Grace

I was pretty happy with how this WOD went.  I'm not a huge fan of Grace, it is a little boring.  I would rather do a long chipper style workout than a sub-5 minute WOD of 30 clean and jerks but at the end of the day I seem to always improve a little.

 

Date	Clean and Jerk	Time
13/09/2012	15	2:20
11/10/2012	17.5	2:36
15/02/2013	20	2:51
5/07/2013	22.5	3:10
22/01/2014	30	4:50
2/06/2015	25	3:07
21/12/2015	30	4:00

Finally!

3 years I have been going to Crossfit.  3 years I have had the goal of doing a box jump.  3 years I have been crippled with fear of jumping onto a box.  The highest I have successfully jumped with 2 feet jumping and landing at the same time has been 3 bumper plates which equates to 9 or 10 inches.  I have attempted 4 plates before but couldn't land 2 feet.  I have a 12" box at home but have been unsuccessful in jumping on that and it freaks me out more than the boxes we have at the gym.

I purchased a 20" foam box for home.  I would have liked to have gotten a smaller one but they were only available in sets of 3 boxes and way out of my price range so I chose to go with the 20" box and hope that I could jump on the darn thing.  Seeing as I could jump onto my bed which is around the same height there was not reason why I couldn't get my short little legs up onto that box.

It hasn't been as easy as I thought it was going to be.  I have failed over and over, I have had to hold onto Mal's hands and even then there was no guarantee that I would make the jump.  I started looking at buying a 16" box as I had lost all confidence in my ability to jump 20".

Last night Mal was at cricket training when I started my practice.  Jardan had suggested that I record myself doing tuck jumps in front of the box to prove to myself that I'm capable of getting my feet up that high.  It was close but my feet were clearing the box.  I had started doing this thing where I put my hands at the front of the box and jump up and down (rebound jumping).  This helped me get used to the height of the box as well as made me realise that I was capable.  I then did a fast step up and really tried to explode as I stepped up onto the box.  I went from that to again putting my hands on the box, jumping into the squat position and then standing up on top of the box and stepping down.  I noticed that I was resting on my hands less and less but when I tried to just jump onto the box I was finding it hard to bring my feet through into the squat and was landing on my knees.

A few months ago, I was at the gym doing weightlifting.  I couldn't make the lift and despite Tia's coaching failed a few times.  She eventually said to me that to succeed I really need to want it.  Last night I knew that I needed to get hungry.  I decided that I really wanted to make the jump.

Something I noticed when I had Mal hold my hands, my first few failed attempts involved me being able to get my right foot through with my left lagging behind so I decided to focus on getting my right foot into position and not worry about my left.  I did this a few times and then eventually my left foot figured out what to do.  I finally jumped onto a box!!!!  I needed to record it to show my coaches so I set up my tablet and did it again!  After 3 years I have finally jumped onto a box!

Baby Steps

I've made teeny tiny steps forward in some areas.

I bought a 20" foam plyometric box for home and have been practicing on that most days.  I can jump on it while holding onto Mal's hands and I feel like I'm getting a little bit better everyday.  The problem is it has wound up my back a little so I'm having to roll out and stretch more than normal.  My massage therapist noticed that my left side is significantly more developed than my right which explains why I jump with my right foot first, it is also my right side that is tight this week.  Could it be the muscles in my hips and back playing catch up because I'm forcing that side to work harder?



Willing my little legs to jump on this thing!

The other thing has been my handstands.  I haven't been working on them at all despite entering a challenge with some other people to work on them daily.  I will spend more time on them once I figure out my box jumps ... one thing at a time.

Today we did handstands at the gym and despite every fibre of my being telling me to not show up and once I was there I wanted to go home.  There was myself and another guy who couldn't kick up into a handstand, both of us having the same fears.  It was kind of nice to have someone in the same boat as me because most of the time I'm the only one who can't handstand.  Anyway, Jardan worked with us to overcome the fear of being upside down.  It felt great to be in safe hands, knowing that there was a guy on either side of me.  I got more comfortable with being in the handstand and I hope my kickup was a little stronger (I barely get off the ground).  The hard bit for me is that I feel like I'm totally upside down where I'm still a little way off the wall and when my feet were actually against the wall my body felt like it was hyperextended.  I think this will be something that I will need to practice to get used to the body position.

Even though I'm getting frustrated with not moving as fast as I would like, any progress is better than no progress.

Nancy

Today was Nancy which is:

 

Nancy, 5 rounds for Time:

400m Run

15 OHS 42.5/30kg

 

As we all know, overhead squats and me don't mix well.  That aside, I was really happy with this workout today.  When I reflect to where I was not that long ago with my back injury where I could barely overhead squat a 10kg bar, I'm stoked that I was able to perform this movement 75 times using the 15 kg bar.

 

The last time I did this I modified the OHS for back squats.

 

Date	OHS	Time
28/04/2015	30 (back squat)	20:30
2/11/2015	15	18:40

 

 

2015 Regionals Chipper Workout

Date	Run (km)	OHS and SDHP kg	OHS Reps	Sit Up Scaling	Sit up reps
3/06/2015	1.6	10	33	Ab mat	100
21/09/2015	1.6	10	50	Ab mat	100
Date	Double Unders Reps	SDHP Reps	Box Jump Height	Box Jump Reps	Total Reps
3/06/2015	150	11			295.6
21/09/2015	150	50	16	99	450.6

It would be fair to say that I wasn't looking forward to this workout this morning.  Last time I did this I really struggled with the OHS, to the point where Tia suggested I just move onto the next exercise as my form was being compromised.  I finished the WOD only getting to the sumo deadlift high pulls.

I'm really happy with my progress.  The run was really good.  I managed to keep the other girls in my sights the whole time (normally I'm left for dead).  I felt like this was a big deal for me as I'm a very slow runner.

I chose to use a box to help me with my OHS form but perhaps the 16" box was a little too high as the overhead squats weren't too taxing.  I was stoked to do all 50 reps though!

I kept the same scaling for the sit ups as there is no way I would be able to do 100 GHD sit ups.  This section actually felt like a bit of a rest period and I didn't mind just trying to keep a reasonable pace.

I got a good run at the start of my double unders and then they went to shit.  I tried not to get frustrated and took the time to get my breath back but this is what slowed me down the most.  Anytime I had made up during the OHS and sit ups I lost it and then some in the double unders.

The sumo deadlift high pulls were pretty easy with the very light weight I was using.  My forearms were the limiting factor and I found I had to loosen my grip on the bar to try and give them a rest.  My forearms have been very tight lately.  As with the OHS I tried to do sets of 10.

I hadn't set up plates for my box jumps as I didn't really think I would get to it.  I chose to do step ups on the 16" box.  This was another one where I could just switch off and try and maintain a pace.

We had a 30 min cut off and I missed it by 1 rep.  So frustrating!!!  Of course, my brain went to the areas where I should have done better ... the rest breaks that I took that I didn't need.  The double unders let me down.  I think I could have finished it if I was able to string more together.  All that aside, I'm still happy with how much I improved since June.

Jackie

This seem a favourite in our programming as we do it on a fairly regular basis.  Personally, I'm not a fan but I think it is because I had a bad experience previously which has been permanently etched into my brain.  I had to push myself to go today.

Part A was an EMOM of 5 front squats.  I went fairly light today and tried to work on my squat technique.  It has been noticed that I favour my right side when squatting as my hip flexors are very tight (the joys of having a desk job).  I am working on my mobility as well as getting massages but I also need to train my body to squat evenly.  I started the workout at 25 kg and increased my weight every 3 minutes finishing at 32.5 kg.

Part B was Jackie.  I can safely say that I wasn't looking forward to the row and thrusters after Part A but I was reasonably happy with how I went.  Rowing is not my forte but I tried to maintain a consistent stroke rate.  I broke the thrusters into sets of 10 until I got to 30 reps and then broke them into 5's.  I tried to minimise my rests but I think this is something I can continue to improve.

I hadn't recorded my last attempt at this WOD into my phone therefore I had an old time and scaling to go off.  I chose to use the purple band with my pull ups not realising that we did this WOD a few months ago and I did an orange band that time.  The pull ups felt okay, I know I wasn't getting into the superman position particularly well as I have mobility issues in my back and shoulders and my forearms tightened up as they are doing everytime I do pull ups which affects my grip.

I finished the WOD nearly 50 seconds faster than my last attempt with the same scaling.  Got to be happy with that!

Date	Time	Thruster Weight (kg)	Pull up Option
19/01/2013	13:22	15	Green band
14/06/2013	12:57	15	Purple band
11/05/2015	14:06	15	Orange band
17/08/2015	12:08	15	Purple band

YES!

Today we did a repeat of the Open WOD 14.4.  Last year I completed the 60 calorie row and got 22 of the 50 toes to bar done, today I had the choice of scaling and getting through more of the workout or going RXd and trying to beat my score.  I had already decided to try to beat my score, I think I would have regretted it if I didn't although I'm not sure how I would cope if my score was worse.

I remember the pain and the tears of last year, and, yes, there were plenty of tears as I struggled through the T2B.  I was no-repped a few times, my shoulders were sore and wanted to quit.  This year was a little different.  I still hated the row as I'm quite slow but I tried to find a pace and stuck with it.  As usual, I was the last off the rower.

The toes to bar were challenging.  I got a few out first up but soon went to just getting 2 reps out at  a time and before I knew it I went past my score from last year.  By the time I hit 40 I was doing it in singles and I finished with 48 reps.  That is an improvement of 26 reps ... more than double my previous T2B score!!!  I am so happy (although there is a little twinge of "why didn't I get 2 more reps and get to the wall balls").

Date	Reps
24/03/2014	82
11/02/2015	108

Baby Steps

It seems like the combination of physio, massage, mobility work and various core and glute exercises are finally doing some good.  Today we had a repeat of the Open workout 14.2 which is the one where I got a big, fat 0 ... 3 attempts at this workout last year for a score of zero, zip, zilch, nada.  The thing I learnt about myself last year was that I despite failing over and over I don't give up easily.

When I saw this WOD posted yesterday my heart sank.  I haven't done overhead squats in awhile as it puts a lot of pressure on my thoracic and lumbar region.  The OHS is an amazing exercise as it uses so many muscles but it's a bitch when you lack mobility.

I decided that today was the day to attempt overhead squats again.  I need to attempt these exercises at a low weight to gauge how my back is feeling and to start building strength again.  My scaling was going to be just the 10 kg bar and try and get through to at least the 3rd round.

I also chose to do ring rows as it is time consuming getting in and out of the bands for the pull ups.  It also made it faster as I set up right next to the rings.  There is also a belief that banded pull ups can be counterproductive with building strength for unassisted pull ups and that we should be doing ring rows.

I was happy with how today went.  I got into the third round with a final result of 120 reps which equates to 62 squats (and I only had to repeat 1 due to lack of depth).  This is what my body and mind needed, I needed to do this at a low weight and do lots of reps - don't get me wrong, it was really tough ... I wanted to quit, it was exhausting both mentally and physically as I focused on getting the correct depth and staying on my heels, my shoulders were burning as I went from squats to ring rows ... it wasn't easy but I did it!

Date	OHS	Pull Ups	Reps
10/03/2014	30	Unassisted	0
9/02/2015	10	Ring Rows	120

Slow Progress Is Better Than No Progress, Isn't it?

My back is still playing up.  The physio has said that my outer muscles are so tight because those tiny core muscles are doing their job and I need to work on strengthening them up.  In the meantime I'm doing loads of rolling and stretching as well as modifying where I can.  It is so frustrating that I can't lift anywhere near where I was before (and I'm not a strong person even on a good day)!

The test for me today was the sumo deadlift high pull, mainly the high pull component as it seems to use a lot of back muscles when I come through to the high pull similar to a kettlebell swing.  From what I've noticed, I tend to have problems with fast, explosive movements that are generated from my hips.  I got to 22.5 kg which is 17.5 kg off my 3 rep max but the positive for me is that I would not have even contemplated the movement last week.

We finished with a little WOD of:

42 double unders
21 box jump
12 SDHP

I chose to do sumo deadlifts with the kettlebell.

The highlight for me was that I got a PB of 37 for my double unders!  They have been a little off lately so it was nice to finally find my groove again.  The funny thing is that when I got close to my previous PB I got a bit excited and I think that's when I messed up.  Nevermind, it was nice to make an improvement even if it was small.

Date	Double Unders
2/08/2012	1
31/05/2013	12
24/07/2013	22
5/11/2013	28
3/03/2014	30
8/07/2014	36
29/01/2015	37

Sucking Wind

An oldie but a goodie (?!)

For Time:

30 Burpees

40 Wall Balls 10kg/6kg

400m Run

50 Double Unders

500m Row

We have done this one several times before and here is the data:

Date	Time	Burpees	Wall Balls
10/12/2012	13:44	Knee	3
24/02/2013	14:12	Knee	4
24/04/2013	15:09	Full	4
29/06/2013	13:44	Full	4
17/12/2014	12:15	Full	4

To say that I'm happy with my improvement is an understatement ... I'm ecstatic!  I changed the order in which I did it this morning, starting on double unders, moving to the row, wall balls, then the run and finally the burpees.  My theory was that I can get a good run of double unders when I'm fresh and therefore it will be a lot quicker than if I left them until last like I normally do.  I was wanting to do the wall balls next but the station was quite busy so I jumped onto the rower instead.  I did the run leg second last to give my shoulders a break so I could chip away at the burpees last.  I knew that I could chip away at the burpees and I would be fine mentally, it intrigues me that the run leg is one of the toughest for me mentally but burpees are fine.

I really wanted to try the 6 kg wall ball today but I felt like I would have too many no-reps ... as it was I found it hard to make the line with the 4 kg.  I do find, however, that it doesn't matter what the weight of the wall ball is I only ever just make the line ... I did 3 kg the other day and barely made the 9 ft line, it seems like I only ever do just enough to get through the workout.

Squat Day

Today was a 3RM front squat day.  I was a little concerned as my back still isn't feeling the best and the last time we did front squats I could barely squat the 15 kg bar.  I was also worried because I did this on Saturday:

 

 

I was putting the barbell away and accidentally knocked the one above which made it fall down.  I then tried to cushion its fall with my arm which may have been fine but the falling bar drove my watch into my wrist.  It actually looks a lot worse than it is and I need not have been concerned about my front squats this morning as it held up quite well.

I think our warm up this morning prepared me well for our front squats: we had to do a partner run and air squats and broad jumps then a finisher of a 2 min squat test.  I think holding the bottom of the squat for that length of time stretched everything out nicely.

I was happy with how my squats went today.  I didn't go heavy, my 3 RM was only 45 kg but I was happy with my form.  We then did an EMOM of double unders, thrusters and pull ups.  I chose 25 kg for my thrusters but my biggest issues was cleaning the weight up.  I found I needed to split the movement into a deadlift and then a hang clean.  It is so frustrating that I can't do the stuff that I want to do.

In other news, my baby started pointe this week.  I don't know who was more excited her or me.  Both the girls did so well.  She's a little sore today but more calves than feet, I don't think it will take long for her to get stronger in this position.

F*** The Scales

Last week I weighed myself and was shocked.  I am over 10 kg heavier than my competition weight (not that that concerns me as I was terribly underweight then) but I'm also 5 kg heavier than my 12wbt weight.  My clothes no longer fit me well and I am wearing more dresses and skirts as I have room to move in them ... my shorts feel too tight.

I feel fat and frumpy.  And then I took some photos of some shorts that I wear to the gym as we were discussing what we like to wear in a FB group.

Okay, so my belly isn't as flat as it used to be but, you know what, I look pretty darn good!  I can deadlift 100 kg, I can throw 40 kg over my head, I can do strict pull ups and ring dips.  I'm not the strongest nor the fittest but the changes I've made in the last few years both physically and mentally have been amazing.

My decision has been to say, "f*ck the scales!"

"And f*ck my old shorts and pants, I'm going to buy some that fit my squatters arse."

I love my crossfitters body.  I love my strong legs, my bubble butt and my chunky traps.  I love that I eat all the food.  That's worth a whole lot more than stressing about 5 kg.

Finally!

A little while ago the crew at CFG created a chalk board for the member to write up our goals.  I wrote 2 up there:

1. Handstands
2. 100 kg deadlift

When I achieved my deadlift goal I replaced it with a 60 kg back squat.  It has been months and months since I wrote this up.  I had gotten a 57.5 kg back squat in December last year but when I last went for my 1RM I only got to 55 kg.  Last night at weightlifting I was determined to get 60 kg ... it was time to go after that goal.

I was feeling really tired yesterday and I had considered giving weightlifting a miss but because it is a public holiday on Monday and therefore no class so I decided to go last night.  We worked on our power snatch.  I got to a weight of 27.5 kg and, as per normal, just muscled the weight up there.  We then moved onto clean and jerks.  Shane asked me my 1RM and when I told him he basically said that I should be capable of lifting more than that particularly after seeing me muscle snatch 27.5 kg.  I got to 37.5 kg and surprise, surprise I power cleaned it and then strict pressed it up there.  I don't know why I do that.  I don't think I fear getting the weight overhead but maybe I just don't trust myself to do the movement properly.  Explosive movements exhaust me and perhaps I just get tired and revert to what is comfortable for me.  I wish I could figure it out.

We moved onto back squats and although my legs were still sore from Monday's workouts my squats felt pretty good.  I tried to focus on keeping my knees out and drive from my heels.  I did 52.5 and 55 kg with relative ease.  I asked Matt to spot me for my 57.5 kg and, again, it felt good (not easy but comfortable in a tough way) and I thought, "no time like the present" and chucked on some more weight.  Again, it was not easy but it felt solid.  I wanted to keep going until I failed but simply run out of time.  It takes me a few lifts to get to my 1RM, I'm the sort of person who has to sneak up on a heavy weight by starting quite low and then working slowly to heavy.  I've noticed that this works for me and I've had the best success with doing that but I often run out of time.

Now I can rub that goal out on our "Dream and Achieve" board and replace it with something else or maybe just work on those darn handstands so I can finally remove that as well.

I Never Learn

I'm exhausted.  Yesterday's training took it out of me.  I know that there are a few people at my gym that can train multiple times a day but I'm not that person.  I did Crossfit, worked all day, took the dog for a walk and then did 1.5 hours of weightlifting.  I find that it is hard to switch off after weightlifting, it's like my brain is wired and I can't turn it off so I find it hard to go to sleep.  I should have had a rest day today and my effort in today's WOD reflected that.  Why do I keep doing it to myself?

Despite all that, I had a great session at weightlifting last night.  I actually got a full snatch last night!!!  Happy days!  Okay, it was just with the 10 kg bar but I'm not sure if I have ever gotten into a full snatch from the ground (I did when I did the one-on-one session with the weightlifting coaches but that was from the hang).  To most people this would seem like a small insignificant thing but, to me, it's a big fricken deal!

We then went onto power clean and jerk and I was really happy with how I went.  I got some pretty good feedback and worked on improving my shrug.  I also need to work on opening my hips more.

The last thing we worked on was our front squat.  I had Shane spot me when I went for my 1RM of 55 kg but unfortunately failed the attempt.  I still feel really good about it as it is good for me to try and push myself out of my comfort zone.

I may be tired today but I'm also really happy.  Early night for this chook tonight though :)

:-)

It's funny how I often have a hissy fit over my lack of progress and then I seem to find my groove again. 

Friday night we did weighted strict pull ups and weighted strict ring dips and finished off with an EMOM of hollow rocks, candlesticks, v-ups and kettlebell swings.  I built up my weight to 5 kg for pull ups and did my 5 reps and thought I would 7.5 kg a crack and got 1 rep out!  Of course I couldn't record the weight on the whiteboard because it was 1 rep not the prescribed 3.

I have never done weighted ring dips before but wanted to give it a go and finished with 3 reps at 3.75 kg!  I'm soooooo happy!

Today was a strength WOD of 5 x 2 push press and I think I may have gotten a PB at 35 kg.  I felt like I still has some more in the tank but ran out of time.  I must remember to start a little heavier as I tend to stick with the same start weight with the same progressions and forget that I am most probably getting stronger.

We finished again with a 20 min EMOM of strict pull ups, ring dips, hollow rocks and handstand push ups with the focus on quality not quantity.  It was a challenging but rewarding workout and I was glad that Jardan came over and pushed me with my handstand push up option.  I do a box pike for my HSPU and use an ab mat as a depth finder.  Today I didn't use the ab mat which gave me better depth but Jardan pushed me even further and told me to get even closer to the box.  It was so tough but I know that it will make me stronger for when I get to do them RXD.

Maybe I need to have these tantrums every now and then to make me knuckle down and push myself.  I don't know, it feels pretty crappy at the time but then it is so sweet once I'm through it and found my mojo again.

Modified Cindy

Modified Cindy:

[Part A]

Spend 15min

Warming up your Clean and Jerk

[Part B]

For Time:

1 Clean & Jerk 62.5kg/40kg
1 Round of Cindy
2 Clean & Jerk 62.5kg/40kg
1 Round of Cindy
3 Clean & Jerk 62.5kg/40kg
1 Round of Cindy
etc: Until
10 Clean & Jerk 62.5kg/40kg
1 Round of Cindy

 

We have done this workout a few times before so I have some data to compare:

 

Date	Time	Clean and Jerk	Pull ups	Push ups
26/10/2012	18:21:00	15	Jumping	Knee
3/06/2013	24:37:00	20	Orange Band	Bench
17/02/2014	24:36:00	25	Orange Band	Bench
25/08/2014	22:42:00	25	Unassisted	Unassisted

 

 

I decided recently that I need to get off the bands for pull ups and deal with the fact that I will get poor scores while I get some strength and technique.  I was a little nervous before I started this workout as we had a 30 minute cut off but I decided that I would be okay that if it were to happen.  I chose to keep my weight the same as my previous attempt with the idea that I would go lighter in weight but choose harder options for the bodyweight component.

Obviously, I needn't have worried about it as I beat my previous time by almost 2 minutes.  I am absolutely stoked!  I need to work harder on my push up technique as I was snaking a fair bit and, of course, my pull ups could improve as some may have been borderline BUT I am so, so, so happy that I chose a harder scaling AND took minutes off my time!



Another Good Day

Today we did some more strength training, working on our strict press.  We had to work at a percentage of our 1RM with the last set being 3 reps at 85%.  It feels like it has been awhile since we have done a strict press so my partner and I started at 25 kg but when we looked around we noticed all the other girls only lifting at around 20 kg .... hmmm, maybe we got a bit excited with our weights.  We plugged away anyway and finished our last set at 32.5 kg.  Neither of us could get all 3 reps at this weight but we managed to do 2.  My previous 1RM for strict press is 32.5 kg so to do 2 reps at this weight means a PB for me.  I was so happy!

We then did a little WOD of:

8 min AMRAP
4 wall walks
8 burpee box jump overs
16 alternating pistols

This was a fun little workout and I managed to get 3 rounds + 4 wall walks and 5 burpee box jump overs.  My scaling was: inch worm on a 20 kg plate for wall walks, a couple of plates for the box jumps and pistols holding a pole.

Our finisher was then a maximum handstand walk or handstand hold.  I bit the bullet and asked Tina and Tracey to help me get up into the handstand and I managed to hold it for a few seconds.  It's been a slow old process but when I look back I can see how much I have improved.  In the past I would avoid gymnastics WODs and then I built up the confidence to actually go but I would often just sit and watch the others do handstands.  After awhile I tried kicking up, after that I was brave enough to get the coaches to grab my legs and get me upside down.  That was a colossal failure as I collapsed in a big heap.  Many months after that experience, Beni tried that with me again but held me under the shoulder as I was upside down and I begged him not to let me go.  Today, the girls grabbed my legs but didn't hold onto me and I held myself there.  I freaked out after a few seconds but in reality I was holding strong, I just need to trust myself.  Now to learn how to kick up.  Is that a confidence thing?  Maybe, maybe not.  I don't feel like my legs have the power to kick up that high.  I guess practice makes perfect.

More Than 1 Way To Skin A Cat

Today was another fun day.  It has been a great week at the box with a couple of days working on our gymnastic skills.  These movements are a massive challenge for me as I have so many fears but at the same time I enjoy having a go and trying to learn new movements.

This morning's WOD was Diane which is 21, 15, 9 reps of deadlifts (70 kg) and handstand push ups.  We did this one earlier in the year so I had some numbers to compare:

Date	Time	Deadlift Weight (kg)	HSPU Option
9/01/2014	3:56	40	Box Pike
15/08/2014	5:10	55	Box Pike

As usual, as my weight increased as did my time.  I'm happy that my time is still around the 5 minute mark.  Both my 21 and 9 rep scheme of deadlifts went unbroken with which I was really pleased.  Previously I had done the HSPU with an ab mat but Jardan said that it looked too easy so removed it.  It was good for me to get challenged that way (still wish I could kick up into a handstand though!)

The rest of the session was dedicated to our gymnastics skills with one of those movements being 'skin the cat'.  At first I thought that there was no way I would be able to do it.  I had Jardan and Tracey spotting me throughout the movement and Benito giving me verbal cues.  My first attempt I got myself upside down and didn't feel comfortable with flipping myself over.  The second try I got a bit further and with my spotters help I flipped all the way over on my third attempt.  I DID IT!!!  This was a huge accomplishment for me as I don't feel comfortable with being upside down but now that I've done it I want to go back to the gym to do it again.  Isn't funny how once you've overcome something you wonder what you were afraid of.

A Catch Up

Friday's WOD was 3 x 400 m runs (with a 3 min rest in between) and 3 x 500 m row (again with 3 min rests) and finished off with a 3 min AMRAP of overhead sit ups with a med ball.  I nearly didn't go for this workout.  I knew that I was going to have the worst times of the day and not just by a couple of seconds.  It can get a little depressing always being the slowest but I'm proud of the fact that I showed up and got it done.  On the plus side, I am consistent with my first run/row being the same time as my last therefore I don't flog myself on the first run and then subsequently die.  That's got to count for something, right??

My girls and I went along to the ladies session on Saturday.  It was an awesome WOD that consisted of:

Team of 3

100 deadlifts
100 hang power cleans
100 push press
100 back squats
100 chest to bar pull ups

I'm so proud of how my girls went in this workout.  Moo chose to use a 10 kg bar for all the movements and her form was immaculate throughout the WOD.  She did have a mini-meltdown when she whacked her chin in the push press but she continued on.  She scaled to ring rows for the pull up section and I could tell she was a little down because she wants to progress onto the bands but she really needs to build that strength particularly as chest to bar is so much harder.  She and her sister compete against each other but Moo has her strengths and Missy T's strengths are different because she is so slight.

We pushed T to progress to 3 kg dumbbells for this WOD, intially she grabbed the 2 kg weights and she coped fine with it.  Of course, she rocked her pull ups and if they weren't chest to bar I think she could progress in her band selection.  T was our counter for the workout and she made sure that we were all doing the required reps and I appreciate that she took on that role so I could talk the girls through their movements.

My scaling was 50 kg for deadlifts, 30 kg for cleans, 25 kg for push press and back squat and orange band for pull ups.  It was tough but doable even though Jardan no-repped me 5 times for doing push jerk instead of push press.  The amusing thing is that when I have to push jerk I push press!  What the ...?  As frustrating as it is I appreciate it when my coaches no rep me or give me verbal cues as it makes me a better athlete in the long run.

Today's WOD was the benchmark workout 'Murph'.  A toughie of:

1 mile run
100 pull ups
200 push ups
300 squats
1 mile run

We could do it in partners or individual.  I chose to do it on my own but with modified reps.  I scaled the run to 800 m, 70 pull ups (orange band), 150 push ups (bench) and 200 squats.  My foot and ankle have been a bit sore after Friday's WOD which I'm putting down to not wearing my normal shoe on Friday.  I stupidly decided to wear my joggers instead of my Nanos and now my arch and ankle are quite sore.  I could have scaled to rowing but that would have burnt out my shoulders and upper body.

I was so happy with this workout.  I divvied the reps up so I had to do 10 rounds.  As expected the push ups were the hardest and I remember wondering in round 3 if I was going to make it.  It was a case of just chip away at the reps and try to have short rests.  I was happiest with my pull ups as I feel like I've found my groove with them again.  The only problem is I keep on getting friction burn on my stomach from the band!  My time (I think) was 32:24.

Overall, a few good days at the box :-)