FRIDAY WOD

Fridays are typically the day where I  forget about how hard I have worked throughout the week to stay healthy. I put so much effort into making sure I exercise at least every second day and making the right choices for meals. When Friday comes around all I feel like is a hearty meal, piece of cake (chocolate preferably)  and a glass of wine (or two). I can remember Fridays back in Sydney which normally entails a big feast of several courses, a few glasses of wine, a couple of cocktails and then shots! The next day is never pretty which then leads to more bad decisions of what to eat to get over the hang over. Since moving to Colorado I am pleased to say I haven’t suffered a hang over yet (I say yet because I have a friend visiting soon who may change this statement, Em I am looking at you!). I am not saying don’t enjoy life and that delicious piece of cake but choose your battles, maybe shots aren’t a good idea tonight.

Today at Crossfit Roots we had a pretty fun WOD:

Four rounds for time of:
15 foot Rope climb, 3 ascents
30 Push-ups
30 Sit-ups

The scaled option I ended up doing today was 2 ascents for the rope climbs instead of 3 for a time of 22 minutes and 40 seconds. I am getting much better at rope climbing but after doing push-ups and sit-ups you start to become pretty tired. When I get tired my technique usually goes out the window which makes the rope climbing even more difficult because I forget about the footwork and keeping my arms straight. I got so frustrated on my last round that I choose to do the push-ups and sit-ups first. I think that was a good move because it allowed me to focus on that last rope climb and I have good news I made it to the top (hell yeah!). So much goes on in my head during a WOD from “I can do this” to “OMG this is so hard” to “I think I am going to cry” but when you finally finish even in 22 minutes and 40 seconds it feels bloody fantastic. So what GOOD decisions will you make this Friday?

Haily

Rope Climbs

 

View from my Crossfit gym

 

DEADLIFT WITH A TWIST

A deadlift refers to the lifting of dead weight in this case a loaded barbell off the ground from a stabilized, bent over position. This simple movement may seem easy however when you add on lots of plates (weights) this movement becomes alot harder and now for the twist…A pausing deadlift.

Todays WOD entailed:

Pausing Deadlift 3-3-3-3-3

(Pausing at the knee for 3 seconds on the first lift for each set)

Push Jerk 2-2-2-2-2

The pausing for 3 seconds while deadlifting at the knee really makes the deadlift that much more difficult to achieve. Today my max weight for a pausing deadlift was 145 lb which I was really proud of however the women in my crossfit class continue to amaze me with one person deadlifting with a pause of 215 lb. I cannot talk about it enough, being surrounded by people who are stronger/fitter than me makes me push myself beyond what my mind thinks I can do.

Today I push jerked 80 lb which is my personal best. I am yet to become an Rx girl but I am feeling much stronger.

Haily

Kettlebell stud earrings, anything to help right?

My new Innov8 for Crossfit

ROPE CLIMB

I woke up feeling very sore today post a hard workout (150 box jumps) two days ago. Sometimes it is so much easier to complain about how sore your body is feeling and to make up excuses as to why you should stay in bed ( I have been guilty of this many times). Today however I am so proud of myself for two reasons. Firstly, for making the decision to go to Crossfit despite my body aching all over and secondly because I decided to go I succeeded in a skill I have been struggling with, the rope climb. Todays WOD entailed:

For time:

75 pound for men/55 pound for women, Thruster, 30 reps
15 foot Rope climb, 3 ascents
Thruster, 20 reps
15 foot Rope climb, 2 ascents
Thruster, 10 reps
15 foot Rope climb, 1 ascents

For those who don’t know, a thruster is a movement which combines a front squat with a push press and in this particular WOD involving weights. I did attempt to use 55 pounds for the thruster however post the tenth rep I knew I wasn’t able to complete the exercise because it was too heavy (as I mentioned before I am terrible with upper body exercsies). I decided to use 45 pounds for the rest of the thrusters.

The rope climb is a difficult skill to learn. I have always struggled with climbing ropes and only recently was able to climb knotted ropes. I always thought rope climbing was all about upper body strength, being up to pull yourself up but I was wrong. Rope climbing is about foot work. There are apparently many techniques in climbing ropes but what worked for me was the “scissor” technique (please refer to link http://vimeo.com/9120985). In today’s WOD I was able to climb the 15 foot rope halfway on my own!!! I completed the WOD in 9 minutes and 30 seconds.

I still have a long way to go in becoming an Rx girl but I feel each Crossfit class is prepping my for the day I can complete each WOD without scaling. So think twice before you decide to talk yourself out of a workout because it might be the day you learn something new or acheive a personal best.

Haily

Fresh lemonade post workout? Yes please.

07:00 AM

I woke up this morning feeling good and was excited for my 07:00 AM Crossfit session. A morning ritual on the day of a Crossfit session is me laying in bed grabbing my mobile phone and logging online to see what the WOD is (I think it helps me mentally prepare). Unfortunately todays session had not been posted online and I was a little nervous to find out on arrival that todays class included box jumps. Anyone who knows me can vouch that I cannot jump. I think the nervousness comes from doing long  jumps on Bondi Beach in Australia once and a random guy walked passed and laughed at me because my jumps are so bad. But in my attempt to be an Rx girl I had to overcome my box jump fear.

Todays WOD:

Max front squats x 3 with a 3 second hold during the squat

3 rounds for time:

50 box jumps (24″ Men/ 20″Women)

5 muscle-ups (Scaled option 15 ring dips and 15 ring rows)

I felt really good in my front squats today and was able to front squat 110 pounds which is my personal record (I guess my big thighs are good for something). I then completed todays WOD in 14 minutes and 50 seconds using 20″ boxes for my box jumps and using the scaled option for the muscle ups, with one resistant band for my rings dips. I have never been great at upper body exercises and find doing 15 ring dips and 15 ring rows extremely difficult. My method in completing them today was to do 5 of each and then alternating. I was very tempted to go with a 12″ box for my box jumps but with some encouragement I am happy that I toughed it out because in order to get better at my jumps I need to push myself mentally and physically (even though I finished last).

One thing I love about Crossift is being in a group environment really inspires me to do better especially when someone double your age is kicking your butt in the WOD. After todays session I couldn’t wait to get home for some breakfast.

Haily

Boiled eggs with cayenne pepper

I WANT TO BE AN RX GIRL

Hello and welcome to my first blog and post.

I recently moved from Australia to Colorado with my fiance who was offered a job starting up a new techonology company in Boulder. Being the diligent one of the two he did alot of research and Colorado stood out from the other States of America for a few reasons. In particular Colorado has a reputation for being a state of active and athletic people. Skiing, snowboarding, rock climbing, trail walking and biking are just a few activities accessbile to those who live in and visit Colorado. I have only lived in Colorado for four months but being surrounded by nature and active citizens has encouraged me to live an active and healthy lifestyle.

Two months ago my fiance introduced me to a style of workout called Crossfit. For those who don’t know what Crossfit is it involves constantly varied, high intensity and functional movements. The workouts are short and intense, demanding all out physical exertion. Movements such as sprinting, rowing, climbing rope, body weight exercises, box jumps and weightlifting are a few examples of movements involved in Crossfit. These movements are mixed in various combinations to form a prescribed Workouts of the day (WOD). For example a WOD could be, Five rounds for time of: 400m run, 30 Box jumps (20 inch) and 30 wall ball shots (20 pounds ball). If able to complete the WOD without any modification or scaling the term Rx is applied. Rx is a term  from the medical world that stands for “prescription”. In the Crossfit world in means you did a WOD as prescribed.

This blog will serve as a diary of my journey in hopefully becoming a Rx girl. I am currently unable to do anything in Crossfit without scaling or modifications. For example I use two resistant bands to do pull-ups, I do push-ups from my knees not my toes, I cannot climb a rope (only if it’s knotted), I cannot do double unders with the skipping rope and I am not able to lift the prescribed weights for women in my dead lifts, push press or clean and jerks. I have only been doing Crossfit for two months and have developed a great love for this style of workout but I know I have the potential to do better.

In addition to documenting my progress in Crossfit I will also post about my love for food, attempted new recipes and about my new life in Colorado. I hope you enjoy reading.

With another WOD just around the corner stay tuned…

Haily

I want to be an Rx girl…