It's been a busy few weeks. Right smack in the middle of my Whole30, I went to Las Vegas for a class--12-14 hours a day of classes for 4 days. I used to love Vegas, and you just can't beat the food there. I won't lie, I was bummed not to be able to take advantage of the culinary delights in Sin City, but I was determined to stick to the plan, and I did. As a matter of fact, I still had the best meal I've had in years at the Eiffel Tower Restaurant while I was there. It was absolutely perfect. The class was exhausting but productive, I didn't overindulge, and I even got in a couple of workouts. Despite being painfully homesick, not a bad trip overall.
I continued the Whole30 after I got back, and ultimately enjoyed the overall experience quite a bit. Breaking it down to the basic numbers, over the 30 days, I lost 7.5 pounds and 8.25 total inches. For those of you who have been following me over the years, you will know this is nothing short of monumental for me. I also noticed that my mood was, indeed, improved. Mind you, I didn't experience the paleo giddiness that some folks report, but I have noticed that my mood is better. My skin is clearer. I didn't have the breakouts and blemishes during this cycle that I typically do. And (this might be TMI, but I think it's significant so I'm going to share it) I also noticed that the "fuzzies"...you ladies who have them will know of what I speak... are markedly better. There is no doubt that my hormones are in better balance than they were before the Whole30. One of my goals with the Whole30, though, was decreasing the number and severity of headaches that I'm having, and I didn't see much improvement. I did see some, just not enough, so I've decided it's time to check in with a neurologist and make sure nothing hinky is going on.
The restrictions of the Whole30 were over just in time for our friends' Clint and Caitlin's wedding this weekend. We headed down to Anna Maria Island Thursday after I got off of work and joined them for the rehearsal dinner. After not sleeping for thirty hours, I collapsed into bed and finally slept well for the first time in two weeks--even woke up energized enough for a great beach workout before the wedding festivities. Luna naturally joined me for the beach fun but she wasn't so sure about those waves we were trotting along next to, lol. Regardless, she got some playtime outside before having to chill by herself while Marc and I enjoyed ourselves at the wedding.
Tomorrow I start phase 9 of my workouts from Jennifer Cooper, so today I decided to just spend some time playing. Here's the evidence (note playing with my one rep max deadlift was part of the play. Turns out it's 170#, about 110% of body weight):
So 26 went up well enough yesterday and a gauntlet was thrown. Here's 36# then 46#. Since I had such an issue getting the 46 over my head, I didn't put anymore weight in the bag but tried double 12's. That I couldn't do...yet. ;)
....I almost forgot to post the picture from our hike today. The hubby and I went to O'Leno State Park and had a GREAT time. It was our first trip there, but we'll certainly be going back. The sink holes you see in the background are covered with duckweek, one of the world's smallest water plants. If you look at that green stuff up close, it's actually gajillions (that's the official number, btw) of teeny, tiny leaves with teeny tiny root systems. They're really cool It's not slimy at all despite the appearance.
It's been 2 or 3 years in the coming, but it arrived today. I've been hitting the negative for 2 or 3 weeks now. Today I sort of forgot I couldn't get back up and what do you know? I could! Hooyah!
Getting my daily dosages of the "3 P's," pull ups, push ups, and pistols, has been a hard pill to take at times. It has been defeating, demoralizing, mentally exhausting. A few times it's been a comfort, like an old pair of shoes, to go out and fall into something so familiar, but mostly I have felt like I am going out each day to fight a giant, a benevolent one, but a giant nonetheless. I do feel the progress, however. As I was doing my five sets of push ups this last 5 days, the rep scheme was 12, 11, 10, 9, 9...then the next day 12, 11, 10, 10, 9, etc., I realized that for 4 sets out of 5 I was doing 10 or more perfect push ups. Only then did it occur to me that I had not only hit a long-standing goal but I had surpassed it by a long shot and not really even acknowledged it. For a very, very long time I had the goal of being able to do 10 consecutive perfect push ups. For what seemed like forever this goal seemed out of my reach, the nerdy, chubby girl's pipe dream. But then I focused on the road, not the destination, and suddenly I was there. I have to admit, I did a little dance with my workout buddies when I had that realization. And as always, one revelation leads to another, and I thought about how frustrated I am with how long it's taking me to get an unassisted pull up and a pistol. They will come just like the push ups did. I just have to focus on the road.
After losing my 20kg press when I was sick, I was bitching about it to a few fellow RKC's (in addition to posting about it), and a couple of wise friends suggested I use some Hardstyle wisdom and work on my tension with the bottoms up press...And one of those friends said, "Send me some video, and I'll tell you what I see." A blogpost was born...albeit a slightly delayed delivery.
I've been bringing my 12kg bell to work the last couple of weeks and greasing the groove with the BUP to help build proper tension. It has helped quite a bit. Tension is queen, and I've come to find the weak points in my creating it. Oddly enough, they are assymetrical. On the right, the tension comes fairly easily, but when it does slack off, it's usually in the lats. On the left, right arm/fist tension and butt tension are where I find myself lagging sometimes--mostly in the glute tension. Where last week I didn't get a single strict press with the 20kg during my two workouts like the one I did today, I got strict presses with both arms for the first 3 rounds today. The BUP has become one of my new favorite tools.
VIDEO 1: This is the first round of my workout today. The workout is set up to press the 20kg twice then grab the 12kg and do 2 BUP's, then switch arms. It was raining just enough that I was NOT getting much of a grip on the 12. You'll also notice that I dump the cap pretty quickly. I wear a ball cap almost all the time when I workout for a few reasons: 1. It keeps down on the amount of sun that gets in my eyes and therefore reduces my risk of migraine (which is a big risk because I get lots of them. 2. It keeps my hair out of my eyes. 3. It keeps sweat out of my eyes. 4. On days like today when it's raining, it keeps the rain out of my eyes. Pavel fussed at me at the RKC for always wearing a ball cap, said it hindered my line of sight and was throwing off my groove. That is never more poignantly clear than when I'm doing presses.
VIDEO 2: The rain was getting heavier, and my tension was suboptimal=Crappy first couple of attempts. I almost didn't post this video or video 1, but I decided some of the best input comes from the failed attempts.
VIDEO 3: When I realized the rain was going to keep coming (that's what you hear tap, tap, tapping), I decided to just go to the 16kg and press it 3 times/round like I did before adding the BUP to my workout.
VIDEO 4: Same as 3, but with the left arm.
VIDEO 5: After my sub-par run at the BUP this afternoon, I wanted to prove I can do it with good form and give a friend I know a good example to follow. ;) So I got some more video at work. Here's the right side...
VIDEO 6:...and here's the left.
The beauty of the BUP at a weight that one can't manhandle is that it must be performed with tension--from the ground up. Start with good tension in the clean: feet pushing through the ground, kneecaps pulled up into the quads, hamstrings pulled up into the glutes, glutes holding that imaginary quarter, lats locking those shoulders in, opposite arm tensing into a firm fist, tight grip on the bell, deep breath, pressurize and press through the bell to the sky with a hiss. Tension, tension, tension. It's beautiful.
TODAY'S WORKOUT:
5 rounds (did you notice I'm back up to 5?:) ) of...
20kg press x 1, 20kg pushpress x 1, 12kg BUP x 2 or 16kg C&P x 3
5 perfect elevated pushups
20kg walking lunge x 10
double 20kg Dead x 7
Plank x 30 sec
Rest 2 min
20kg Tabata Swing
YESTERDAY'S WORKOUT: ...Okay, so maybe it doesn't really count, but I did one round of 16kg Essentials because that's all the time I had.
SUNDAY'S WORKOUT: 5 (yep, I went up to 5 here,too) 4-rung ladders of black and purple band assisted pullups alternated with elevated perfect pushups. Between each rung of ladders one and 3 were knee-together squats into a one-legged pulse at the bottom for pistol work.Between the rungs of ladder 4, I worked partial pistols from the top. 2/sideBetween the runs of ladder 5, I did 30 sec of plank.
Friday, May 1, 2009 (Wasn't I just amazed yesterday that it was April?) Off--163.5#
As I have mentioned numerous times before, my arch nemesis is pushups. I just can't quite seem to get the groove of them. Not only will my numbers not go up like I want them to, but I just never feel like I'm doing them right. They're never... comfortable. A precious friend of mine offered to critique them via the net, so I thought I'd just post the video here for a free-for-all slam on my push-up. Any suggestions appreciated.
WORKOUT: 3 round without rest for time... Assisted pullups with purple and black bands Assisted pistols 2/2 Run around the yard (amounts to about 100-125 yards) pushups x 30sec Run around the yard Hanging leg raises x 30 sec (ended up being ~20 sec b/c my arms gave out) Run around the yard Low plank x 30sec Run around the yard =23'10"
20kg TGU 3/3
I liked this workout. BUT I think I'll had some box jumps or more pistols next time. I didn't feel like my legs got quite enough work.
NUTRITION: Today is my first day totally with the Zone program. I AM STARVING! Wierd thing is, I haven't eaten things that much differently from what I usually do, and my caloric intake is about the same--proportions are what they're supposed to be. I'm hoping that means my metabolism is firing overtime. :)
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Monday, December 29, 2008 Off
I wasn't going to post today since I posted all the pics yesterday, but I came across this video I liked on Mr. Jenks's blog. It's about a Australian cattle dog (or Australian blue heeler where I'm from) named Skidboot. What this dog is able to do might be unbelievable to some of you, but I don't doubt it for a second. I grew up on a farm where we always had at least one cattle dog/heeler, and often two. They are loyal, amazingly intelligent animals who settle for nothing less than being an integral part of the family.
Though every last one we had was special in a different way, one dog, in particular, will hold a special place in all our hearts. His name was Sarge, and he was my dad's constant companion for years. In the winter, when daddy brought in wood for the stove, Sarge would make every trip back and forth from the woodpile with him--every time with a stick of wood in his mouth. If a hog got out of the barn or the lot, he would come to the back door and bark until we came to check it out. Then, he would go put the hog back in the fence and stand to block the hole until you got there and repaired it. He would sit by my dad's chair, one paw uplifted to "hold hands" with him as long as Daddy would let him. When Daddy finally gave up, Sarge would just slide down and lie there, content to be next to his master. I could go on forever about him then just start telling more tales about the others. The dogs taught me a great affection for dogs in general. I can really not do justice to what dogs have added and continue to add to my life.
So, now, here's Skidboot..
WORKOUT: 16kg snatch 1 min R/1 min L/1 min rest x 8
YESTERDAY'S WORKOUT: 4 4-rung ladders of pull-up/push-ups. Pull-ups assisted with the green band. 3 3-rung ladders of door-jamb assisted pistols 20kg TGU 1/1 20kg Tabata swings. Good workout. Those pistols smoked my legs.
Anthony D. posted a challenge on the forum this week, and I just so happened to be in a place in my workouts that I felt I could give it a run. You'll notice a few things about the video below. One, in the clean section, I have a wierd pause in the beginning. That 's the wheels in my head turning as I remember that in the video Anthony does his cleans from the bottom, so I switch to that half-way through. Then, I turn 180 degrees to get the sun out of my face, and you'll notice me repositioning my feet fairly frequently due to the uneven ground I was standing on. Hopefully that covers most of the little idiosycracies in the video.
Funny enough, the day I did this, Anthony D. called me out on the forum, telling me he wanted to see me try it. We'll see what he thinks. :)
TODAY'S WORKOUT: Double 16kg c&p 3 sets of 4--the first two of each set I did without a pushpress. Double 16kg squats--3 sets of 4 16kg swings--3 sets of 15 2 sets of 5/side 12kg windmills. YESTERDAY'S WORKOUT: See in detail above. :)
Monday, July 28, 2007I've been making a run at the Essentials test here lately. I've been doing pretty well with it, so I decided to video it today. Naturally I flubbed it up a bit. The push-presses are just the way I have to do it right now. The other exercises fatigue my arms too much for me to straight press at that point in the game. During the right hand swings, my hand just got so sweaty the bell flew clean out of my hand. Then on the descending TGU, I had a brain fart and stepped back on the wrong foot and royally screwed that up. For some reason starting the get-up from that position plays with my head. I really do know how to do it right.
I thought long and hard about whether or not I wanted to post this. First, it's just embarrassing that I fucked it up. I look like a newbie. Second, I have a knot in the pit of my stomach at the realization that I still look like I do. The picture of myself that resides in my head is much different. I see myself as much more muscularly defined. I've had myself convinced that another 15-20 pounds was going to put me where I need to be. Now I'm not so sure. Maybe that's why I'm stalled like I am. I've known for a while that I need to take photos more regularly because they're such a reality check, but I guess that's exactly why I have difficulty with doing it. The truth is hard to see--especially when I feel like I'm working so hard to keep my nutrition straight. As my mentor liked to tell me..."Balls up. Watcha gonna do?"
TODAY'S WORKOUT: The Essentials test above with the 16kg.
10 rounds of: 12 kg Snatch 30 sec R, Rest 30 sec, Snatch 30 sec L, Rest 30 sec.
In my line of work, we do a lot of thinking about truly living life. Sometimes it's morbid; sometimes it's a gift. We don't take many days for granted, and we learn some valuable lessons from others without having to live the heartache. When the movie The Bucket List came out, one of our frequent topics of conversation was what our list would be. I think each person's list would change depending on how long they had to complete the list. If you knew you had only 24 hours to live, what would you really do with them? If you think about it, you would probably do something a lot less glamorous than you would initially think. As I began to think about it, I realized what I would really want to do is spend a few hours eating dinner with my family--my mom and dad, my siblings and their families. And the rest of the time I would want to spend with my husband and my dog. I would hope for an amazing sunset, a full moon, and a warm night--or a cold night, a new moon, and a hot tub. When our necks finally tired of looking at the sky, I'd want to lights some candles,snuggle up on the couch, watch a good movie and just be. Simple as that.
But when you/I think about what to do assuming we have decades left, it all changes. Then, I think of things I'd like to see, places I'd like to go, things I'd like to do. I want to spend a couple months camped on the beach in Central America. I want to dive in the South Pacific, watch the killer whales migrate to Alaska, swim with a whale shark. I want to see ice so old it's blue sliding by millimeters down a valley of its own making. I want to drink a Mojito on the beach while I watch a Cuban sunset. I want to climb the Mayan ruins and dive the Mexican cenotes. And until Saturday, right at the top of my list was jumping out of a perfectly good airplane and seeing what it feels like to fly. Now it's time to work on some of the others. Meanwhile this one was abso-freaking-lutely unreal.
FF about 2 minutes through the advertisement at the front...and through the hoakey Q&A to the part where we're loading the plane.
NUTRITION: I was supposed to start a new program today, but I ended up deciding not to start until Wednesday. We've had house guests since last night, and it just wasn't practical. I did start some minor modifications, but the hammer comes down Wednesday.
WORKOUT: I went to see David last Thursday and got a serious ass-whipping. He talked with me about this plateau I've been wallowing on for the last two or three months. He wants me to drop my carbs even further and continue with even more lean sources of protein and keep my calories a little lower than what I have been. And I'm pretty sure he's trying to kill me with my new workout program. We'll see if it works.
Workout A (Today): Warm-up with 10/side 12kg TGU.
8 per side Double 12kg snatch.
8 Thrusters (These are the devil).
12 double 12kg High pulls
8 double 12kg C&P
8/8 Alternating Rows.
20 double 12kg swings.
Rest 90 sec.
Repeat all of above 5 times.
This is designed to do all of the above in a row without putting the bells down. I am a total puss and cannot do that just yet. My goal is to be able to do the total of the above as it was designed with no rest in the circuit until it is called for.
BUT WAIT... then I do the following...
25/25 12kg snatches, 90 sec jog
20/20 12kg snatches, 90 sec jog
15/15 12kg snatches, 90 sec jog
10/10 12 kg snatches, 90 sec jog
5/5 12kg snatches, 90 sec jog.
This workout took me about an hour and a half. I'll be working toward shortening that as much as possible as quickly as possible.
The restrictions of the Whole30 were over just in time for our friends' Clint and Caitlin's wedding this weekend. We headed down to Anna Maria Island Thursday after I got off of work and joined them for the rehearsal dinner. After not sleeping for thirty hours, I collapsed into bed and finally slept well for the first time in two weeks--even woke up energized enough for a great beach workout before the wedding festivities. Luna naturally joined me for the beach fun but she wasn't so sure about those waves we were trotting along next to, lol. Regardless, she got some playtime outside before having to chill by herself while Marc and I enjoyed ourselves at the wedding.
