I’ve been asked how I stay fit without a gym membership, so hopefully this will answer some of those questions. Though I do lift heavy weights, I usually just use my body weight, and the resources I see around me. Today I went up to one of my favorite workout spots in Breckenridge to try something new – film my workout with GoPro. Besides sharing an example of a typical workout, reviewing the footage helped me see first hand how I can improve my form and technique to be more efficient. I’m always a work in progress, but I’m constantly finding new ways to make fitness fun. My arms are definitely going to be sore!
After being out of the gym for over a month with a strained back it was hard to get back into training mode. I wanted to start small; lower impact skills and lighter loads, but that’s not what happened. I don’t know if it was my competitive personality or the encouragement from my friends, but I decided to join the D-Town team in the largest crossfit competition in the world: The 2013 CrossFit Games: CrossFit Open.
I figured I had nothing to lose because the workouts are designed so athletes of all skill levels can participate and get a taste of what it’s like to compete. I played competitive sports growing up so I’m no stranger to the challenge, but I have to admit, this was a whole new level of hard.
The Open consists of 5 workouts over 5 weeks. This week is week 3.
The first workout: 13.1
WOMEN – includes Masters Women up to 54 years old
Proceed through the sequence below completing as many reps as possible in 17 minutes of:
40 Burpees
45 pound Snatch, 30 reps
30 Burpees
75 pound Snatch, 30 reps
20 Burpees
100 pound Snatch, 30 reps
10 burpees
120 pound Snatch, as many reps as possible
My score: 165 reps.
I only made it through 1/2 of the 75# thrusters before time was up but to be honest, it was better than I had expected to do.
The second workout: 13.2
Complete as many rounds and reps as possible in 10 minutes of:
75 pound Shoulder to overhead, 5 reps
75 pound Deadlift, 10 reps
15 Box jumps, 20″ box
My score: 114 reps.
I went into this WOD thinking it would be short enough to go all out from the beginning. I was wrong. I was extremely tired after only 3 minutes and had to do step ups on the box jumps for much of the remaining time. I know I could have done better on this one, but I did not have time to re-do it before the deadline. Oh well… two down three to go. I’ll keep you posted.
The Third Workout was 13.3
Complete as many rounds and reps as possible in 12 minutes of:
150 Wall balls (14 lbs to 9′ target)
90 Double-unders
30 Muscle-ups
My heart sank as soon as I saw what the WOD was. Last week I did a WORd that totalled to 90 wallballs, and I was so sore for 4 days I could barely walk. I knew that 150 wallballs were going to absolutely destroy me! I forced myself into the gym with butterflies in my stomach. I couldn’t remember the last time I was this nervous for anything. When the workout started I felt the burn after just 20 reps. My strategy going in was to do 10 reps, then rest for 10 seconds. This worked well at first, but soon my rests turned into 15 seconds intervals and my rep counts became 7, then 5, then I only could do 3 at a time before dropping the ball. After what seemed like eternity, My counter yelled, “150!” Dropping that 14 lb medicine ball for the last time was such a great feeling. I could not believe I had finished all 150 reps with time to spare! Now for the double unders. Usually I’m good at these, and can easily do 30 unbroken. Today though, the wallballs turned my legs into noodles. I could barely jump off the ground long enough for the rope to pass under my feet twice. I did a total of 16 double unders before the 12 minute time cap was reached.
I curled up in a ball on the floor and closed my eyes until I could breath. I sat up to a room of people cheering me on and walking over to first-bump me and give me high fives. I was just sooo happy 13.3 was done!
My score: 166 total reps with a tie breaker of 11:24
{ AD WALL BALL PIC HERE}
The forth workout: 13.4
Complete as many reps as possible in 7 minutes following the rep scheme below:
95 pound Clean and jerk, 3 reps
3 Toes-to-bar
95 pound Clean and jerk, 6 reps
6 Toes-to-bar
95 pound Clean and jerk, 9 reps
9 Toes-to-bar
95 pound Clean and jerk, 12 reps
12 Toes-to-bar
95 pound Clean and jerk, 15 reps
15 Toes-to-bar
95 pound Clean and jerk, 18 reps
18 Toes-to-bar…
This is a timed workout. If you complete the round of 18, go on to 21. If you complete 21, go on to 24, etc.
After spending most of the week recovering from 13.3 I was ready to take on 13.4. Ok, I though to myself. This one I can do this one. It was quick, and heavy.
My score: 40 reps. time was up during my set of 12 C&J’s.
Since I started CrossFit in August I looked forward to my birthday. Not just because I turned 25, but because I got to choose a birthday WOD at D-Town CrossFit. For weeks leading up to November 24, I thought about what I wanted to do. I figured that choosing skills I excelled at would be a good idea since I would RX, and get a decent whiteboard score.
As the day approached, however, I thought about what CrossFit is to me, and I realized something. One thing that Crossfit is NOT about is taking the easy way, or simply getting the highest score. So, instead, I decided to do something that would push me to my limits, and challenge me to reach new heights. After all, that is why I started crossfit in the first place – to BECOME BETTER. For this reason I chose to incorporate my newest skill, rope climbs into my birthday WOD. I had completed my first rope climb just 4 days earlier.
Here was my WOD:
Halfway through the first round I knew I was in trouble. I was huffing and puffing, my muscles were burning, and I was sweating like a pig. The thought of having more than two rounds to go was daunting, and the fact that I had CHOSEN this blew my mind. Finally…. round two was over. Trying not to think about the 5:30 class watching from the sidelines, anxiously waiting for me to finish, I began my third round. Most of my class had already finished the workout and many athletes were curled up in the fetal position on the floor making strange noises. I pushed on.
On my last rope climb, ascent number 6, I almost gave up. I paused, clung to the rope from 10 feet up, and took a deep breath. I convinced myself to forget about everything in my life and everyone in the gym watching me. I HAD to do this and I was so close. I knew I would regret it if I gave up before touching the green line. Those last 5 feet were took every ounce of mental and physical strength I could muster, but I did it!
After touching down following my final rope climb, I felt a renewed sense of energy going into my final squats, burpees, and sit-ups; even though my muscles were on fire and my whole body was shaking. After what seemed like forever, I finished. I dropped to the floor and lay there until I finally mustered up the strength to peel myself up and put away my weights.
Although I got one of the worst scores of the day, I was proud of myself for not giving up and for completing my own challenge as prescribed (RX). As I said in my last post, I CrossFit because each day there is a new challenge, a new opportunity to set, reach, or surpass a goal. I CrossFit to learn new skills and to become more fit inside and out. I CrossFit to BE MORE AWESOME, and today I lived it.
After a tumultuous year filled with heartache, tragedy, and self-discovery I found CrossFit. And it’s a good thing I did, because it has changed my life in many ways in just a matter of months.
Being able to take the skills I learn inside my “box” (gym) and apply them to life outside the box makes life more interesting. I see the world differently now. I want to climb things, perform pull ups on trees, attempt one-handed handstands in snowboard boots, and sprint up stairs. I’ve proven to myself that you get out what you put in, and that you must earn your sweat. I’ve quickly learned the language of CrossFit, consisting of words like WOD, snatch, thruster, clean, jerk, muscle up, wall ball, and so many more (and even more acronyms). I’ve gained access to a whole new world filled with fun, fit people all dedicated to bettering themselves and their lives through functional fitness and strength. Each and every person at my gym inspires me to do better and to be stronger than yesterday.
Today, before our WOD, we were given a chance to reach a 1 rep max back squat. Basically you keep adding on weights each rep until you fail. 1 Rep Maxes measure progress; one of the most unique aspects of CrossFit training. I was psyched when I shattered my previous record of 135 lbs with a new PR (personal record) of 185lbs! All day long I thought about my accomplishment, and wanted to tell anyone who would listen.My non-crossfitting friends are probably sick of hearing me talk about how awesome it is. They just don’t get it. Even though every muscle in my body aches, I can’t wait to get back in the gym tomorrow to accomplish something else.
I think for me, that’s why I CrossFit. Each day there is a new challenge, a new opportunity to set, reach, or surpass a goal. I CrossFit to learn new skills and become more fit and confident. I’m getting fit for life.
My 185# back squat attempt at D-Town CrossFit on November 28th, 2012
Benchmark WODs measure progress and track improvement. These workouts usually have names like “Barbara,” “Fran,” and “Angie” and are feared by CrossFitters around the world.
Today we did a WOD called “Kelly.”
One of the smartest things my gym does is to not post the workouts ahead of time. This prevents cherry picking workouts because you have to show up and commit to doing it before you even know what it will be. This WOD was different. I went snowboarding at Keystone in the morning, then on my way home checked the website. I saw that the day’s WOD was already posted…. and it looked hard. Yes, all CrossFit workouts are hard, but this looked especially scary to me since there was a lot of running involved, and WallBalls are extremely demanding. (See Below for WOD)
I thought about skipping it since I knew what it was and I had already gone snowboarding, but I decided to go anyways. One of my biggest motivations for completing the “Kelly” WOD was that my ex-boyfriend of 7 years is named Kelly. We broke up this past summer and I knew this WOD couldn’t be any worse, or any harder than ending things with Kelly.
So, I went into the gym with a new mentality, a determination like never before. I threw myself into it 100% and gave it everything I had; just like I had done with my failed relationship.
When it was over, I was not only impressed with how well I did, but I felt I had accomplished something amazingly personal… like I was closing a major chapter in my life.
The feeling of personal accomplishment. pushing past comfort zones and going beyond known limits is one of the most rewarding side-effects of CrossFit training. I experienced this on a whole new level following the “Kelly” WOD. It went beyond physical triumph… it was alike an invisible weight was lifted off my shoulders.
Here is what the workout consisted of:
5 Rounds for Time:
– Run 400 Meters
– 30 Box Jumps at 20″
– 30 WallBalls 14lbs
In total I ran 2,000, completed 150 box jumps and 150 wallballs in 30:08.
Today was a special day at D-Town CrossFit. Our gym and dozens of other CrossFit Gyms around the Denver Metro Area participated in a memorial workout of the day (WOD) for Jessica Ridgeway, a 10 year-old girl from Broomfield who disappeared on her way to school and was found brutally murdered last week. Donations were collected for Jessica’s family, and the Crossfit Community statewide showed their respect and support for her young life. Here is the WOD:
This past Tuesday, I showed up to my gym D-town Crossfit as usual. If you are not familiar with how it works, I never find out what the WOD (Workout of the day) is until I walk into the gym and see it written on the white board. This is probably a good thing, because if I had known what I was about to go through, I probably would have taken the day off. But I showed up.
Halfway through the warm up, I realized I hadn’t checked the day’s WOD yet. When I turned and saw the details, my heart sank. I quickly looked at my coach and began shaking my head laughing. I knew it was going to be a rough day.
WOD: “Barbara”
5 Rounds for time
20 Pullups
30 Pushups
40 Situps
50 Air Squats
Rest 3 minutes after each round.
I am still sore two days later. (After 100 pull-ups, 150 push-ups, 200 sit-ups, and 250 squats I have a right to be).
My Total Time: 38:12 … followed by 10 minutes of laying on the gym floor trying to catch my breath…
It’s hard to believe that it’s already been 11 years since the tragedy of 9/11. Every year someone asks me “Where were you on 9/11?” I explain that I heard the news outside my 8th grade classroom, right before they sent everyone home for the day. Then I ask them the same question.
Though some things stay the same, a lot has changed since 2001. But no matter where my life takes me, each year I take the time to reflect on life, and remember those who lost their lives and the families they left behind.
This year, I looked back to remember that day from my Denver gym, D-Town CrossFit.
Though I only made it through 3 1/2 out of 9 rounds of the workout before time was up, I was proud of what I did manage to accomplishment; even looked forward to the aching muscles I knew would soon follow.
Fit4Snow 