Visit to Catalyst Athletics

Visited Catalyst Athletics this morning and got to spend an hour training with Greg Everett (author of Olympic Weightlifting: A Complete Guide for Athletes and Coaches.) Interesting guy with a unique outlook on CrossFit. He definitely put me in the right direction towards fixing my Split Jerk technique. I did about 100 reps during that hour with him and we worked myself up to about 207lbs. I still struggle with my technique at heavier weights, but now I know the amount and extent to which I need to spend time focusing on improving my split jerk.

3 hours later at CF West Santa Cruz...

"Isabel"
For time:
135lb Snatch, 30 reps

Time - 4:01

The Good: I have never done this workout and tend to struggle with heavy snatches during workouts. I felt like I kept a good pace for myself and am happy with my time considering it is my first try at this one.

To Be Improved: I need to keep that bar closer and continue to be aggressive with it as I fatigue. I also could get lower underneath the bar to make each rep a little easier for myself.

Goal For Next Time - 3:30

Level 2 WOD

For time:
10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1
200lb Back Squats
1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10
135lb Push Press

Time - 13:27

Fun but brutal WOD at CrossFit Silicon Valley.

Check out this post from CrossFit West Santa Cruz!

Also, I went to a CF Level 2 Cert yesterday and today, learned a ton from Todd, Freddy, Boz, Lisa Rey, Annie, and Nicole...and passed with a really high score! Cool Stuff! Big thanks to everyone at CFV for giving me the opportunity to become a better coach!

More exciting things planned for tomorrow... 

WOD - Saturday, July 4

"Filthy Fifty", For Time:
24" Box Jump, 50 Reps
Jumping Pull-ups, 50 Reps
1 pood Kettlebell Swings, 50 Reps
Walking Lunges, 50 Reps
Knees 2 Elbows, 50 Reps
45lb Push Press, 50 Reps
Back Extensions, 50 Reps
20lb Wall Ball Shots, 50 Reps
Burpees, 50 Reps
Double-Unders, 50 Reps

Time - 23:25 (PR)
(previous best - 23:28)

The Good: I did a lot better on everything except the burpees. Before the burpees, I finished everything including the wall-balls in 15 minutes 26 seconds. It's a small PR, but I have gained weight since the last time I tried this, so I consider this an improvement.

To Be Improved: The burpees took me 7 minutes, which is a ridiculously long time. This needs to take closer to only 3 minutes next time. It's not that I physically cannot do it...it is just so hard mentally to keep throwing yourself down to the ground after everything else.

Goal For Next Time - 21:15

WOD - Friday, July 3

"Mini King Kong X 2"
6 Rounds for Time:
365 Deadlift, 1 rep
Muscle-up, 2 reps
225 Squat Clean, 3 reps
Handstand Push-up, 4 reps

Time - 12:54

I'm on vacation in SC, so my programming is going to be pretty random this week. I'm just doing whatever everyone else is or sounds fun. This was the first time ever trying this type of weight in a wod and it was pretty rough. The deadlifts were the hardest part because my back wasn't strong enough to support that weight. It was cool to get coached by some friends on this one at CrossFit West Santa Cruz: Radetsky (my junor high history teacher), Kyle (another friend from junior high), and Jocelyn (who has a very good chance of becoming the champion at this year's CrossFit Games). 

WOD - Wednesday, July 1

Norcal2

"DT"
5 Rounds For Time:
155lb Deadlift, 12 reps
155lb Hang Power Clean, 9 reps
155lb Push Jerk, 6 reps

Time - 9:40

post wod fuel - 52g prot/63g carb (I was hungry...)

today was supposed to be a rest day but I felt like I could bring good intensity and know that I may have a few extra rest days to recover back during my trip to SC.

The Good: I felt hungry on this one and pushed with as much as I could muster on my 4th day. I went at it smart and didn't waste any reps.

To Be Improved: My movement was super inefficient today. The jerks were more like sloppy presses and my hang power cleans were all over the place. I need to tighten those movements up more.

Goal For Next Time - 8:40

WOD - Tuesday, June 30

2 Rounds for Time:
65lb RIght-arm Barbell Push Press, 12 reps
135lb Left-arm Suitcase Deadlift, 12 reps
800m Run
65lb Left-arm Barbell Push Press, 12 reps
135lb Right-arm Suitcase Deadlift, 12 reps
800m Run

Time - 20:22

post wod fuel - 28g prot/52g carb

The Good - My transitions were solid and my running was feeling better

To Be Improved - I don't know how often in life I'll be working on my one-arm push press or suitcase deadlift, but I do know my running can be faster and that is a reoccurring theme in which I need to continue working on.

Goal For Next Time - 18:30

WOD - Monday, June 29

5 Rounds, Each for Time of:
400m Run
20 Chest-to-Bar Pull-ups

Rest exactly 3 minutes between each round.

Round 1 - 2:03
Round 2 - 2:15
Round 3 - 2:48
Round 4 - 2:57
Round 5 - 2:50

Total - 12:53

post wod fuel - 42g prot/53g carb

The Good - I was able to press pretty hard on the runs. I'm not as fast as I want to be, but I'm getting there. My focus was solid throughout most the rounds, especially the 5th.

To Be Improved - I gassed pretty hard on the last 3 rounds and the chest-to-bar pull-ups were pretty damn hard. It's the first time doing them since I gained weight and they destroyed me!

Goal For Next Time - 11:20

WOD - Sunday, June 28

As Many Rounds in 20 Minutes as You Can of:
95lb Thrusters, 5 reps
95lb Hang Power Cleans, 7 reps
95lb Sumo-Deadlift High-Pulls, 10 reps

Score - 10 Rounds + 5 T, 7 HPC, and 3 SDHP (PR)
(previous best - 9 rounds)

post wod fuel (late): 32g prot/43g carb

The Good: Despite a severe lack of sleep, quality food, and water these past two days, I still managed to get a PR.

To Be Improved: This wods all about the mental game and either you try to escape the pain by going slower or you learn to accept it and keep pressing on. I can do better accepting the pain and pressing faster next time.

Goal For Next Time - 13 Rounds

WOD - Thursday, June 25

Front Squat 3-3-3-3-3 reps

255-270-280-295(PR)-305(failed after 1)
(previous best - 285)

then,
Bottom 2 Bottom Tabata Squats

Score - 16 (PR)
(previous best - 14)

ass to grass on both the front squats and b2b squats

post wod fuel: 32g prot/30g carb

The Good: I felt strong on my front squat PR. And the holding position at the b2b squats felt more solid, although it was painful!

To Be Improved: My right quad is super tight and when I do front squats, it pulls heavily on my hip and gives me a small pain there. I want to stretch it more but I'm having trouble doing that while some scabs on my knee heal. I also need to be more patient and should have gone up only to 300 instead of being greedy and going for 305.

Goal For Next Time - Front Squat 3x305, B2B Tabata Squats - 17

WOD - Wednesday, June 24

3 Rounds for Time:
400m Run
70lb Kettlebell Swing, 21 reps
12 Handstand Push-ups

Time - 9:31

post wod fuel: 28g prot/70g carb

The Good - I felt solid on the handstand push-ups. They were hard because I kept them at shoulder pressing width. I broke them into sets of six and was able to maintain that pace throughout.

To Be Improved - My running is slow and I need to actively work at speeding it back up. I got distracted mentally after the first round because I thought my running time was terrible. Turns out I just forgot that I started 10 seconds after I started the clock. Oh well...I need to work at keeping my focus when things like that come up.

Goal For Next Time - 8:50