093013

Today I 100% underestimated my workout going into it, and finished doubled over in an ant hill trying not to puke. This is why I #TIP.

20 95# Front Rack Walking Lunges
100 double unders
400 m run
rest 8 minutes, repeat
Round 1: 4:42 Round 2: 4:44. Lunges were ok. Just heavy enough to cause a pause at the top. Double unders were ok--First round I got 50 UB, then like 20, 15, 15. The second round, I think I got to about 30...then 15...then 30....and then missed on a bunch towards the end. The run was brutal. I think I was audibly panting. At one point I tried to hack a lougie, but missed and spit on myself. I am really classy and attractive. I then spent the next 20 minutes trying to calm my ass down and not vomit. It was great. You win Paul. Please sir, may I have another?

My October resolution is to be better about logging my food; I keep track in my fitness pal, but I just don't have the energy to transfer it here...because I'm lazy.

092813

Holy pecs batman, my chest is soreeeeeeeee. My abs are too actually. Today I had 30 minutes of running...which I am notoriously bad at...but instead of whining (ok I whined a little), I just kept telling myself that I was happy to have the opportunity to work on improving my running. Towards the end I kind of believed it.

:30 run 85%RPE
:30 Run :50% RPE
X 30
Pretty straight forward, and pretty brutal. My quads and hip flexors felt pretty tight starting out....and at random times throughout the workout, but generally loosened up as I kept moving. I had the genius idea to set my tabata timer to 30 on 30 off, so I wouldn't have to keep an eye on the clock while I ran and set map my run to see what kind of mileage I covered. The good news is, the tabata timer worked...bad news...map my run didn't. My fingers swelled a little bit, but they've done that before after running...and my forearms weren't tight, so I wasn't too worried.

Ate ok today. Still pretty bad about logging my meals...maybe I'll be better this week?

092713

Woke up early to get this workout in before I went to get my arms checked out. It went pretty well; my hands didn't swell up too much but I did feel a little tight..and achy...wah. My doctor agrees that it's probably exercise induced compartment syndrome (def ODed on the muscle ups) and it should subside with 2-3 weeks of rest, and then I can slowly ramp back up and see if the sausage fingers return. Probably good that I'll have some time to work on lower body, because my squats were pretty iffy today. I had to drop weight halfway through.


EMOM x 20 min
Odd BS 3-4 reps at 85% 1 RM
Even 10 Dips (gravitron) unbroken!
3x175# 1-9 then dropped (oops) then went to 4x155# 10-20. Felt kind of unstable throughout. Really focused on ROM and getting deep
Dips felt weak. Started with 20# of assistance, went to 30# assistance towards the end to keep them unbroken
+
50 unbroken wallballs 8#
Last 10 were hard. Other than that felt good
+
Tabata Sit Ups; 10 rounds of 30 on, 15 off
had time to kill, so I threw in some abs.

accountability

This week my facebook feed has  been littered with articles about CrossFit’s “dirty little secret” and how everybody is getting injured from doing eighty kajillion push presses every day…for time…with no rest…ever… I also got diagnosed with exercise induced compartment syndrome this week. The irony is not lost on me. Anyhow, I’m not planning on talking about the half-truths and inaccuracies that were presented in these articles..or the fact that many people, like marathon runners, place similar stress on their bodies…but I want to talk about accountability.

My name is Gabi, I have compartment syndrome, and it is my fault. Not CrossFit. Backstory: my forearms and hands have been swelling when I work out ever since I got a muscle up….and then did them over and over again…and then attempted them over and over again when I failed. We suspect that that caused the initial injury/microtears to my muscles causing swelling (muscles swell, fascia does not) creating the perfect storm that is chronic exertional  compartment syndrome. Did it happen while I was crossfitting? Yes. Is it CrossFit’s fault? No. This overuse injury is 100% my fault. I was the one that decided to get up on the rings and try a muscle up. I was the one that continued to work on them, past failure. I was the one that “pushed through the pain” and kept going even after multiple coaches told me to stop. Maybe crossfit creates an environment where an individual can push themselves too far, but have some accountability people. Nobody holds a gun to your head and makes you do anything….and in my case, I was actually told to pump the breaks and pull back a little bit. MAYBE CrossFit attracts the kind of people that push themselves to the extremes, it’s definitely taylor-made competitive, fit, individuals who often push themselves to their limits. But in the end, we do this because we want to. We pay the monthly membership fees, we voluntarily drive to the gym every day, and we choose to take part in the daily workout (and in my case, and then some), but we can stop or leave at any time. Never, EVER have I felt pressure to do anything in my gym from anyone other than myself. The coaches push you, but are aware that you have limits, and are pretty dang good at recognizing them…and the other people you’re working out with..? They are so busy busting their asses, that they don’t give a damn what you are doing.

So that’s it. We all have free will. Stop blaming crossfit, if you get hurt, it’s on you.

092613

I'm still relatively cranky about the status of my arms...and annoyed at myself, because this was 100% overuse. I have an appointment with our hand specialist tomorrow, so hopefully I'll get some more info.

Air Dyne
:30 85% RPE avg 275 watts
:30 50% RPE avg 175 watts
X5
Active rest mobility work
3 min
X 3
I wasn't 100% accurate with the wattage, but the RPE was definitly 85% and 50%. My quads are pretty sore. Tried to focus on pushing AND pulling with my legs (and trying not to grip the AD too much)

Foodwise I'm eating pretty well. Getting my macros close to 100%. I just don't have the energy to type it all out.

092513

Started off the morning with the bring sally up back squat WOD as a warm up (it was recorded...video coming soon. I linked the youtube video that inspired it all for now..) Simple concept: 95# bar..everytime they say bring sally down, squat. bring sally up, stand up. It was pretty brutal and I missed a few of the squats because 1) the song confused me and 2) my quads are straight jello from squat cleans, 5rm squats, AND 10 minutes of BJ (box jumps...sickos..)...so there was that.

THEN I got to do the fitness tester:
10RFT
400m run
15 burpees
31:22. This was miserable. Running is not my strong suit...and I really could feel the extra mass that I've acquired from operation: build muscle. I was a little hesitant to do the burpees because of the whole hand swelling shenanigans...but I sucked it up, and did it. Somewhere between round 5 (tiny hands) and round 10 (sausage fingers), my hands swelled up. It wasn't as bad as it has been, but still is alarming to me. I'm not very good at dealing with injury. Anyhow, back to the workout. It was mentally tough too. My goal was just to keep moving, and I succeeded, however I had to coach myself through the run. I pretty much kept telling myself that if this was the last time I could ever run, would I be ok with stopping? (no) And then I almost got hit by a car....and was like wow that was close, run faster. The burpees weren't bad. I actually kind of like them. the end.

Set Back

So I talked to one of the physicians I work with about my forearm/hand swelling issue, and he confirmed my suspicions of chronic exertional compartment syndrome. Soooo no upper body, heavy grippy activity for 2ish weeks. Great. I was fully planning on ignoring this medical advice, but when  I told Paul that I was planning on doing the rowing/pull up/thruster WOD today, he laughed at me and told me otherwise. So I did the Fitness Tester today....and got a massage...and whined....BUT DID NOT CRY. I feel generally ok about this, I'll share my thoughts later.

Back Squat 5RM
5RM 175; got 3 at 180. My quads are toasted from squat cleans yesterday
+
DB Split Squat 8RM (ea leg)
40#/hand. This made my fingers turn into sausages.
+
10min AMRAP of Box Jumps (jump up, step down)
187. Paul said get 200. whoops