Ultimate & CF (Rest Day)

From yesterday's comments on CrossFit.com

I'll echo #1 in saying that competitive Ultimate requires tremendous amounts of "explosive power, speed, agility, stamina, balance, coordination". I recently stopped playing for several months to focus on Crossfit. I was a little worried that without playing or practicing AT ALL for a period of several months, I would have a tough time playing in even a semi-competitive tournament. Turns out that even though I was still ramping up on Crossfit, it still put me in good shape for a grueling Ultimate tournament. It'll be interesting to see how things progress after I have some long-term Crossfit under my belt.
Comment #49 - Posted by JP at November 28, 2006 10:51 AM

Sounds good to me!

Pilates, CrossFit DC, Swing Dancing

30 min Pilates class (midday)
Felt pretty good.

CrossFit DC
Warm-up: 2 rounds of 20 squats, 5 dive-bomber push-ups

Circuit: 2 rounds of 1:30 at each of 6 stations, with 0:30 rest between each station
Ball slam (25 kg)
OH squat (35#)
Jumping ring dips
Row
Thrusters (2 15# dumbbells)
Burpees

Uf. Da. I was tired almost as soon as I began, and felt sloppy most of the way through. Fell over on my first OH squat, scraped my nose on the ball slam, etc. I didn't feel nice and "tight" and powerful, just sort of worn out. I was certainly sore from Monday's workout, but I guess it took more out of me than I realized? A disappointing workout for me.

We worked on windmills at the end of class, which I think are very cool. Definitely felt it all around my shoulder and underneath my shoulder blade when I did them right. The small kettlebell made me nervous, but a 15# db felt just right.


Quick dinner on U Street, then up to the Jam Cellar for swing dancing! Super fun. But jeez the bike ride up 14th felt longer and steeper and slower than ever...

Deadlift, Bench press, Clean

Warm-up: 500m row.
Kept my spm around 25. Finished around 2:05?

WOD: 061125 "Linda"

10-9-8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 reps of the triplet:

Deadlift: 1 1/2 body weight (I used 95# - no problem.)
Bench press: body weight (75# - just right. Maybe 80# next time.)
Clean: 3/4 body weight (65# - down from 75#, working on form. Back to 75# next time?)

Time: 24+ minutes. (I always forget to start my stopwatch...)

I had plenty of energy when the workout was finished. The last rounds were easy. But by the time I got to the shower, I was trembling. (In a good, I used my muscles, sort of way.)

Ran into a trainer, Brenda Coley, who complimented me on my deadlift and bench press form. Yay!

Helen (400m run, swings, pull-ups)

Warm-up:
20 squats, 5 inchworms
20 squats, 10 forwards-backwards lunges

WOD: 061119 "Helen"

Three rounds for time:
Run 400 meters (10 mph = 1:31)
21 dumbbell swings (35#, eye level)
12 Pull-ups (jumping)

Time: 15:35

Much faster than last time (22 minutes!), but the exercises were much easier. My swings were eye-level instead of overhead, and the jumping pull-ups were much faster - I didn't try to prolong the negative part. Not sure if these modifications are good or bad. The running felt fine, which is nice!

CrossFit DC!

Warm-up:
500m row (2:00+)
2 x 15 Kettlebell swings (35#)
500m row (sprint 1:49)
2x 15 KB swings

3 rounds for time of:
10 KB Swings (35#)
10m KB bearcrawl (2 KBs)
Lunge back (carrying 2 KBs)
Time: 7:30

3 rounds for time of:
Overhead KB walk
5 KB front squats
KB Rack walk
5 KB front squats
KB farmers walk
10 KB rows
Time: ~ 5:00

Parts of this felt hard, but I had plenty of energy when it was all over. The bearcrawl with kettlebells is a great exercise! Uf da! I feel like I could have gone heavier for the second circuit, but maybe the next size up would have been too much. There were only two of us in class, which was wonderful. Great motivation, great self-esteem booster!

Note: This workout was also blogged about here.

Rest Day

Still feeling worn-out today, so I decided to give my body another day of rest in hopes that I'll be ready for a good workout at CrossFit DC tomorrow. My shoulders feel tired, which is strange. My lower back is finally done being sore after all the cleans I did last Thursday!

Ultimate

Thought I was done for the season, but then I got drafted into the Clique A tournament. I played around 25 points in the first game (savage!) and around 20 in the second game (one sub, so two-thirds of the points). I played alright, but was pretty worn out in the second game. No wonder I couldn't get open on those Bonogo women!

Basic Strength Standards (Rest Day)

Just added a section to my sidebar: Goals and Records. I got the goals from the Basic Strength Standards table and used numbers for a 148# woman.

Rambling reflections...

It's interesting comparing the un-trained to the novice column:
Press = 136% increase
Bench = 130%
Power Clean = 185%
Squat = 185%
Deadlift = 185%

The subsequent increase, from novice to intermediate, is much less dramatic - about 116% in each case. Why is that? The footnote assumes that the un-trained person can do the lifts correctly, so it's not like she suddenly learns correct form and can instantly lift significantly heavier weight. Maybe it's just saying that the novice is substantially stronger than the average person. Does it have anything to do with the muscles involved? The last 3 lifts, with 185% increases, all involve hip flexion and extension.

Cleans, Handstands

Warm-up: 2 rounds of 20 squats + 5 "dive-bomber" push-ups

WOD 061111:
Seven rounds for time of:
135 pound Clean, 10 reps
Handstand Push-ups, 10 reps

Cleans: I used 65# for rounds 1, 6, 7, and 75# for rounds 2-5. And I'm pretty sure I did power cleans instead of cleans - I caught the bar with my knees a little bent, not in a full squat. My form comes and goes. When I think about it, it's pretty good. But when I stop focusing, it's not. Grr.

HSPUs: I did very shallow push-ups in the first round. For the rest, I just held a 30s handstand and focused on pushing my shoulders towards my ears, rotating my elbows, not arching my back too much. They felt pretty good!

Time: around 24 minutes

My back is sore now. Not sure if it's from the cleans or the handstands. Probably both. Probably shouldn't be sore. Probably should be very conscientious about my form on cleans.

Run, Thrusters

WOD 061115:
Run 5 K

I ran 3.25 miles (5.25 km). It took a little over 30 minutes.

WOD 061113:
Thruster 3-2-2-2-1-1-1-1-1 reps

5 x 45
3 x 50
2 x 55
2 x 55
2 x 55
1 x 60
1 x 65
1 x 70 (f on first try)
1 x 70
1 x 75

I'm pretty sure I could wrestle a heavier weight up, but I bet it would involve arching my back a whole bunch. It was tough getting the last of these up in one fluid motion.

CrossFit DC!

Had a great time at the class. The instructor, Tom, is great and gave lots of good feedback. And even though I had to do regular push-ups instead of ring push-ups like the other three guys, I felt like I was on par with their fitness - a very good feeling.

Warm-up: 2 rounds of 20 squats + 5 "dive-bomber" push-ups

OH Squat
Unweighted x 5 x 4
25# (?) x 5
35# (?) x 5 x 2

We were working on form. I learned to keep my shoulders pressed up, my elbows rotated slightly outwards, my grip wider, and my toes more turned out. I feel it so much more in my upper back and glutes now.

Three rounds of 30 - 20 - 10 reps:
Jumping pullups
Push-ups
Box jumps
Wall ball

Not sure how long. I was breathing hard but wasn't exhausted.

When I told Tom that I played Ultimate, he told me that The Fury (the women's team who won Nationals this year) do CrossFit out in Santa Cruz.

Articles

Tonight I'm going to a class at the DC chapter of CrossFit. I'm a little nervous/shy, but I'm hoping it will be a good workout. I'm hoping for tips on my weightlifting form as much as group motivation.

Some articles I came across today...
- Olympic weightlifting as the greatest workout ever, from Men's Health. Link.
- Cardio makes you smater, also from Men's Health. Link.
- The Afterburn Effect on Fat Loss, from Alwyn Cosgrove's blog. Link. (A, have you read this guy's blog? Is he any good?)

Pilates

45 minute pilates class. Hard.

Rest Day

Rainy outside, but Scott and I practiced some swing dancing in the living room!

Ultimate

Clique B tournament. Played 3 games. Only 2 subs for the whole team, so I got to play a bunch. Was running pretty slowly by the end. Grrr. I want my endurance back!!!

Pilates

45 minute pilates class

Run, Dips

Run - Around 50 minutes. Close to 4.7 miles.

I meant to go for a 20-30 minute run, but I wasn't paying attention and before I knew it I was on my way around the Jefferson Memorial. Oops! It was great to be outside on such a nice day though. I need new shoes.

Dips (with 10# assistance): 5 x 5

Shoulder press (45#): 5
Thinking about form.

Run, Shoulder press

35 minute jog, probably around 3.5 miles.
Scott and I went around the Kennedy Center. Great running weather! Haven’t been running in a while though, so it felt harder than it should.

Shoulder press
45 x 5
50 x 5
50 x 5
55 x 5 (f on 4 and 5)
50 x 5
45 x 4
45 x 4 – bad form! Was arching my back quite a bit.

Run, Pull-ups, Squats, Pilates

Warm-up: 10 lunges

Run 0.75 mile at 8.5 mph, jogged 0.25. Rest.
Repeat at 7.5 mph.

15 lat pull-downs (97.5 #), 25 squats
10 jumping pull-ups, 25 squats
10 pull-ups (28# assistance), 25 squats
15 lat pull-downs (90#), 25 squats
10 jumping pull-ups, 25 squats
15 jumping pull-ups

30 minute Pilates class


I want to get better at running.

Rest Day. Supine groin.

My body feels good after the tounament - not as sore as I was on Sunday. We'll see how I feel tomorrow though...

[Edit] I did supine-groin stretch for 30 minutes on each side tonight... but it was actually pretty uncomfortable on the 2nd side. Maybe I was antsy, maybe everything was releasing really well. I couldn't stand it for the full 30 minutes though. Does that ever happen to anyone else?

Pada Mosh (Day 2)

Went 2-1. Lost in the finals. I wish I were a better player. And I hope I stay in shape this winter. My body felt good today. Some pain in the back of my left knee, but I was running pretty well.

Beautiful weekend. So glad we got to play three games today instead of just two! So nice to feel worn out like this after a tournament.

Pada Mosh (Day 1)

We won all three of our games! I got to play as much as I wanted, which was wonderful. I was tired but not exhausted by the end of the day. Felt great.

Pilates, Shoulder Presses

45 minutes of pilates

WOD 061102
Shoulder press 5-5-5-5-5 reps (45#)

I should go up 5-10# next time, maybe start at 35# and work up to 55#?


Tournament this weekend! Yay!

400s, Box jumps, Thrusters

CFWU x 10 x 2

WOD 061101 - "Kelly"

Five rounds for time of:
Run 400 meters
30 Box jump, 24 inch box
30 Wall ball shots, 20 pound ball

Oops, I only did 3 rounds. Ran at 9 mph (1:40 for 400 m). Used 6 risers and a step for the box jumps. Did 35# thrusters as explosively as I could, but they definitely bothered by left shoulder at the top of the movement. Strange - usually it's my left shoulder that gives me trouble, and lately the left side of my neck has been super tight/sore.

Total time: 21:30.
Two more rounds would have killed me.