Snatch work and interval wod

Two parts, part A:



3 snatches a minute for 10 minutes



Today I did real snatches, ones where I recieve the bar in a squat position. Historically I've had a lot of problems with this, so I went light with 95#'s, treating it like a skill day.

The first couple were pretty rusty, and my hip didn't appreciate going all the way into the squat. However, I might have been going lower than necessary, as I have a tendency to do that. I really tried to dive under the bar, but not go as low as I can possibly go (which is like three inches below parallel). After the third or fourth set, I started to find the right position.

However, I was still a little unstable when coming up with the bar. Andrea pointed out that after recieving the bar I should wait a second, stabalize, and then stand up. I started doing this and while the extra core strength effort really sucks the life out of you, it is effective.

Near the end I think I really started to catch the bar in active shoulder after flipping out my hands. Usually I feel like moving my hands around the bar takes a little bit, and in the process I move the bar around my hand, instead of moving my hand around the bar. Well, for the last couple of set I was really starting to get a nice snap out of flipping out my wrists, and I could tell I wasn't pushing or pulling the bar forwards or backwards. At the end I really felt like I've improved on the snatch, even a year after I attended the Olympic lift certification class.

The second part, an interval wod, was hell.

3-5 rounds

350m row
25 push ups
15 pull ups

The 25 push ups were deadly, I don't know why but those random sets of push ups I'm doing don't seem to help too much. Also, I'm afraid that my shoulder is starting to feel that twinge of pain that is tendonitis. I'm an idiot and ignored the pain (since it is so slight) and pushed through. On the third set Andrea started setting goals for me, like "Now do 5 push ups" then "rest for three breaths". I was dead tired on the third set, but Andrea's breaking the wod down was extremely helpful.

Appearently, doing sub-max reps and resting a bit will get your farther faster than doing max reps. For example, if I do pushups until failure (say 19), I'll be so exhausted that banging out those last six will take forever. However, if I broke it up into 5 sets of 5, I won't push my body to the breaking point, will recover faster, and will accomplish the goal of 25 push ups in less time.

I'm a little concerned about the shoulder, but I have a week of rest/holiday ahead, not to mention I will meet up with Olga tomorrow, so she can work on my shoulder for a bit.

Saturday, SNOW DAY!!

There was supposed to be the hopper final this weekend, but due to 20" of snow in one day there was NOTHING BUT FUN!! Never really experienced snow, and definitely nothing like this. Made a giant snowman, dude's about as tall as I am, and that itself was a workout.

Moving 7000 lbs

So today was moving 7000#s over one's head for time.

I was going to try to lift 135#s for 52 reps, but I talked to Mellisa and she recommended I go for 74 reps of 95#s. I think this was a better strategy, as I was able to go touch-and-go for the first 15. I was over half way done when it hit 5 minutes. However, I had to slow down considerably after that and finished it up in 11:43 (or something like that).

This was very easy with regards to my glutes, hams, and traps. But what really slowed me down was my lack of breath and my quads. My quads were really barking at me for the clean and screamed at me for the jerk.

I loved this workout, it was awesome. There were some crossfitters who managed this in under 7 minutes, but it's a goal to strive for, right?

Jumping Burbees met-con WOD

So Thursday was a met-con day, typically not my strength, and I think I landed one of the slowest times, again.

5 rounds
250m row
20 jumping burbees (@8" jump)
15 GHD's

Time was 27:42, and I was starting to get a little frustrated at the end. Everything was fine but the burbees (of course), but I felt like I was really starting to get a nice, smooth rhythm. However, I had to pause inbetween breaks a lot longer than I'd like to admit. This time it wasn't the pushup aspect, it felt more like it was my core. Something non-specific was really tired, and I was having a tough time telling it to shut up, that I could do this. I kept trying to tell myself what I would tell others, that I could do this and that I didn't need to rest, but I still found myself standing there with my hands on my hips. I went through the row fairly quickly, and the GHD's didn't prove to be much of an issue, just the burpees.

...Tried doing some PVC overhead squats, and it felt very strange. It was strange because I didn't experience the pain in my hip like I normally do. Very happy about this.

Just got back from the Chiropractor

Dr. Bills commented on how much looser my hips are feeling. However, my right hip abducters (sp?) were tight enough to warrant a started "Whoa" from the doc. I don't think Olga has worked on these, so I will try to remember this for next time. Regardless, doc commented that my flexibility and the tightness of my muscles have greatly improved. Given that this is only have two weeks, it's very, very positive feedback.

He also commented that my left shoulder was all kinds of jacked up, but he put everything back in place so everything should be good now. It wasn't tendonitis but the collerbone and ribs were out of alignment.

...I can't help but notice the fight to become and stay healthy is super expensive. I don't enjoy spending money, I inherited some of my fathers frugality (the man simply does not fing any joy in buying new things), but I'm not buying some tangible thing, I'm buying my health. Instead of getting some temporary high from buying a big screen TV or new clothes, this is something that will last me the rest of my life, and truely improve the quality of it. I'm very, very thankful that I'm in a position to both attend and afford crossfit, as well as the treatments for the various ailments that come along my way. I feel like I'm healthy and experienced enough now to warrant giving back to the community, so my new year's resolution is to find a level I cert and attend it.

Another inadvertent Rest day

Last night the power went out for a brief period of time, so I had to reset the clock and the alarm. Given that I had a 9:00 appointment with Olga, I figured I should make the 6:45 class. However, I woke up on my own at 7:30, realizing that I had mixed up the am with the pm. A little deflated, I got over it and went over to Olga's. She felt like she was able to get more movement/release in my right hip. Can't really do anything today, but looking forward to tomorrow.

Deadlifts, Jumping lunges, and running, oh my!

This was a super tough leg workout, because it involved such a high rep of a heavy deadlift I thought to play it somewhat safe, to go for high intensity and lower weight. Thus I went "pack" with 225

15 Deadlifts (225#)
45 jumping lunges
400m run
12 Deadlifts
36 jumping lunges
400m run
9 Deadlifts
27 jumping lunges
400m run

My time was 17:13. I went through the deadlift with little problem, I decided to try to go touch and go, only being really successful on the last set. The jumping lunges were tough, but I really tried to push through. ...I think this really felt like an exercise that will become easier once I fix my hip. My running sucks, but I feel like I'm improving. For example, now when I lean forward I don't feel my lower back getting tight. I'm trying to keep my stomach engaged more throughout the run and I feel like this is helping out. However, I just simply can't figure out how to get faster. Damnit.