RX'd or Scaled?

The Open this year has a scaled division which is fantastic for those of us who don't have some movements like muscle ups, handstand push ups etc.  My goal for the Open is to attempt RX'd until I can't do a movement and have to scale.  The scoring system is set up so RX'd will always be ranked higher than scaled; even if you only do 1 rep.  My 25 reps on Saturday ensured that I was above anyone doing the Open scaled and it has been quitegood for my overall ranking as a lot of people have decided to do scaled instead of attempting RX'd.

The thing I love about the Open is that I do movements that I don't normally do in a workout and toes to bar is one of them.  I was proud of doing 45 of them and all good reps, I didn't get 1 no-rep which is a vast improvement on last year.  I didn't do the WOD with the rest of the class so I don't know what the discussion were on the Monday when everyone else did the workout but I noticed the majority of the people who are around my level scaled the workout and a lot of them are capable of doing toes to bar so, like me, they would be able to register a score at RX'd.  They got massive numbers which is great but it kind of feels like it is just another workout, that they weren't pushed outside their comfort zone to attempt to achieve something they didn't believe they could.

Now I'm confused.  Which is better; to scale and get great numbers or to RX'd, get a low score but see what you are capable of (even if that means failing dismally)?  As I wasn't in the classes I can only assume that they were instructed to scale or did they make that choice themselves?  Will I be advised to scale in the future?

Another Year Older

Yup, it was my birthday yesterday ... the big 43!  It just so happened that we had a Ladies Afternoon on Saturday afternoon as a fundraiser for the kindy where my girls went.  It was a fun few hours with friends and a chance to get frock up.  My darling husband bought me a dress to wear as an early birthday present, the unfortunate thing was there was another lady in exactly the same dress sitting at my table!!!  Nevermind, it didn't stop me from having a good time and I still love the dress :-)

Yesterday was a fairly low key affair and I was happy just to go out for breakfast and lounge around all day.  Mal cooked a delicious roast dinner and Moo baked me some peanut butter biscuits.  She knows me so well!

I was back at the gym this morning for a fun partner workout.  The WOD was:

In Partners

6 x 300m run
(3 laps each, relay style)

then..

For time:

8 rounds each

1 Muscle up
2 Power Snatch (70kg/50kg)
3 Strict HSPU
4 Burpee box jumps (30″/24″)

* Partners go round for round.

 

We had a team of 3 with Leanne and Tracey working at the same time as Tracey and I were using the same barbell.  I chose to do ring pull ups and ring dips, 20 kg snatch, box pike and plates for the box jumps.

 

The plates I used were: 2 x 20 kg and 1 x 15 kg.  This should equate to 8".  After a couple of rounds I decided to throw a 5 kg plate on which would have taken it to 9" but I kept on skipping so in the last round I took it off.  I'm a little disappointed in myself as I am not making my progress is so slow but I guess it's better than no progress at all, surely?

I wish I recorded my plates a little better in the past as it is hard to see my progression but I managed to find a little history.  I think I was hoping to be onto the box by now but, alas, it hasn't happened.  It is, however, important to focus on the positives and I guess the positive is that I have made some headway with my jumping.

 

Baby Steps

Things are cruising along quite nicely at the moment.  This was Friday's WOD:

For Time

5 rounds of:

10 Deadlift 100/80kg
10 HSPU
100 Double Unders
10 V-Ups

 

I was whinging and complaining about this one.  All those darn double unders!  I scaled the weight to 55 kg, the HSPU to box pikes, 25 double unders and v-ups.  I finished the WOD in 16:44 and after talking to Benito I should have scaled my double unders to 50 as I was one of the first to finish.  It felt like I have made some progress in this area.

 

Saturday's WOD was another doozy and I'm glad that my daughters didn't feel like going to this one as it was quite a big workout.

 

For Time

In Partners

10 rounds of:

150 m run

7 chest to bar pull ups

7 front squats (30 kg)

7 HSPU

20 wall balls (6 kg)

* run must be together

* reps can be partitioned

 

I partnered up with the lovely Kara for this workout and we trained quite well together.  I chose to use the orange band for the pull ups, RXd for the front squats and wall balls and box pikes for the HSPU.  After a couple of round of struggling to reach the 9 ft line for the wall balls using the 6 kg ball, Benito suggested I switch to the 4 kg and go for the top line.  It's amazing what a difference 2 kg makes and I found my rhythm with the wall balls at this weight.  It's difficult when you are on the cusp of a weight; when 1 is too easy but the other is too hard.  We finished this WOD in 32:10 and I was absolutely shattered afterwards.

 

I normally do Pilates after the Saturday Ladies Class but as all the coaches, except for Benito, were away at a comp he chose to hold a gymnastics class instead with some core work thrown in at the end.  We worked on learning the kip and then doing kipping pull ups and moved onto handstands and handstand pushups.  My body was exhausted therefore my kipping pull ups were very lacklustre ... I couldn't even string 2 together but it was fun to work on the kip.

 

We then moved onto the handstands and I was worried about making a total goose out of myself as almost everyone else could kick up into a handstand but, like with everything at Crossfit, both Beni and my training partners were so encouraging and helped me get my feet up against the wall and placed their hands under my shoulders to spot me.  I was upside down!!!!  There was no way I felt comfortable with them taking their hands away or doing a push up but I felt my confidence increase and it got a little easier the more I did it.  I tried again yesterday at home and still can't kick up high enough but I feel encouraged by what we did on Saturday.

 

Today was finding my 1RM for my front squat.  I was a little disappointed as it hasn't changed that much since December (in fact it was a little under today).  I'm at a bit of a loss on how to improve my strength as it seems like such a slow process for me.  I have to admit that I haven't been tracking my food recently so maybe I'm undereating again or is it my age or do I just have the type of muscle that doesn't build strength easily?  It's both frustrating and disappointing but at the same time I'm not letting it get to me.

 

In between sets we had to do dumbbell box jumps.  I stacked plates for my box height and used 4 kg dumbbells.  This was more of a mental challenge but in hindsight I could have chosen heavier weights.

 

We finished the day with 100 m sprints which was fun.  I think I rather do that than the 1.6 km track we had to do last week.

 

My plan for this week is to improve my nutrition.  My week days are good but it falls apart on Friday night when we have friends over for nibblies and don't have a decent meal for dinner.  Needless to say my Saturday workouts are usually a struggle as I'm at the end of the training week and I make it worse by not eating properly.  One day I'll learn!



Hello!

The last few weeks I have been wondering about my blog and whether to keep on going with it ... everything seems so much effort at the moment.  I track my workouts on MyWOD therefore there isn't much need to use my blog as a way to follow my progress (although I very rarely comment on my app with how I felt during the WOD unlike in here).  I was starting to wonder what the point of it was.

Ironically, this has occurred the same time as I have hit a slump in my training.  I have felt like I'm taking step backwards in my times, weights and how I'm moving.  I wonder if there is a link; is my progress helped by talking about my CrossFit experiences?  Does it help me work toward my goals when I can write down daily what worked and didn't work in my WODs?

When I first started CrossFit I was like all new CrossFitters and talked incessantly about it.  I would post status updates, blog and basically bore people to death with my chatting about WODs, rxd, lifting etc.  I was unfriended by some people on FB and those close to me would give me a hard time.  Even an ex-12wbt FB group in which I belong asked the people who did CF to go and create their own sub-group as they got sick of us talking about our latest WOD.  I often feel as though I have noone to talk to about my love of CF (I often see Hubby's eyes glaze over when I start banging on about it).

I need somewhere to vent when I have a bad day at the box or somewhere to celebrate when I've achieved a goal.  Blogging helps me work through the both the bad and good times with my training.  It helps me figure out if I have scaled correctly for the day, where I could improve or what I did well.  It fulfills my need to put my thoughts out into the world about my workouts.  It also allows me to focus on my goals when I'm feeling flat (or as I'm have been stupidly doing the last week, comparing myself to others at the box).

With that in mind, I feel I need to keep tracking my training in here.  I believe that posting the good, the bad and the ugly assists my CF experience so it looks like you are stuck with me for a bit longer!

Some Days You Just Gotta Laugh

I was sitting out on the front verandah yesterday having a post workout cuppa with Mal when he noticed I had black spots on my nose.  When he went to wipe it off I told him it's because I forget to lift my head when I do push ups so I face plant the black rubber.  I then went into the various bumps and scrapes I have accumulated from my daily workouts.  I have a bruise on my knuckles from failing at my double unders, somehow when I step on the rope it flicks back onto my hand ... it takes real talent to do that.  I have bruises on my knees from walking lunges and I think my cleans and snatches.  I have had scrapes and bruises under my chin from not tucking my chin before I perform my jerk.  My hands ... well I won't go into my hands.  I have scars on my tailbone from my sit ups (luckily no-one gets to see that).  There is nothing worse than turning around in the shower after a sit up day to realise you have a bad case of 'butterfly butt'.  Yeowch!!!

I then started telling him about yesterday's workout where we had to do toes to bar.  I was able to do this exercise during the open workouts but haven't done them again since and when I attempted them yesterday I could only get one out.  I seem to have lost my ability to do them.  I was saying to Mal how I wish I had time to practice these movements so when they come up in the workout I am able to do them and how work gets in the way of the stuff I want to do. I said how I reckon I would be a much better crossfitter if I didn't have to work.  He looked at my black nose that I got from forgetting to lift my head when I do push ups, my bruised knuckles because I occasionally forget to jump during double unders, my bruised chin from forgetting to get my head out of the way when I lift and burst into laughter and I did too ... I don't think I should quit my job to be a full time athlete soon.  LOL!

Cabin Fever

The View From Our Veranda

As I'm sure you are aware, we are currently being saturated by ex-tropical cyclone Oswald.  Since Thursday we have been hammered with over 200 ml of rain a day as well as gale-force winds which has resulted in a lot of time being cooped up indoors and needless to say there is a bit of cabin fever happening.  I shouldn't complain though as some of the low lying areas have suffered some flooding.

I gave CrossFit a miss yesterday as I didn't fancy driving around in the weather (particularly the wind) but had to get out of the house today to get some exercise.  We did a fun team WOD and I was teamed up with a newbie and a teenage boy today.  The lady was really nervous but I hope I helped her get over her nerves.  I felt bad because she kept apologising to us (until I told her to stop it).  I know that I most probably could have worked a bit harder today as we had to keep our weights lower and that's okay because I think we had a bit of fun and while I didn't feel flogged afterwards I got a chance to meet some new people and have a bit of a laugh running around in the rain.

Thursday Rambling

Today I'm at home with a sick child.  Moo has come down with a cold so I have decided to keep her home as she has her school camp next week and I would hate her to be still sick for that.  I seem to be having a run of things like that at the moment.  I have to get a few fillings fixed and also need to get a skin cancer cut out next week ... I feel like I'm always ducking out at work for one appointment or another at the moment.  I keep trying to talk them into an RDO so we can do those sorts of things on a day off but no luck at the moment.  I'll wear them down.  LOL!

The BCC to be removed is pretty much wear the bar sits for back squats so I guess I'm going to have to figure out modifications while it heals ... hopefully it won't take too long.  I'm also hoping that it will look okay for the 12wbt finale in Sydney as I'm planning on wearing a strapless dress otherwise it will be a skin coloured bandaid to cover it.

Training is still going well.  I train at home on Wednesdays as Mal takes Moo to cricket training and then he goes to touch footy.  Last night was a hero WOD, "Randy", which is 75 power snatches for time.  I did this one in 8:25 at 15 kg ... I was pretty happy with that.

Tuesday Rambling

I have realised that without the Photo-A-Day I have very little to contribute to my blog.  I have decided to have some more concrete goals to head toward and they include 100 kg deadlifts, 55 kg squats, 30 kg strict press but I also want to learn how to do handstands so I can do handstand pushups.  Would you believe that I have never, EVER been able to do a handstand?  Like everything else in life it takes practice and I know that I will get there.

Another round of the 12wbt has been completed and the emails have gone out to the top 20.  While I'm always stoked for those that are the winners I struggle with reading the disappointment from those that didn't quite make it.  Like bodybuilding competitions, it's not about having a shiny trophy but more about seeing the challenge through to the end. 

Home Today

Missy T is sick today so I've had to stay at home. The poor little bugga had high temps and croup-like symptoms last night which meant not much sleep for either of us. Fortunately the vapouriser did the trick and eased her breathing so we got a few hours in. Of course I panicked when I woke up this morning and couldn't hear her rattly breathing and then couldn't sleep until I checked on her. Not fun!

Not much else to report. Things aren't going so great on the weight front. 3 weeks till we head to Perth and I'm at the same spot I was when I started. I'm not sure if its the heat up here or just hormones but I have been retaining so much fluid the last couple of weeks. I feel like a puffer fish at the moment. Maybe I need to go on an asparagus bender - I'm sure my workmates and family would lurve that! LOL!

Catch Up

Yes, I have been slack with blogging - life just keeps on getting in the way.

As I said last week, we had a couple of days off work which was lovely. It was so nice to have some quality time with Hubs without the kids. We went for lunch on both days and basically just hung out. I also managed to get to the gym for a Body Combat class while he had a game of golf with his Dad. I do love group fitness classes - always good fun and I find I work that bit harder.

I got back to work on Monday only to find a pile of work on my desk so now I feel like I need another break. I was so cranky as there are other people here that are more than capable of filling in - I really feel as though some people around here couldn't organise a root in a brothel with a wadful of 50's. 'nuff said.

But as Lily Allen sang, "Everything is cool as long as I'm getting thinner" and, yep, I am cool for cats! Finally I'm making some headway in the old weight department and was happy to see I'm back in the 52's today. Pretty darn happy about that one as I was feeling like I was doing the work and getting nowhere fast. I was starting to go through that phase where you get totally disillusioned and just go f*** it and eat your way through the entire contents of the cupboard. Glad I didn't.

5 Days Off!!

Today is our Show Holiday and Mal and I have decided to take tomorrow and Friday off as well. It is going to be so nice to have a couple of days away from my life-sucking job.

I haven't noticed too much change in the old scales in the last couple of weeks and while they got my hopes up on Saturday by dropping 0.6 kg, they've bounced right back up again. I've gone back to logging my food into Cal King and filling out my training log again. Nothing quite like keeping a girl on the straight and narrow when you keep track of everything. I've had some cracking workouts and am quite pleased with how I'm feeling - I just need to be rewarded for my efforts. I'm sure it will come.

Not much else to report I'm afraid.

Mixed Up Week

This week has very little routine at all. I've had 2 days out of the lab sampling both 6 am starts and one of those was nearly a 12 hour day. There has been very little in the way of planned training as I usually get home shattered. On the upside, I get loads of incidental exercise as sampling involves a lot of lifting and because I was out in the boat having to pull start it as well as lifting the motor in and out of the water as it got to shallow water. My upper body got absolutely caned.

I started the week at 54.0 kg (after not weighing myself for nearly 2 weeks) but today I'm back down to 52.8 kg. Nice little drop due to TTOM - I'm hoping for a smidge more in the next few days.

Life is Good

No I haven't fallen off the face of the Earth, just been flat out. I've had a great weekend, actually every weekend has been good lately. A normal weekend for us start on Friday afternoon. I pick the girls up from dancing and Mal has a cup of coffee waiting for me when we get home. We usually have friends over for drinks and nibblies on our veranda, its an open invitation and sometimes we can have 5 or 6 families others its just Mal and I. I try to get up on Saturday and do some sort of cardio (depending on soccer) and then we head to soccer and after that is gymnastics. The girls and I go for lunch at a cafe after gym. We NEVER do the takeaway thing for 2 reasons. The first is that I hate takeaway - even their 'healthy' options taste awful and secondly everyone does takeaway on Saturday, fast food is then not so fast. Saturday afternoons we relax and then in the evening we go to friends for coffee or like last night we had one of Missy T's friends over. Sunday could be just relaxing at home, visiting people or heading to the park with a bunch of people which can end up in a game of touch footy. Last Sunday afternoon was spent at the local tennis courts for a game of tennis. I've come to realise how lucky we are. Yep, life is good!

Wednesday Update

Boy, I am still a busy little bee.  Last weekend Hubs went down to Brissy for the Boat Show with a few mates and being the fantastic husband he is found time to buy me a few Lorna Jane items.  God Bless his cotton socks!  I had another hectic weekend with soccer and gymnastics and once Mal got home on Sunday we went to his uncle's 80th birthday bash on one of the islands off Gladdy.  A lovely but full-on weekend.

Last weeks goal of getting to sleep by 9:30 was a bit harder than expected.  Not so much the getting to bed but sleeping through the night.  I am waking up several times a night and once I was sort of sleep walking.  I say "sort of" as I was kind of aware what I was doing but I was half asleep.  I was actually looking for a light that was left on but there was none, I must have been dreaming.  Weird!  Anyway, its a work in progress.  I had the best night's sleep last night waking before my alarm and took Mossy for his walk.  Its amazing how much better one feels after enough rest.

Training is going along quite well.  Got to the gym a few times last week and had DOMS in my back and shoulders the whole weekend.  Legs were on Monday and am feeling it today.  I love, love, love DOMS.  I've bought a couple of new DVDs off Liz and am still yet to try them.  I think I'll give them a bash on the weekend.

This weeks goal is drinking water.  Working in a lab makes this a bit of a challenge as I can't just have my water bottle sitting beside me at all times and I tend to get caught up in my work, forgetting about drinking.  The plan is to take regular pit stops and duck in the crib room for a quick swig.

Hope everyone has a great week!

Sunday Stuff

Whew, what a weekend. I reminded Mal yesterday how a year ago I was up on the stage at the comp. This year we were sitting watching our girls on stage. Yesterday we had the girls dance festival and what a huge day it was. The morning started at 9 am and finished around 8 pm but it was fantastic to see them up them up there. Moo had 5 dances in total, 4 group dances and 1 solo. I was incredibly proud when she came 3rd in her solo as she was dancing against more experienced girls but to be honest I am equally as proud of the effort of getting up on stage. Missy T also came 3rd in her solo and she looked absolutely gorgeous as Little Bo Peep. It was so cute as she was as excited for her friends coming 2nd and 1st as she was getting the ribbon for 3rd.

Friday I got some biopsies done on a few suspect moles. Nothing too drastic with only one stitch in each site but the nurse has suggested taking it easy in case the sutures break. I will still be able to do cardio and leg work as the biopsies were done on my face, shoulder and back. Mind you I haven't had much time this weekend for any thought of exercise, I think we have spent a total of 5 minutes at home all weekend. Food has been okay, I could have been better but I know it also could have been a lot worse.

Sunday Update

Its been yet another busy week in my world. The girls spent the week down at their Grandparent's so I took the opportunity to spend time at the gym instead of training at home. It made a nice change but I tend to get frustrated with not being able to get on equipment. I thought I made a little bit of headway with the scales but it has been bouncing around a little. Its all good as I am feeling great and that pretty much what counts at the moment.

I took Hubs to the movies on Tuesday night to see "The Boat That Rocked" and absolutely loved it. As I went to the gym in the afternoon we didn't have time to eat before the movie and didn't get out until just after 9 pm. The sad bit was that there were no restaurants open at that time so we had to go to Maccas for dinner instead. We had to laugh as our date night consisted of Cheap Tuesday at the movies and then takeaway ... I know how to woo a man! LOL! It was a lovely night all the same.

Its back to regular programming this week as the little chickies are back home and back to school.

Getting Blown Away

Over the last couple of days we have been on cyclone watch. To be honest I think we have had windier days during this summer but its not a good idea to get complacent. We were talking last night about a cyclone that hit Gladstone in, I think, 1949 that went down the coast, did a u-turn and then hit Gladdie. It was called the 'devil's cyclone' as it flattened all the churches but all the pubs were left standing. Yesterday was spent tidying up the yard and tying down what couldn't be put away. As we live in a new suburb we were pretty annoyed that no builders cleaned up their sites, I'm sure there would be some good missiles at a housing site. Anyway, it hasn't amounted to much yet and it looks as though it will just travel parallel to the coast and fizzle out (here's hoping).

Just stuff

My parents have been looking after the girls for the last few weeks of the holidays. They decided it would be easier if they brought their caravan with them which is so much better as we all have our own space. I'm thinking they must get a little bored as they have spent the majority of their time cleaning our house, not that I'm complaining. My stepdad has cleaned all the windows and mowed our yard and my mum folds all the washing. Bless their cotton socks! With them here it gives me the opportunity to ride to work most days which I'm loving. I think I may have mentioned before the route I take to work is very picturesque. While it adds an extra 10 minutes to my ride I get to ride around some pretty lakes that has loads of bird life. There are quite a few people who go walking every morning and it struck me this morning how cheerful everyone was. Is it because, like me, they love being out in the morning sunshine getting some exercise? I don't know about you but I can't think of a better way to start the day.

I'm Still Here

I haven't had a lot of opportunity to blog lately. One of my goals at the moment is to spend more time with my family and a little less on the computer. That and I have to fight my baby for the computer.

By the end of last year I had been feeling frazzled and a little fed up with everything. I was just going through the motions with exercise, work and family life. I seem to have found my spark again lately and I think it is largely due to having a couple of weeks off work where I slobbed around the house (it was too hot to do anything else), trained when I felt like it not because I felt I had too and relaxed with my eating. Yes, I gained an extra kg but I'm feeling content and loving life again. I had the best day today. I hit the gym for a weights workout, took my girls out for morning tea and then onto the Art Gallery where they were having art activities for children. We had a great morning and I feel blessed to be able to spend quality time with my beautiful girls.

It seems that competition fever has started up with a lot of people beginning their prep. I'm beginning to regret my decision to not compete this year but I know its just not possible with everything that we have on. Oh well, it just gives me more time to grow some huuuuge muscles, doesn't it?

Sunday Rambling

Boy it is hot!! I'll be leaving my carbon footprint this weekend - we've had our air-con going the last couple of days. Last night I had my work Christmas party and had a great night (I was pleasantly surprised). This year we had a harbour cruise and couldn't ask for more perfect weather. I spent the night dancing away - its been ages since I went dancing and I loved it. I'm a very shy person but once that music is on I take on another persona and become fairly extroverted.

Training has gone well this week and have had DOMS all week. Yesterday I gave my bike a good workout with the Psycho bike and leg workout. Not great when I trained legs the day before. My mood has been great this last week, I've managed to dig myself out of whatever hole I have been in for the last month or so. I'm not sure if its the change in my program or if its holidays coming up but I'm not complaining. For the first time in an incredibly long time I feel confident, sexy and just plain old comfortable in my own skin. Yay me!