Minime 2008 : Journey to Crossfit Excellence

[minime]

thanks j2bryson! My shins and knees feel good now, snowboarding is low impact (well at least for me it is... for my husband is a different story lol.. he likes to jump off things)

seraph that is funny! my feet differ slightly in size, one is bigger than the other and I can feel the difference when I try shoes on. It's not a whole size of a difference I don't think. My shoes feel like they fit fine? Would they not feel tight if they were a size too small?

Last night I skipped the run anyway and went out for a 1hr bike ride. It was tough on my legs, but it wasn't too much of a cardiovascular workout, certainly not in comparison to running. My HR was average 120 where as when I run I keep it around 150 for the most part. It was very tough to get it up though, I really tried and just when I would get it past 140 i would get to another traffic light! no time last night to cycle to the bike path, but perhaps next time.

[minime]

I should also say that I have two pairs of sneakers and I have been doing my outside running in my old ones (new ones live at the gym now) This is probably not helping the situation at all, but I haven't managed to get around to buying new ones yet! If I buy expensive asics, it will require some deliberation, very stressful for me as I hate making decisions!

[sweetdream]

minime- I guess I am in need more of new workouts/routines, ect. Tomorrow I am going to get up earlier, get to the gym earlier and do just what you said. After that I am going to try doing other crossfit exercises.

In regards to nutrition, I know what I need to do, I just need to do it and after today I am really going to put everything I got into seeing results for the next summer 2008 milestone.

I appreciate all of the advice you have given me and I hope you will continue to follow me as I change things! you are an amazing advice giver and you should slap me for having you repeat to me what I should already know!
<3

p.s. so.. if i do what the crossfit website tells me everyday then.. what do I do for cardio or is this my cardio? Should I just stick with what that routine is for the day and not do anything else?

[minime]

No problem talia! I like to help

Crossfit is functional training : it is a combination of various elements of track, gymnastics and olympic lifting. In crossfit we see the body as one whole, functional unit : we do not worry about whether our biceps got worked 3x last week.

A crossfit workout should always start with some or all of the elements of the official warmup : I listed those in your journal. Spend about 15-20 minutes warming up : break a sweat!

Then comes the workout of the day. Sometimes the WOD is long and gruelling.. sometimes it is short and gruelling. Rarely is it 'easy' and if it is, you should have gone faster! Basically if you are following the official site, you will check the site and do whatever is posted each day, it is in a 3/1 format, 3 days workout, 1 day rest.

After the workout of the day, you may wish to work on some other elements that you feel need work : perhaps you want to practice your handstand pushups, or perhaps you want to learn to kip.

Generally the workouts are tough on the body : your body is not used to the intensity and there will be an adjustment period. It is advised that you scale as necessary, by lowering weight, doing less rounds, cutting reps in half and whatnot.

Once your body gets used to it and you build sufficient strength you will be ready to kick some butt!

Seriously, crossfit has gotten me in the best shape I've ever been in. There is still so much for me to learn, i am still quite weak compared to most crossfitters, but I am getting better all the time.

It is fun because of the random element : you are not doing the same boring stuff all the time. You time yourself and keep track of it, then next time you do that same workout (the one i have given you is called "Jackie") you try to either get closer to prescribed weights, OR you try to beat your own time (or both!)

And.. what else? Yes you can view video clips of all exercises in the demo section.

[minime]

oh and as for cardio.. most of the workouts give your heart plenty of exercise! Sometimes the workout of the day is just to run 5 or 10km, or sometimes a row.

Also you are encouraged to take up an outside interest, a sport of some sort.

And of course you are welcome to do extra cardio after the workout of the day, but I would say most of the time you would/should be too tired!

[pseudonym]

Originally Posted by minime

...It was tough on my legs, but it wasn't too much of a cardiovascular workout, ... My HR was average 120 ... It was very tough to get it up ... I really tried ...!

Truly the complaint of a fit woman hahaha I hate it when I get so fit my workout becomes easy too ... at least I presume I would if ever it happened .

I'm sure I don't need to tell you your workouts are looking good and to keep it up!

[minime]

pseudonym : I don't know what it is about cycling V running, but when I run I can easily get my heart rate up to 170 any time I want... with cycling getting it into the 140s requires so much effort. It is strange.

Tuesday March 25th

Warmup 2x10
Strict pullup/chinup (v broken)
Back Extension
Ring dip
OHS (broomstick, 33#)
Handstand practice

"Barbara"
5 rounds, each for time of:
20 pullups
30 pushups
40 situps
50 squats

Rest 3 minutes between rounds

5:33
5:48
7:05
7:54
8:52

Yippee! I made it through Barbara! PR by default as I gave in after 3 rounds last time. Pushups slowed me down big time, pullups weren't so hot either especially in the last two rounds... I had no chalk and our bar is slippery. I was down to singles by the last round. Squats unbroken, situps practically unbroken (few seconds break a couple of times)

I am pleased with myself, despite my slow times

[JMike]

That's amazing! You did really really well. I'm impressed with anyone that gets through Barbara but your times and the fact that you did it RX'ed; awesome!

Re:Heartrates, this is something they talk about at Crossfit. They had a fancy term for it, something like the principal of specificity (although I know that's not it). Basically they argue that if you're good at one cardio-based sport (running, swimming, cycling) where you tend to maintain a solid heartrate throughout, that doesn't neccessarily transfer to another, particularly long distance athletes. Which is why they're all about doing lots of different things. I thought it was absurd when I saw it, but it's proving true. Rowing kicks my ass, but running is like a *ahem* walk in the park.

[minime]

yeah i know, I would nearly die if I tried to row 5 miles but I can run it fairly easily!

[minime]

the pain from barbara is terrible... I woke up this morning with chest/shoulder soreness and as the day progresses it is getting worse and worse.. also it has spread to my abs & lats big time!!

I don't know what to do at the gym tonight!

[minime]

Due to my body pains from Barbara, I was limited in terms of my workout... for example I did a couple of pullup singles in my warmup and it was agony (bicep tendinitis feelings) so pullups were out. I decided to do some light oly work.

Wednesday March 26th
Warmup CFWU (no pullups OR pushups, did ring dips)
burgener warmup w/broomstick & 33#

O-Lift practice 53#, all singles, from the floor
Snatch Grip High Pull x10
Snatch x10
Squat Clean & Split Jerk x10

Back Squat 45x10, 65x10
100x25

Plank holds 3 efforts, 1 min rest between
1:30
1:01
0:37

Running 10 minutes on treadmill 1.23m completed

Stretching & foam rolling

Happy with my snatch practice : i have never really done these so even 53# is a PR. They were not perfect reps by any means, more squat than power but lacking full depth. Also some were just messy. There were a few in there that were reasonable though. this requires my camera next time.

Woohoo for the 100x25 back squat! Very happy with this, it took a lot out of me. Ab planks, blah, very poor.

Running felt ok, no calf pain, just did a light 10 minutes to test the waters. Foam rolling was agony on my tight IT bands/quads but felt great afterwards.

[sweetdream]

Hey fellow crossfitter haha!

I havea question about the split jerks. I saw a video on the "jerk" but confused on what the split one is. hoping you get this before the morning! I go to the gym @ 9

Also.. the 1-1-1-1 is just 1 rep of something u max?

[minime]

hey talia, i replied in your journal but I think I was too late! sorry

Thursday March 27th
Warmup Shoulder dislocates, samsons stetch, handstand practice
2x10
Pushup
Broomstick OHS
Situp
Back extension
Ring dip
Knee to Elbow
HSPU negative (1 abmat)

0.5mile run @ 7.5mph

OHS 33x10... 53x1... 58x1 (PR)... 63xF

"Helen"
3 rounds for time:
400m run
21 Kettlebell swing 1 pood
12 pullups

13:31

I believe it is a PR for me (rx'd is 1.5pd though) as I think last time was 15 minutes or so. There was still no chalk at the gym however so the pullups really slowed me down : i was doing singles in the last round as I just kept slipping off the bar. Next time I will knock at least one minute off.

I wasn't going to do helen at all because of my super sore 'inner elbows' but I sucked it up and it felt ok, they still hurt today but not as much. Jeez barbara practically ruined me for a whole week! she is one tough cookie.

I really went all out on my warmup today! I also did a couple of strict pullups but they hurt a lot. As for the OHS, i just packed it in after the first fail at 63, I just wasn't feeling these today.

Was planning to go out for a run tonight, but it is raining again!! If the workout of the day had been a really fun one I might have decided to go to class but as it stands I'm not going to. 4 days in a row to the gym can be very wearing, both physically and mentally.

[minime]

Oh I forgot to say, we are definitely going to Cabo San Lucas on the 6th of May! Erik qualified for the sales achievers trip so we get to go to sunny mexico for free Well actually the trip is only 5 days and we are extending it so will have to pay for 2 nights ourselves but we will stay somewhere cheaper than the $300 a night hilton that the company is paying for.

So I was toying with the idea of a lower carb diet in an attempt to lean out slightly for vacation. I would love to see my abs more, but I just don't know how I would stick being hungry!

Very good on the OHS PR minime. Remember to reach for the heavens when in the deep bottom position and think tall, and also think killer lower back arch for safety.

Have a great day!