Happy Leap Day!

It was soooooo hard to pull myself out of bed this morning. I definitely hit the snooze button and then had to move quicker in order to leave the house on time. I seriously felt like I had only been asleep for five minutes.. maybe. Anyways, made it to the box on time and this is what was waiting for me:



Seemed simple and I was a bit glad because I am still sore from Monday's WOD. I've been walking around looking bow-legged because my legs still hurt from all the nonsense. On a side note, they changed Monday's WOD length from 3 down to 2 rounds for the afternoon classes... wusses. Haha.
I know I'm new, but I'm going to accept some credit for being one of three people to finish the full 3 rounds in the morning class.

Anyways, back to today. I attempted kipping for the firs time today. I felt like and must have looked like a retard, but practice makes perfect and one day it'll come. The whole thing took me 10:10 to finish. Some of that was attributed to pull-ups awkwardness. It sucks feeling like I could have done a little better, but this is only my third real class. I'm planning on coming in over the weekend to find my 1RM for all the lifts so I have an idea of what to use for the WODs and to work on my form for ring dips and kipping pull-ups.

In these two weeks though, I've seen improvements and my body overall (aside from the soreness which while it sucks sometimes, is a good thing) feels much better.

Makeshift Monday

or so Mark calls it... I call it hell on steroids.

Walked up to the box this morning hoping that there wouldn't be as much running during the workout today. I am not a huge fan of running. Well, there wasn't any running (except the one lap warmup), but here's what was written on the board and what dropped all our jaws:



Love Mark? No, no. We hate you right now.

Yeah, I could have been ok with two rounds, but three? Are you out of your mind? It's Monday! Ugh. Got started and I don't think I've ever been that consistently out of breath since I stopped playing rugby in college. I started the first round with the 35# kb, but said eff that and for the next two rounds dropped to the 25#. I also haven't got toes to bar yet, so I dealt with knee-ups. Someday I'll get there.

The class dynamic really helps. Inside you are cheering for the others, while secretly doing battle with them. There were three of us all kind of together. At least we were on the same round as one another. In the end, we were the only three that actually finished. The others had to move on so they could get to work and other morning obligations.

My time: 32:10

First Class!!

Yay! So after a hectic week, I was finally able to attend my first class this morning. I was super stoked but nervous at the same time. What if I was super slow? What if I couldn't do all the movements? What if I had to rest?

I was one of the first people to show up for the 6 am class. I hate being late so I actually got there 20 mins early and just chilled out in my car for a bit. I introduced myself to the trainer Christa, who I hadn't met before but like all the others was super nice and helpful. She showed me the WOD... Helen and then helped me get my pull-up band set up. By now, more people were showing up, but I wasn't feeling as nervous. We started the warm-up and Christa introduced myself and another woman as the new people. Everyone was very friendly... my nerves were gone. Now, I was focused on the task at hand.

24FEB12 WOD: Helen<
3 rounds for time:
400m run
21 kb swings
12 pull-ups

My time: 13:20 @ 25#/green

Those runs kill me and I was the slowest, but I still worked hard and was encouraged by everyone else. Can't wait for the next class!

Foundations III

The last of three foundations classes today. I was so excited, mostly because I wasn't as sore this morning and I was ready to go.

Gary and I got started this morning with Drew (remember him? He's the trainer that signed me up). Like all the other trainers I've met, Drew is awesome too. So enthusiastic and practical. Today we learned deadliifts.

Day 3
Deadlift
Sumo Deadlift
Sumo Deadlift High Pull
Medicine Ball Clean
Kettlebell Swing

Then we got to WOD!

Foundations III WOD 17FEB11:

AMRAP 10mins
5 Kettlebell swings
10 pushups
15 air squats

I got 9 rounds in 10mins.

I think I have a wall at about the halfway point of everything. I was on a good pace until my 5th round. Averaging 1 round/minute, then after 5 my pushups started slowing down. I'm one of those girls that refuses to use my knees for pushups, so there was some sacrifice in time. Oh well, not too shabby.

I'm super excited and ready to start classes. A little nervous though. We'll see how the first one goes.

Foundations II (and my new worst enemy)

Had my second foundations class this morning. There was one other guy with me, named Gary, and our trainer was Jess. She was hilarious and taught the basic concepts while keeping us laughing and feeling good about what we are getting ourselves into. We reviewed the squats from FI and then learned the presses.

Day 2
Shoulder press
Push press
Push jerk
Split jerk
Thruster

Not as quad intensive as FI, but don't worry... today's WOD took care of that.

Foundations II WOD 15FEB12:

For time:
21-15-9
Thrusters
Box jumps
200m run

My time: 12:33

I did my thrusters with the 23# bar, which is a piece of cake for the first ten then not so much. During the last 9 reps, the bar definitely felt like it weighed double as much.

Now... about those box jumps. I am not a tall person and I don't have the best vertical. That box covers 1/3 of my height. The look on my face when we brought them out was not one of enthusiasm. It definitely takes a little momentum for me to get up there and the first 21 took what seemed like forever. Gary had already finished his first run by the time I was done with my first jumps. Luckily, Jess and Mark were very encouraging. Up and down I jumped. Finally getting to 21... great! only two more rounds to go...

The last run up the street was the worst. Thank goodness I paced my breathing and could keep my legs moving. There was one pick up me along the way... coming around the corner I almost got smacked by a guy walking his bulldog. At least the dog was cute and I got a quick pet as I recomposed myself to keep running.

At the end of the morning, I'm still alive. Sore, but alive. And I found what I hate most in life: box jumps.

the 36-48 hour hurt...

...is much worse than the 24 hour hurt. I feel like someone beat me with a baseball bat.

At the same time, I can't wait for Foundations II tomorrow and another workout.

When I think about it, the WOD I did in Foundations I, I could have done at any gym. I can guarantee, however, that if I did that on my own without someone pushing me and watching me I wouldn't have worked nearly as hard as I did. That's the kicker for me, the competitiveness and the fact that I want to work harder because I know someone's watching. I didn't join this to break a meager sweat, I came to work my butt off. I did just that and I'm going to strive for that everytime.

Foundations I

Yesterday was my first actual CF experience: Foundation I, the intro into the CF world. The class consisted of myself and two others, Sergio (who has no shame in letting the place know that he's here to get rid of his "chicken" arms) and Maggie, a former runner.

Our trainer, Mark, got us started. It was a fairly uncomplicated lesson. Since I have some lifting experience from my softball and rugby training days I knew each of the lifts we learned.

Day 1
Air squat
Front Squat
Overhead Squat
Burpee
Rowing technique

After practicing each of the moves, we went over to the rowing machines and did our first WOD (Workout of the Day):

5 rounds for time: 250m row, 10 burpees

I'm not gonna lie, I'm all of five foot nothing on a good day. That does not make for the best rower and I felt like I was working twice as hard to keep up with Maggie and Sergio, but I could catch them on burpees. That was my savior. I felt good for the first two rounds. Then I started sucking major wind for the last half of the burpees each round. I could knock out five no problem, but those last five I was peeling myself off the floor. Mark and another trainer were there cheering us on. Cheering might not be the best word... more like constructively egging us on. At one point I chuckled a bit and was sternly told, "if you're smiling, you're not working hard enough!" Ain't that the truth. Final time: 10:49. I finished second after Sergio. Ugh and I was damn tired. This is going to hurt tomorrow.

Taking the plunge...

note: this is a duplicate post from my personal blog

Well, I said I was gonna sign up and looky looky I did! I'm proud of myself, mostly because lately I've been saying I want/need to do a lot of things and then I just sit on my behind. I found CrossFit East Village and my trainer friend highly recommended it. Even though it was raining, I got in the car after work and took the "10" minute drive to the box.

Note: Box is CrossFit slang for gym and it didn't take 10 minutes to drive there because there is a bunch of construction and I had to navigate the one-way streets.

Needless to say, I found parking and made my way in. Thank goodness the "front desk" was near the door. I hate when you walk in to someplace new and can't find someone to talk to, I just feel like an idiot wandering around. Ya know? The guy at the desk was named Drew and very nice and helpful. He got me signed up and scheduled for my Foundations class. For those that know nothing about starting CrossFit, you have to take a Foundations class before starting Workouts of the Day (WODs) to learn the basic movements, then you can sign up for the daily classes offered. At CFEV, the Foundations class is three sessions over one week and cost $150. While that may seem like a lot, think of it and three (most likely) one-on-one personal training sessions. That's only $50 a session! Most outside gyms cost about $75-$100 per session. Then the monthly at CFEV is $75. That is the cheapest in the city. Maybe anywhere. I haven't found another cheaper in CA, HI, or CO. And you can attend as many classes as you want. At CrossFit Waipio back home in Hawaii, it's $100 a month and you can only go to two classes a week. I think I found a good deal and it's convenient for me. Double score.

I haven't been this excited for a workout in a long time and hopefully this is the change that I have been looking for to get where I want to be.