happy place

today I just needed to work out. It was all I thought about at work last night....and this morning...I was just super antsy and ready to go...so naturally clinic ran late, and I sped to the gym a little after noon, praying someone would be there. And there were, so I was safe. Not going to lie, I barely warmed up because I was so anxious/ready to to go, and I think it hindered my oly lifts a little bit...

SHE
A. Clean Pulls - 4 sets of 3; rest 2 min (155#)
These were way harder that I thought they should be. I actually started off a little higher, but I couldn't pull it to save my life. I think these would have been a little smoother if I had warmed up properly. Kind of irritated that I did this to myself.
B. HPC - build to a max (125#)
Can you say disappointing? I know I could have gone heavier, but I kept missing. I blame the hips.
+
for time: (24:34)
100 AD cals (10 min)
75 KBS - 1pd (3:37 25/15/10/10/10/5
50 BJ's - 24" (4:27 jump up, step down)
25 woman makers - 20#/h (6:30)
HARD. HARD HARD HARD. I paced out the AD and it felt ok...my quads got super fatigued, but I kept it steady the whole time. KB weren't terrible since they were relatively light, so I went into the workout planning to do 3 sets of 25, however my shoulders fatigued quickly. I could have probably combined the last two "sets" into 15, I just didn't push it. Box jumps were good. I kept it steady the whole time, jumping up and stepping down. The 24" was also pretty high...go figure. Lastly, the woman makers. I assume they're the same as man makers, which is what I did. And they sucked. I managed to get 5 before needing a break..and then I could only get 1 or 2 at a time. At this point, some emotional fatigue kicked in too. As much as this sucked, this is the kind of stuff  I need to work on..and I feel so much better after getting it done.

I've mentioned this before, but I really need to work on this whole nutrition thing. It's not that I don't eat well, because I do. I only keep healthy food in the house because of my lack of will power...but the timing...and the macros....def something I could work on. Today was a little tough because I had to work early, and then I went to the gym, blah blah blah excuses excuses, I need to become more aware and plan better. working on it.
Meal 1: Fritatta
Wasn't really hungry, but needed to eat something before work
Meal 2: Fried chicken breast out of a chickfila biscuit
One of the drug reps brought Chickfila for us. I was getting hangry, so I jacked some protein..
"Meal 3" aka pre/during/post WOD:  gatorade chews during workout; banana and protein shake after
Should have planned better and fit in a pwo snack..but I didn't..so my tummy was a rumblin' during my workout hence the chews...
Meal 4: BBQ chicken and braised greens from EarthFare
no sugar! yay!
Meal 5: paleo blueberry muffin and almond butter
snack...meal...whatever
Meal 6: small sweet potato, fried egg, one slice bacon, handful of almond PLUS quest bar
at this point I realized that I was a) starving again b) had not eaten enough calories c)had my carb and protein count under 100...so I fed the beast
My total calories today clocked in at about 1660..125 g carbs...125 protein. Not ideal, but it's a start
, progress, I need to do better..

the one where I ate babyfood...

The instructions specified to get a good warm up in...and I did. One thing that I really took from the athlete camp was the importance of a good warm up and how to tailor it to your workout. I did some airdyning...dynamic stretching, and then the movements that are included in the workout today.
3 sets:
BB front rack walking lunges x 12 (65/85/95)
amrap COVP chin ups (10/8/7)
rest 2 min
I think I may have started a little light on the lunges. 65 was way easy and I could continuously lunge. The 95 was tough; I had to lunge-step-lunge-step, but I really felt myself working. The chin ups were disappointing. I tried to butterfly today, but I just wasn't getting the rhythm...so then I did a hybrid butterfly/kip. In hindsight, I feel like I could have done a lot more if I did deadhang with a supine grip....live and learn
+
3 sets:
12 DB SuitCase Dead Lift (40 per hand/50 per hand/50 per hand)
amrap Burpees in 30 sec (13/12/12)
rest 2 min
Suitcase deadlifts were a new one for me, so I was unsure what weights to use. 40 was relatively easy, but with 50, the last few reps got HARD. In the notes, we're instructed to use our lats to control the weights...I think I did that? As far as the burpees go, they were burpees. I felt like I was going as fast as I could. I really don't mind burpees to be honest. Sidenote: This workout has made me learn how to use the clock. Hooray technology.
+
3 sets:
AMRAP Wall Balls - 14# to 10 ft in 45 sec (22/21/18)
rest 15 sec
AMRAP T2B in 45 sec (11/12/11)
rest 2 min
Cue flashbacks to OPT Athlete Camp. Wallballs AND toes to bar?! Not my strongest movements. I managed the first two sets unbroken for the WB...the last set I dropped a few times I think due to both mental and physical fatigue. The toes to bar were ok...not great. Happy to see them because I reallllly need to work on them.

I also did a few sets of HSPU because I just needed to do something "fun" and that I'm good at. I also attempted a strict HSPU and did it! and then I did it again....and again....and then my shoulders were fried. That's a 100% PR suckaaaaa.

I'm struggling a little mentally right now because I am so used to super long, super hard (teehee) workouts with a lot of oly lifting, and (so far) that is not the case with the "She" programming. I've talked to both Paul and Joey about it, and they both said it would be ok to throw a little skill work in there (Joey suggested doing it on the days before my rest days). I'll take their advice, but obviously stick with "She" programming and see where it takes me.

rowing is hard

Too tired to think of a witty title for this post, so I figured I'd just state a very obvious fact. Got to sleep in this morning until about 7:30 this morning, which is when my internal alarm clock decided it was time to get out of bed...did some school work, and dragged my body to the gym. Was excited about the lack of soreness in my quads....until I got to the gym and they decided to blow up on me again. Quadzilla strikes again.

10 min AMRAP @ 80%:

HS hold 30 sec

FLR on rings 30 sec accumulation

L Sit on paralletes - 15 sec

20 DU's
Got 5 full rounds on this. I really enjoy gymnastics work, so I was excited about this AMRAP. The HS holds were pretty easy for me, so I really really really focused on engaging my shoulders and staying hollow. Towards the end my wrists started to ache, which seemed to be a theme throughout this ten minutes. FLR were touch, but unbroken. L sits got tiring really fast. Double unders were good until the last round or so...then I noticed how tight my calfs and shins were..

 

rest 5 min active

 

5 sets:

15 push ups HR

15 bent over db rows - 15#/h

20 db front rack walking lunges - 15#/h

10 ghd sit ups

Row 350 m

REST walk 3 min b/t sets
I completely underestimated this bad boy. The push ups were probably the easiest thing for me (shocker). The rows started out ok, but the last few reps got difficult...and the lunges made my quads SCREAM. GHDs were GHDs. I did them unbroken, so there was that...and the row was brutal. I really need to work on my rowing mechanics...like really really need to work
I recorded the time it took me to do each set as well as the time for the row:
3:34 (1:26)/3:40(1:29)/3:46(130)/3:37(1:32)/3:45(1:34)

Then while I was cooling down...Big Papa Paul told me to go play on the gravitron, so I did...because I'm all about Trusting in Paul (#TIP)
12 pull ups/12 dips @60# assistance
10 pull ups/10 dips @50# assistance
8 pull ups/8 dips @40# assistance 

the tuesday that felt like a monday..

Ups and downs today. Still waiting to get used to the school/work/training grind...and getting my health in check. blah blah blah, trying to stay positive. Had a good workout today; actually did the "She" workout today which was kind of hard to get my head around, because I feel like I should be doing more..but I'm trusting the system and going with it.

A. paused RDL @ 2211; 6-8 x 2; rest 90 sec
125#x8, 135#x6. I haven't done RDLs in like...ever. So it was kind of difficult finding the proper weight. These were heavy at the end, but tolerable.

B. RDL @ 3010; 3-4 x 2; rest 2 min
155#x3, both rounds. Heavy but tolerable. The tempos on both of the RDL sets were killer

C. KBS Russian x 21; rest 1 min x 2
20 kg KB. Reaaaaallllly focused on form and using my hips. These were tiring, but not bad.

D. DB under chin GHD back extensions @ 2010; 10-15 x 2; rest 1 min
 25#x10. In retrospect, I probably chose too heavy of a weight. These were TOUGH. My quads are still super lit up from this weekend, and the pressure from the GHD machine made them hurt. wah.

+

Row 60 sec @ 95% effort

rest walk 3:30 b/t sets x 5
274m/269m/268m/263m/261m; damper at 5.5. I think I'm happy with these? I stayed withing about 10m which is good...my RPE definitely went up as the sets went on..especially at the end. My quads were on fire.

In terms of food, operation eat more and be carby is going ok...probably would be better after I plan some and go food shopping...
meal 1: caramelized onion quiche and paleo muffin
meal 2: *more like two snacks during class.. quest bar, chili lime cashews
meal 3: crockpot chicken and roasted carrots
meal 4: *pre workout: beef jerky
              *post workout: syntha-6 protein; medium sweet potato
meal 5: two shrimp coconut patties and roasted carrots
meal 6: quest bar with sunbutter

switching allegiances ...

sorry outlaw, it's been a fun week (ish), but I'm going to have to change my allegiances over to OPT. Jame's is a freaking ninja genius, and I really appreciate all the science behind his programming (nerd alert)...so boom there it is.

Woke up stupid early this morning to go to a meeting...then to class...and then to my happy place (CCF...duh). Sidenote: my quads are WRECKED. I blame wallballs...and rowing...and OPT athlete camp in general. I conned Kunze (pronounced KUHN-ZEE) into testing my body fat...where we progressed to fix the broken printer...break it...fix it again...and then figure out the right way to insert paper via trial and error. Then I had a nice little warm up and embarked on "being". Halfway through my workout, a certain fuzzy cheetah (cough Joey) told me that I should be doing "she". So I did the second half of the She workout. Awesome. Not only did I have a good workout, but I worked on my OCD tendencies too...

My body comp stats were interesting to me. In about two months, I lost about a pound of fat...gained like .2 pounds muscle, and must have redistributed it a bit because my arms lost muscle and my legs gained it. Looking at my training I'm not surprised. Thrusters and sled pushes are super leggy...and I kipped the shit out of my HSPU and C2B. It was a little unexpected because I feel like my arms look pretty diesel right now, but that could be from the fat loss. I'll be interested to see what my stats are in a month or so..

A. HBBS @ 40X1; 10,8,6,4,2; rest 3-5 min
I did all of these at 125 even though it said to add weight because my quads feel like a fraying rope. I did pay special attention to getting full ROM and keeping the tempo, so not all was lost

B. EMOM - 10 min

odd - PC x 1/PP x 4 TnG moderate

even - amrap COVP pull ups in 20 sec
85# seemed like a nice weight. The PC were easy and the PP were moderate. My pullups super sucked today...my hands are sore and rippy. I got 8/7/7/6/6

+

10 min @ 80%:

TGU x 2/arm moderate

free HS 20 sec accumulation

  oh hey, this was hard too. First off, I don't think I've ever properly done TGU...so I had to do them with a 12 kg KB and they were super hard. Also, fun fact: free standing hand stands are a kazillion times harder than hand stand walks. I completed 4 complete rounds.

rest walk 3 min
(insert learning that I should be doing a different program)

for times:

150 DU's

rest walk 2 min

20 FS - 65#

25 ring push ups

20 FS - 65#

25 T2B

20 FS - 65#

rest walk 2 min

150 DU's
First DU set (2:31); FS cluster (7:19); Second DU set (1:36). Got about 50 unbroken DU on both sets...then kind of went downhill from there with sets of 30...20....and tens on the last set of 150...I'm really happy with where my double unders are now though when I reflect on how they were in Hilton Head. I'm definitely a lot better at them, and have learned how to stay calm while doing them. My quads screamed at me during the front squats, and I broke them up into 5s..T2B were ok...I had to do singles, but I was able to do clusters of 3s, 4s, and 5s. ring push ups were ballin'.

Foodwise, I ate pretty well today (I'll get back to chronicling every bite shortly..), but I was nowhere near the # of carbs suggested this weekend...and under the protein too. I'm definitely going to need to plan better..

Reflections from OPT athlete camp

I have a lot of other fun titles for this post, but I think I'll keep it simple for this one
SATURDAY
After introductions, we jumped right in to the first test...
Test 1:
Find Power Clean 1RM
8 min AMRAP power cleans @ 90% 1 rep
150# powerclean; 26 reps at 135#. I PRed my powerclean today so I'm pretty happy. My max squat clean was 145# (got that at the I CAN games in Hilton Head), and I've power cleaned 140 before...and today I got one rep at 150. hooray! I was super excited about it, until I saw what the other females were doing (160...165...185?!), BUT if I don't compare myself (which I shouldn't), I did pretty damn good. I obviously need to get stronger in order to be more competitive...but my battery was pretty good. A very good score is considered 40-50 (I think?)....so I would consider a score of almost 30 pretty good

After this lovely workout, we discussed how to prepare (and not prepare for a CNS event) as well as some brief nutrition stuff. Moral of the story...we need more carbs (like a loooooooot). Annnnd debriefed the first test. We discussed the 3 ways to improve our score (Skill, Aerobic, and CP battery work) and I feel like I could benefit from all three. I feel like my main goal right now is to get stronger...but I can't let everything else fall by the wayside. Thankfully, we were also given examples of types of workouts we can do to improve all of those things.

We then had lunch...talked about some more nutrition stuff and timing out meals...THEN

Test 2:
Max Effort:
250 m row
10 kbs
10 burpees
10 kbs
10 burpees
10 kbs
250 m row
x3; rest 12 min in between
4:31/5:32/5:30
I equate this to how being punched in the balls repeatedly must feel. I almost puked...twice...briefly contemplated laying down during burpees and playing dead...and actually laid on the tile bathroom floor at the end because it was air conditioned and cool (judge me..please). Anyhow, this was supposed to test our lactate training..and apparently I failed. Apparently your times are supposed to increase each time and not plateau like mine did. oops. This means I either sandbagged it (false) OR I need to work on lactate training so my body can work more efficiently. Sidenote: I had to use the kettle bell of shame (20 kg) even though the workout was supposed to use the 1.5 pood one (24 kg). This was because the other one would have been too heavy and slow me down too much..and I would not have experienced the glorious effects of this test aka: nausea, blurred vision, burning muscles, drying heaving, cotton mouth, and overall death. Here's a clip of the fun.

SUNDAY
What'd we start the day talking about? more lactate training. This time it was in the context of preparing for different competitions...what to focus on...and how to train..I took a fair amount of notes, but right now I don't think this applies to me as much as it did to some of the other athletes that were at camp. I don't have any expectation of qualifying for regionals (this year)...and I'm not planning on competing anytime soon...but all this information was useful nonetheless. AND it brought back some information from my undergrad classes (specifically ex phys and principles), which got me excited about my education, and made me happy face that (one of) my degree(s) applies to something that I am very passionate about. Woooo exercise science! Insert periodization...macro cycles...meso cycles...cycles cycles cycles...and cut.

Test 3:
5 Rounds:
45 double unders
20 wallballs (14#)
10 toes to bar
1:51/2:54/2:58/4:22/3:46. Total Time: 15:51 Difference between fastest and slowest: 2:31. The goal was to do these movements as fast as possible, while keeping a minimal difference between the fastest and slowest round. This was an aerobic task other than the obvious objectives, it shows us that we need to know our engines. From this, I know that I need to work mechanically on my toes to bar (and WB for that matter), and train to finish strong. Below I outlined each round:
Round 1: I went too fast out of the gates on round 1; the DU were smooth and I knocked them out unbroken at a very good pace, I did the WB unbroken as well which in retrospect I think I should have partitioned. The toes to bar weren't slow because I was tired...more so that I mechanically broke down and can't string together multiples. obviously these need work Round 2:  knocked out double unders pretty easy. They felt a little tougher, but I managed to focus on being relaxed and cue myself to keep my head up. Broke up the WB into 5s and had no problem with that. Toes to bar were about the same. I think I got 5-3-2...not positive but that sounded right. Round 3: similar to round 2. Messed up on my double unders and went something like 35-15 Round 4: not really sure what happened other than I mindfucked myself. DU were relatively strong but I had a few misses and took some time to calm myself and get back on track. Wallballs SUCKED. I tried to stick to the 5-5-5-5 method, but I had to drop the ball a couple more times. Toes to bar were toes to bar. It was harder to hold on to the bar though, so I dropped a bunch. I think I adopted a 2-2-2-2-2 scheme. Maybe a 3 was thrown in...but that's the general idea. This round is really where the role of my partner/coach came into play. Dustin was right there yelling at me to get back on the ball/bar....to breathe/shake it out...etc..and I found it really helpful. I have noticed that I have an issue with people cheering for me (in my twisted mind, I think they're doing it because they feel bad for me), but I do well coaching (most of the time). I try to coach myself through workouts, for example when I get tired and have to break...I yell 3-2-1 go in my head (sometimes I talk to myself...), but it is helpful to have an outside source..Round 5: At this point, I just wanted this workout to be over. I missed a few more times on my double unders. I think mostly because I was tired and flustered. Wall balls were exponentially harder...but I also had the added encouragment of Kunze and Steve. Toes to bar were status quo. I just kept telling myself that next time I do this workout, I'd freaking beast those t2b. And then I was done.

THEN we talked about other shit (sidenote: if I had a dollar for everytime James said "shit", I would be living the dream doing exclusive coaching decked out in lululemon)..and when James mentioned some mental shit (see what I did there?), I capitalized on that and asked him how to improve mental toughness. There's a lot that I could say about this, but I think these pages from my notebook sums it up quite nicely.

 

Yep...there you have it. Be present...be smart...and have balls. To be fair he also said ovaries..lout I guess I'm sexist..resilience is also key. In all seriousness though, this was probably the most important thing for me to hear this entire weekend. Yes I need to get stronger, Yes I need to get faster, Yes I need to work out A,B,C and D....but I feel like so much of my problem is that I stand in my own way because I get in my head. This was good. I may post a copy of this page on my bathroom mirror...and maybe hide it somewhere at the gym....

 Test 4:
lactate power training:
3 rounds
6-7 TnG power cleans at 85# (was supposed to be 45-60% 1RM...this was a little under 60)
6-7 No push burpee box jumps to a 20 in box
20 sec AD sprint
rest 5-7x work
1:03/:57/:55. Looking back, I feel like I could have burpeed faster...and pushed everything a little more. overall, it was pretty good I guess.
 THEN
4x
30sec max effort/30sec rest on the rower
153m/144m/131m/126m. Honestly, I surpassed my own expectations on this. My goal was to keep in under the 2 min pace for 500 m....and I definitely did.  That is not to say that I don't need to improve, because I do. Buuuutt I think it's a good way to start. This is an easy thing to train; doing intervals at a steady state.

We had another debrief session and then it was time to go. I came out of the camp with a sweet shirt, some more bruises, a tired body, and a new sense of where I am and where I want to go. Shit's about to get serious..real fast.

so this workout....

The gym is closed tomorrow (and this weekend) for OPT athlete camp (more on that later), so I decided to do tomorrow's workout today. Too bad my body said hellllll nah.

This was my workout:
BBG

1. Snatch from Blocks @ Top of knee: Take 10 minutes to work up to a heavy triple (no misses), then repeat for three sets – rest as needed.
2. Clean & Jerk from Blocks @ Top of knee: Take 10 minutes to work up to a heavy double (no misses), then repeat for three sets – rest as needed.

Strength
1) HBBS: 1X5@70%, 3X4@80%
2a) Front Squat: 1X5@60%, 1X5@65%, 2X5@70% – rest 60 sec.
2b) 4X8 Close Grip Bench Press (hands 12″ apart) @ 70% of Max from 130816 – rest 60 sec.

Notes: There are four sets of both FS and BP, these should be performed alternating (as usual with A/B work).

3a) 3XME Strict Tempo Suppinated Pullups (3 count pause with chin over bar) – rest 60 sec.
3b) 3X15 Reverse Hypers – heavy but fast, rest 60 sec.

This is what I did:

1. Snatch from Blocks @ Top of knee: Take 10 minutes to work up to a heavy triple (no misses), then repeat for three sets – rest as needed.
2. Clean & Jerk from Blocks @ Top of knee: Take 10 minutes to work up to a heavy double (no misses), then repeat for three sets – rest as needed.

I snatched like 85# and C&Jed 115#. It was hard. I had zero motivation. I was exhausted. SOOOO I listened to my body and peaced out. Don't feel too bad because I made the decision to go to this athlete camp thing this weekend, so yay 48 hours of training. wheeeee