half-marathon was physically the most difficult thing I've ever done, but I know I can do better.


I also got my first RX pull-up this year. I tried doing my first WOD with RX pull-ups - Baseline - but that didn't go so well. But that's the thing with Crossfit; it will come up again and I'll do better. There's always another opportunity for improvement.


So here are my new sets of goals. They shouldn't coincide with new year's resolutions - it's just taken me a while to get these down. I'll totally achieve these by June.


Finish Half-Marathon in under 2:20
RX Fran
Do a handstand push-up
Go Paleo for a full month - no cheating
RX Cindy
RX Fight Gone Bad

I may not get the best times, but whatever I get is better than before. I can't stress enough how I was never an athlete before any of this and I still have a hard time calling myself that. But if I can reach these goals, I'll feel a little better about it.

17.12.10

The Cheering Section

On Wednesday, I was lucky enough to do the Filthy Fifty. This is a workout that's truly .... filthy. It goes a little something like this:

For time:
50 Box jump, 24/20 inch box
50 Jumping pull-ups
50 Kettlebell swings, 1/ 3/4 pood
Walking Lunge, 50 steps
50 Knees to elbows
50 Push press, 45/35 pounds
50 Back extensions
50 Wall ball shots, 20/14 pound ball
50 Burpees
50 Double unders

The second numbers are the women's RX. But someone in the morning decided that the womens' RX kettlebell should be 1 pood, so that's what I did. We'll get back to that.
Anyway, I've done the Filthy Fifty twice before. The first time, I did the scaled version, "The Dirty Thirty," which was brutal enough. The second time, this summer, I did all 50 reps of everything, but I scaled it to my level (I think I stepped up on some of the box jumps and used a 10# wall ball). This time, my goal was to RX it, ideally in under 30 minutes. This was the intention anyway.
The box jumps were fine. The jumping pull-ups were fine. When I got to the kettlebells, I was still upset that I had to use 1 pood, which was the same weight much stronger men were using. I usually use 1 pood during a workout, but we usually don't have to do 50 in a row. And I knew, I knew, that the RX for women was 3/4 pood. Whatev. Enough complaining. I'll let it go now.
Lunges will suck any day, but the most deceptive move came next - knees to elbows. Since I've done this workout before, I know that this is the hardest move. You basically hang from a bar and swing your knees up to your elbows - 50 times. It's a core workout, but it kills the grip on your hands and it doesn't feel great on the shoulders, which were already smoked from the KB swings. I could only do 4 at a time, so I made an executive decision. It's my workout, my conscious, so I modified them. I did them on the floor. Doing it this way meant I wouldn't put an RX next to my name, but it wouldn't take me an hour. It still hurt and it still took a while. Damn those knees to elbows.
Because I'm so weak, the push press also sucked. The back extensions are like a mini-vacation. You know how I feel about wall balls. I threw one 14# in the air and decided to use the 10#. I had already scaled it, so I didn't care at this point. I just wanted to finish. Then came the worst part of the WOD. There were only a few of us left when I started the burpees and the next class had started to trickle in. After a couple minutes, I was the last person doing burpees.
One of the great things about Crossfit is that you have a community of people cheering you on. I often appreciate it. It really helps me through some tough workouts. Sometimes, it works against me. When people started cheering me on during the Filthy Fifty, I still had 40 burpees to go. I know how long it takes me to do 40 burpees and I really didn't want a bunch of people standing around yelling at me for 5 minutes. I was also getting upset because I kept losing count. I didn't want to do anymore burpees than I had to. So I made it clear that I did not want encouragement during the WOD; I just wanted to finish on my own. So that's what I did.
I feel bad when I yell at people who have good intentions, but I know how I can get through these workouts. Often times, I yell at people when I'm trying to finish my pull-ups. I know how fast I can do pull-ups. Cheering won't help when my shoulders give out. But I still appreciate the cheering most of the time and I'm happy to cheer on my friends. But if I get that look, I know to shut it and cheer in my head.

12.12.10

This Will All be Over in Five Minutes

That's usually what's going through my head during a workout. If we're doing something I really don't like, something like wall balls, I just try to think, "This will all be over in 5/10/15 minutes." That usually helps me get through it.


I watched The Amazing Race tonight (anyone want to sign up with me?), and they had to hang from this tall bridge or platform or something - something involving heights that scared the crap out of some of them. They didn't really have time to be scared since this was the final episode and there was a million dollars in sight, so they just did it. I think if I were in that situation and my challenge was really scary, like something in the water, I'd tell myself that it will all be over in an hour and I won't have to do it again.


Wall balls can be scary, too, especially when they hit you in the face.

9.12.10

Random Thoughts

  • Pull-ups are hard.
  • Finally got new shoes - Nike Frees. Now I'll RX everything!
  • I can usually tune out the terrible music played at Crossfit, but when an awful cover band does Depeche Mode, I have to say something, even if it's in the middle of a WOD.
  • Are there any Depeche Mode songs that would be good for Crossfit? I tried to figure that out last night. I'm still not convinced, but if there were they would come off either Ultra or Songs of Faith and Devotion. (I'm pretty sure David Gahan wasn't in a good place when they made those albums.)
  • TV has been abysmal since LOST ended.
  • Sometimes I watch The Biggest Loser. I know, I can watch commercials anytime, but I still tune into this show anyway. I guess now when they get down to the final four they have them run a Biggest Loser marathon. I'm not sure this is sending the right message. These people were like 400 pounds 4 months ago. I just don't think a marathon is a realistic goal for someone who is 400 pounds right now (sitting on their couch) and wants to do this in 6 months. Sure, it's an accomplishment, but a marathon is really, really hard*.
  • So are pull-ups.
  • I'm pretty sure Crossfit is a front for the Fish Oil industry.

*I'm going to sign up for the Eugene Half Marathon in May. I can get a much better time the second time around, especially with my new kicks!