gymgirl's workout journal

[minime]

gymgirl I have a question : when you were doing the rowing, what number resistance did he have u at? I had mine on 3 this morning but i wonder was i cheating by having it so low ...

[tim_mcf]

Minime, as I understand it, the resistance on a C2 is dependant on how hard you are pulling on it. It's not really about what the lever is set on. The lever adjusts the "feel" of each stroke, but doesn't actually make it any easier or more difficult. There was a Crossfit Live webcast that talked about this, but the link seems to have been taken down, which is really too bad.

[gymgirl]

Originally Posted by minime

hmm... I must have missed reading your journal yesterday.. weird!

Anyway I too want to congratulate you on passing up the cake. I hate things like that too... one day last week a guy i work with offered me some of his chocolate easter egg (yes he's starting early lol) and i said no thans. But he wouldn't leave me alone! He kept pusing it, and in the end he actually PUT some on my desk and said 'oh you'll eat it now' WTF? Why is what i eat or dont eat of such interest to people? For the record i did NOT eat it. I choose my cheats/treats, i will not let somebody else choose them for me.

Great job on the fifties! Its been a while since i did that one... 50 burpees ugh!

I've never seen that bachelor show, and when i click the link it shows his pic as a red x, so I cant tell if he is a 'hottie' or a 'nottie' ...

ugh i know why are people so pushy. I don't take away their mcdonalds and put my almonds, tuna and protein shake on their desk and tell them to eat it! lol sheesh i don't bother you, so why do you bother me? ya know? and thanks for the kudos for passing up the cake. good job to you too for passing up on the easter treats!

huh i wonder why the link wasn't working for you. if i remember ill look for another picture of him. I can't wait for you to come to the states, we will finaly be on the same ANTM cycles! then you can watch even MORE reality tv! lol.

thanks tim for the info on the rower, because i had no idea. i don't even know if he put it on a level or anything. i just know he pushed a couple of things and then i was off!

Friday, March 30, 2007

rest day.

got off work at 2pm went grocery shopping and have been lazying around getting caught up on dancing with the stars and american idol. i also got to watch the daily show which i always seem to miss i love that show and john stewart is sexy.. b/f splulrged tonight and got a nice bottle of our favorite italian vino.i hadmy cheat ravioli and some fantastic wine. iam so tired from the early week i think i will be in bedsoon. off to CFN tomrrow.

food:

carbs 248g 45%
protein: 161g 33%
fat: 42g 19%
achol: 10 3%

total cals: 2021

had ravoili, wine and ben and jerrys. yum yum. night night.

[minime]

i know! I mean can u imagine if i grabbed one of their fried chicken dinners and placed a peice of skinless baked chicken breast in front of them?! I think people feel guilty about eating stuff, so they think if you eat it too it is ok. But that makes no sense!!

That is interesting about the rower. I know i read someplace on the website (FAQ section prob) to put it on 2 or 3. So then it doesnt matter where you put it?! but when i put it on a higher number it is definely harder to pull? I don't know. Maybe the C2 rowers here are different to over there.

mmm frozen yogurt..

[gymgirl]

Originally Posted by minime

i know! I mean can u imagine if i grabbed one of their fried chicken dinners and placed a peice of skinless baked chicken breast in front of them?! I think people feel guilty about eating stuff, so they think if you eat it too it is ok. But that makes no sense!!
.

lol, i got a great visual of you taking away the fried chicken and handing them a skinless chicken breast! don't forget the broccoli on the side!
you are right about the guilt.

Saturday, March 31, 2006

Crossfit north day!

Kettlebell training

we spent a full hour working with kettlebells today. I've never even touched one before as they are forbidden at my gym. imagine the horror if I dropped one on the precious hardwood floor!

Anyway started off with the basics:

kettlebell swings: 25# 2x10 per side, 36#, 2x10 per side

kettlebell snatch drills: practiced the swing to quick shoulder shrug

kettlebell snatch: 25# about 15-20 per side, 36# about 10 per side.

kettlebell cleans: 25# about 10 per side, 36# about 5 per side

We spent a lot of time on the snatch drills. apperently i have the opposite problem of most people. i generate too much power through the hips on the swing so my KB snatch ends up all over the place! I'm working on finding that balance where i generate enough power to get the KB up,but not too much that the receiving part is sloppy and hard to control. I've got some nice welts on my forearms from the KB falling back and smacking me. These are 10x harder then dumbell snatches or DB cleans. anyway i felt like i totally sucked but he said overall everything looks good and he is just nitpicking. I'm gonna go back for another training session. Actually I think I'd rather do training then go to classes. we'll see I think they are making some changes there at CFN so maybe I'll be able to go more then i thought.

Anyway, dosen't look like much of a workout, but I am surprsingly tired. I was even sweating pretty good from this.

[Rufiedodg]

Originally Posted by minime

gymgirl I have a question : when you were doing the rowing, what number resistance did he have u at? I had mine on 3 this morning but i wonder was i cheating by having it so low ...

The resistance setting ( or Damper setting ) works like a gear on a bicycle. Some people ( typically bigger, stronger, heavier people) row better with a higher setting (at a lower stoke per minute pace). Lighter people typically row better with a lower setting ( typically at a higher stoke per minute pace).

There is no cheating on a rowing machine. Whether the damper setting is high or low has no bearing with regard to effort.

Think of it like riding a bike up a hill. Some are going to use a bigger gear and spin slower as opposed to others who will use a smaller gear and spin faster.

Most people row at a damper setting between 110 and 135

Find a setting that you are comfortable with

Dan

[CF-OC_gal]

At CCF where I live they teach C2 rowing at low damper settings. They really focus on correct form to work both upper and lower body. (It's a completely different beast than the way most people row including what I was doing before) I was shown the "sound", a high pitch whirrrr, the flywheel is supposed to make when you are doing it the way they want. Trainer Wade is the only one I ever hear achieving it on every stroke though. Here is a vid link to their methods.

[gymgirl]

food for march 31, 2007

carbs: 160g 34%
protein: 157g 38%
fat: 51g 28%

total cals: 1729

b/f brought home a new guitar today. this time one i'm actually interested in. he usualy plays electric, but brought home a new martin accoustic! martins are my favorite, but i don't play enough to invest in one. i have my ghetto ibanez that i hardly every touch. i am not a good guitar player at all, but it is amazing how much better i sound on a nice guitar with softer strings! after playing a few songs on his i was inspired to pick up my old piece of junk and atleast practice a bit. i play for like a month then set it down for 6 months and now have to re-gain my calluses. anyway it was nice b/f and i played 'fake plastic trees' by radiohead. i played the main part and he added in all these great fills. so much fun. i'm gonna have to snag this new guitar of his...

think i'm gonna go jam to some chris isaak...

[Joanne]

Hi gymgirl,

I haven't been on in a few days and I just wanted to say thanks for those crossfit links. I will check them out.

I also could relate to your situation with regards to passing up the chocolate cake. There have been times when I will have a small piece dessert and enjoy it but I have been in situations when I pass on it and people will not take 'no' for an answer. And not just with desserts but with alcohol as well. I'm not a drinker and it bugs me when friends will go ahead and buy me a drink after a said 'no' 2, 3, 4x.

As a teacher, there are also lot of treats day in the staff rooms especially at the elementary level. I will grab my lunch and go and eat elsewhere because it can be very tempting at times but for the most part, I have noticed that I don't even pick any of the desserts anymore because they are sooooo sweet. They don't appeal to me anymore, which is a good feeling. I actually like the cheese and cracker - sometimes they have brie (which I know is higher in calories and fat) but I take a small piece and enjoy it.

I also just wanted to add that you're very a big inspiration to me gymgirl. I read your journals and look at your food log quite a bit. I'm glad your on these message boards.

[gymgirl]

awwww joanne, you don't know how much that means to me!

Keep up the great work, and I am proud of you for passing up up the treats and being able to just have one piece of cheese and cracker! I know we've discussed this, pierini, tim, minime etc. that it is so much harder to have just 1 or a small bite then it is to just go without. Good for you for having such amazing control! Keep doing what you are doing, and remember I and the rest of the DF folks are always here for you.

p.s. I saw the preview for the new bachelor last night while watching TV with b/f. I had do to all i could from gasping when he took off his shirt. YOWZA...much better looking with the shirt off, if i must say. mmm. i've got my DVR set for monday night!

[gymgirl]

oh and here are a couple more pics from the first shoot. I think the only ones i will be using on my card are the handstand one i first posted and another one of me doing bent over db rows. the rest are just for fun, so dont laugh...

Good choices gymgirl but I do think the pullup ones would be cool if taken from a different angle and showing you in a full-hang position with legs not so bent.

Nice chisel. I wouldn't mess with you.

[CF-OC_gal]

Wow GG, You've got the look (and a natural tan too!)

I like the first pull-up one but it is not really a portfolio piece.

Cool thing about the guitar! How nice that you play.

[gymgirl]

Originally Posted by Brat

Wow GG, You've got the look (and a natural tan too!)

I like the first pull-up one but it is not really a portfolio piece.

Cool thing about the guitar! How nice that you play.

thanks.

yeah, we were just messing around at the end of the shoot, I was doing some pull-ups and he started snapping away. definitely not using them but thought they were fun. atleast when i am old i can look back and think wow look i used to be able to do pull-ups and handstands!

oh and guitar is fun, just wish i was better!

[.V.]

I don't know about such things. But the pullup really shows some nice flexing.

The dumbell row is well, umm, how to say it...
I'll just say it's a very good picture.