Still sick

Haven't posted in a few days since I've been sick. Just can't quite beat this thing. I was up until 2am last night with dry coughing fits. I watched some of Robin Hood hoping it would put me to sleep, which it did but not for long. I'm so over this cold already. I have been pushing thru my strength stuff the past few days. Luckily for me I had 3 rest days inbetween. I definitely feel like I'm getting a little better each day but last night set me back. No sleep sucks. I love my couch, but sleeping on it all night sucks as well. Hopefully a little Lunesta will do the trick tonight to ensure I don't wake up until at least 6am.

I think I found my 'weight gain' issue. Too many grains and or gluten. I've always eaten them in moderation but realized I've been eating more than usual lately. I was doing some research on GI disorders since this is more than just 'too many snacks' for me. I've always eaten the occasional spaghetti and meatball or pizza dinner here and there and I've been eating pretzels and english muffins occasionally over the past year and a half. Nothing much has changed, so to gain 3lbs suddenly wasn't sitting well with me. And if you read my post last week, I was kidding when I said maybe I'm gaining muscle. We all know that's a myth. So anyway upon doing my research, I found that it's really easy to fit yourself into these horrifying diseases and disorders. A seemingly normal healthy person would think they either had Cirrhosis of the liver or stomach cancer after 5 minutes of GI research. I did however learn that most of my symptoms have everything to do with acid reflux (which I've had before) and a very mild intolerance to the extra gluten. Looking back at my past few weeks worth of food, I've eaten too many grains. More than normal. Maybe my body just couldn't process all the extra? Don't really know but a side effects are abdominal bloating, muscle cramps, mouth ulcers etc, all of which I've had. So with that, I'll cut back and see where I am in a few days. I'm just happy it has nothing to do with bacon.

Thursday
warmup:
barely

CFSB C1/W3
Deadlifts
warmup: 5x85, 3x115
work: 3x135, 155, 170#
high rep @ 105# - 15-12-9

Friday

*eggs w/broccoli. dinner - beef stroganoff 

Rest day

Saturday

*breakfast - oatmeal w/coconut, flax, walnuts, almond butter. dinner - bacon and eggs

Rest day

Sunday

warmup:
squats
kb swings
cleans
ohs
stretching

CFSB C1/W3
Front Squat
warmup: 5x45, 3x85
work: 3x105, 115, 125#
high rep back squat @85# 21-15-9

Recon Ron
Step 9/7: 5-4-3-3-3

Practice:
handstand hold 20 sec
cleans @ 65, 75, 85

Monday

*IF - snack - granola bar. dinner - grilled pork tenderloin w/mango chutney, sweet potatoes, broccoli rabe
warmup:
sorta

CFSB C1/W4
Shoulder Press
warmup: 5x16.5, 3x45
work: 3x60, 65, 75
high rep @ 40# - 21-15-9 (failed @ 21-13)

Clean and Jerk 1-1-1-1-1-1-1 reps
All 65#

Tuesday

*breakfast - eggs w/meat, collards. lunch - yogurt w/honey. dinner - salmon salad w/lemon and capers.

Rest Day

Pull up progress

So this is about the 6th or 7th (I think) WOD I've done without using the assistance bands for the pull ups. They are still slow and I still need to rest every 4-5, sometimes every other 1, depending on the day/wod/mood/energy/interruptions, but unassisted none the less. I'm not sure if I'm helping or hurting my metcon intensity by struggling thru them unassisted but the more practice I get without the bands the better  I'll be in the long run right? I actually put the band on once for a few during a wod a few weeks ago and felt like I was cheating. I'm guessing as long as I can keep a steady pace with the intensity and limit my rest, I'm fine. At this point I think I can handle about 5-10 a round, but if it's something like a consecutive 20-35... I'll give into the band. At least the sense of dread is slowly passing when I see the word pull up. Thats gotta count for something. My front squats felt great. 65# was probably too light since I didn't have to pause at all during them. (thank you strength program) Straight up and down each round. Had I used the band for the pull ups I probably would have actually come close to 4-5 min.

Still feeling shitty. Yesterday was a nice rest day and I thought I was turing the corner on the head cold but I had a horrible nights sleep and ended up mouth breathing all night due to the stuffy nose which lead to a dry scratchy throat. I went into my workout today thinking I would just do strength stuff and call it a day but felt good afterward so continued on with the WOD. Glad I did. It's so easy to give in to 'eh I'm not feeling up to it today' and I already had one of those days on Monday.

I'll have to practice the chair squatting video BrandX uses for the kids to make sure the hips are getting back where they should be. I don't think I have an issue with the knees coming forward since Bob usually watches me during Sundays front squats and he always points out errors in form if I'm really off. My fault seems to be knees tracking inward which I'm working on. It's always something.

Tuesday
*brunch - eggs w/leftover meatloaf, tomatoes and collards. dinner - marinated flank steak fajitas w/peppers, onions, guacamole and lettuce wraps
Rest Day

Wednesday
*breakfast - oatmeal w/bananas, almonds and pb. lunch - ?? dinner - will be roaster chicken and a veggie
warmup:
yes

CFSB C1/W3
Back Squat
warmup: 5x45, 3x85
work: 3x110, 125, 140#

WOD
Pack
Seven rounds for time of:
95-115 pound Front squat, 7 reps - 65#
7 Chest-to-bar pull-ups
Women-65-75
7:42

*all pull ups unassisted. got most to chest. didn't have to chicken neck it. 

Blah day

Got a case of the blahs today. Woke up with post nasal drip, scratchy throat and low motivation. Thank you house of bouncy germ horror. I couldn't muster up the energy to do a full WOD but I did get my strength work and pull ups done for the day so I won't feel like a total worthless mess. High rep shoulder presses felt heavy by the time I got to 10. Not a good sign. It's really important to listen to the body and mine is saying enough already.

I thought the carbo load of pizza last night would hold me over this morning during my IF Monday workout but I'm not sure it's gonna happen today. I may have to give in and have brunch.

The Bacon Experiment isn't going well. First off, I can't not eat it. Had some Saturday night with the chicken marsala and I haven't dropped the weight from abstaining anyway. Why suffer? I'm still at a loss as to why I went up from 127 to 129-130. Yeah, it's only 2 pounds or so but when I've been maintaining 126-127.5 for the past 5-6 months, it's perplexing. I have been eating a lot of almonds. That may be another food I'll have to cut back on. If I can't figure it out by the end of the week, I'm going with muscle gain and moving on.

Monday
*IF day. 
warmup:
not much - kb swings, stretching, lunges, broomstick presses

CFSB C1/W3
Shoulder Press
warmup: 3x16.5, 5x45#
work: 3x55, 60, 70#
high rep @ 40# - 15-12-9

Recon Ron
Step 9/6: 5-4-3-3-3

*notes - no wod today. not feeling up to it. 

Tabatadoms

I'm calling this post Tabatadoms since Tabata and DOMS go hand in hand. It probably wasn't one of my better decisions to do tabata squats the day before a front squat strength day. I don't think it hindered my performance per se, it just didn't feel very good. And if I can't get down the steps tomorrow morning, I'll have learned my lesson. 90+ squats + 160 seconds = ouch. Really, 20 seconds on 10 seconds off. Torture. And to think I chose the tabata exercise over the row, thruster, pull up since I couldn't bare to do 200 SDHPs and thrusters in one wod. My shoulder would be sore for a week and I can't have that.

Watched Contagion the other night and then went to a kids birthday party at a bouncy fun house. All I could think of was don't touch my face, don't touch my face, wash hands, wash hands. I would have liked to had the kids wear masks and latex gloves but I was afraid the paparazzi would think the Jacksons were there and I didn't want to take away any attention from the birthday boy.

Thursday
*breakfast - oatmeal w/pb and walnuts. lunch - eggs w/chicken, brussel sprout leaves, mushrooms, salsa and left over mashed sweet potatoes. snack - pretzel rod w/almond butter. dinner - whole grain sketti w/turkey meatballs and homemade sauce.
warmup:
yes

CFSB C1/W2
Deadlift
warmup: 5x45, 3x95#
work: 3x125, 145, 165#
high rep @ 105@: 12-9-6

WOD
5 rounds
10 box jumps - 18”
5 power cleans - 75#
6:55

*notes - cleans felt good. Haven't done 75 in a metcon since my shoulder injury. Will try to up the weight by 5 next time. Try 1RM sometime soon to see where I'm at. DL's felt awesome. Back is a little tweaky.. not sure if I rounded or it's due to bad nights sleep. Felt weird pain in left palm again on the cleans. Not as bad, but there. Have to check into that. 

Friday

*breakfast/lunch - beef w/red peppers, kale, mushrooms, salsa. dinner - eggs w/kale, turkey

Rest Day

Saturday

*breakfast - oatmeal w/flax, pb, walnuts. lunch - pizza. dinner - chicken marsala, roasted brussel sprouts and carrots

“Tabata This!”
Tabata Row - sub SDHP @45# - 7
Rest 1 minute
Tabata Squat - 11
Rest 1 minute
Tabata Pull-up - 3
Rest 1 minute
Tabata Push-up - 7
Rest 1 minute
Tabata Sit-up - 9
Total = 37

Compare to 101011: 44 (puppy 4 rounds, w/assisted pull ups)

*notes - push ups suck once again. pullups were unassisted. sdhps hard, should practice more often @45. little sleep and mexican water may have had an effect. 

Sunday

*breakfast - fried eggs w/turkey sausage. lunch - pretzels w/hummus, almonds. dinner - pizza w/peppers, onions and chicken sausage, homemade sauce

warmup:
yes

CFSB C1/W2
Front Squat
warmup: 5x45, 3x85
work: 3x100, 110, 120#
high rep back squat @ 85# - 15-12-9

WOD
15-12-9
wallball - 12#
db swings - 35#
burpees
7:08

Food Tip: Eat brussel sprouts and have big leaves left over after cutting them in half? Save them and use them in eggs as your green. Chop up and cook just like spinach or collard greens. 

Weight gain, muscle gain, annoyance gain

The scale hasn't been on my side lately. The pessimist in me thinks it's because I've been eating more bacon lately. For the love of God please say it isn't so that bacon is making me fat. I have a sneaking suspicion that it may be the extra salt causing water weight gain since I'm hovering 3 pounds off and on. The optimist wants to believe maybe I'm gaining muscle. And we all know muscle weighs more than fat right? Or is that an old wives tale? I have been doing a strength program for about 3 1/2 months, I am getting stronger so maybe it is muscle. Sigh. I've got to test my no bacon theory for a week and see what happens. I don't want to but I'm pretty sure that's it. Insert tears here.

Day 9 of the teacher strike. Huh. Lightbulb. Maybe it's stress weight? Funny how I've been feeling fat since my daughter has been home from school. Interesting. Don't get me wrong, I love my daughter and she is a fantastic bright beautiful little girl but she adds a whole other element of crazy to this house when she's home. She always needs to be moving moving moving, talking talking talking. Hmm, another theory to test since she goes back to school on Friday.

Loving the fact that Paula Deen who has had diabetes for three years and is a paid spokesperson for a diabetes drug has been cooking the same fattening recipes since her diagnosis. As someone who used to watch her, I know the word moderation was never in her vocabulary. If it was, she wouldn't be overweight. I would be interested to know how long she's been working for pharma. My conspiracy theory is she kept making fattening food to keep people fat so they'll end up with diabetes and need meds. Does it sound crazy? No. I think big pharma will do anything for a buck. My opinion.

Thursday

warmup:
yes

CFSB C1/W1
Deadlift (75% of 210)
warmup: 3x65, 105
work: 3x120, 140, 160#
high rep (@105#): 20x105#

WOD
3 rounds
10 dumbbell step ups - 20#
10 burpees
10 squats
6:27

Friday
Rest Day
*breakfast - bacon and eggs. snack - popcorn. dinner - devil shrimp w/linguini 


Saturday
*oatmeal w/flax, pb, walnuts. lunch - ??. dinner - bbq turkey burgers w/guacamole, cheddar, bacon on portabella, broccoli rabe 

“Filthy Fifty”
Pack:
For time:
35 Box jump, 18-20 inch box - 20”
35 Jumping pull-ups
35 Kettlebell swings, 1 pood - 35#
Walking Lunge, 35 steps
35 Ab-Mat Sit-ups
35 Push press, 45 pounds
35 Back extensions - good mornings 45#
35 Wall ball shots, 14-20 pound ball - 12#
35 Burpees
35 Double unders
20:21
Compare to last: 20:39 w/18” box jumps, 30# kb swings, 25# good mornings & single unders.

Sunday
*breakfast - eggs w/leftover turkey burger, collards, mushrooms. lunch - almonds, hummus. dinner - turkey chili w/brown rice.

warmup:
yes

CFSB C1/W1
Front Squat (75% of 160)
warmup: 5x45, 3x75
work: 3x95, 105, 115#
high rep back squat (@ 85#) - 12-9-6

Recon Ron
Step 9/2 - 5-4-3-3-3

No WOD.

Monday
*breakfast & lunch - nothing. dinner - salmon w/lemon & capers, cucumbers and yogurt, couscous patties.

warmup:
yes

CFSB C1/W2
Shoulder Press
warmup: 5x16.5, 3x45#
work: 3x50, 55, 65#
high rep @ 40#: 12-9-6

WOD
Pack
Five rounds for time of:
12 Wallball shots, 14 pound ball - 12#
12 Toes-to-bar
Women - 10 pound
6:49

Recon Ron
Step 9/3: 5-4-3-3-3


Tuesday
*toast w/almond butter. lunch - ?? dinner - eggs w/left over chili
Rest Day

Wednesday
*breakfast - oatmeal w/flax, strawberries, walnuts. lunch - eggs w/turkey, broccoli, mushrooms & salsa. dinner - grilled rib eye, mashed sweet pots, veggies

warmup:
yep

CFSB C1/W2
Back Squat
warmup: 3x65, 95#
work: 3x105, 120, 135#

Recon Ron
Step 9/4?: 5-4-3-3-3

WOD
Split snatch 1-1-1-1-1-1-1 reps
All 45#

practice w/broom stick, 16.5 bar. OH lunge (as in video) practice w/45#

*notes - Out of the 15 or so that I did I think I managed to get 2, possibly 3 somewhat decent ones. Either my knee kept hitting the ground or I couldn’t get under fast enough. I will definitely work the overhead bar lunge, seems to be a bit easier on my shoulder. Hopefully I can build my OH strength up again by doing them.

I lift things up and put them down

I've decided that's going to be my new chant during my workouts. Well, maybe not all the time since it makes me giggle like a little girl for some reason but I'll try to work it in when appropriate. Ooh, maybe on deadlift day. I'm starting to see that commercial in a whole new light since I heard you're not allowed to make any noises or drop equipment at that particular globo gym. I'm guessing CrossFitters would be banned for life. God forbid we interrupt the people reading their magazine while walking on the treadmill or get in the way of someone having a conversation about Kim Kardashian. I've seen my fair share of gym goers to know probably only 50% of them actually workout. If you can count sitting on the thigh machine squeezing 2 pound plates together. Years ago, that was me on those machines wondering why I wasn't loosing any weight. But I didn't know any better. Now I do and get more out of a 6 minute workout than spending an hour at the Y wiping down sweaty machines.

I'm loving the strength program. It's only day 2 and the weights are very manageable at this point, but I think it's more that I'm back into a scheduled routine. I was doing that 5-3-1 program for 3 months. I got used to checking my chart and finding a complimentary wod to do. No questions, no excuses. Once I stopped over the holidays, I think I got a little lazy. Started to fall into the 'eh, I don't want to do that today'. But now I'm back at it and happier... so far. I'm sure in the next 3-4 weeks I'll be bitching about how I'm hurting and tired and sore and so over lifting heavy stuff..... nah, I'll just repeat my mantra 'I lift things up and put them down.'

Tuesday
Rest Day
*breakfast - 2 slices uncured bacon. lunch - eggs w/collards, shrooms, chicken, salsa. dinner - marinated flank steak w/sweet pots and roasted green peppers and carrots.


Wednesday
*breakfast - oatmeal w/flax, pecans, pb, cinnamon. lunch - yogurt w/blueberries, almonds, celery w/pb. dinner - grilled bbq split chicken breasts, (some kind of veggie)
warmup:
10x
squats
gms
squat cleans
push press
stretching

CFSB C1/W1
Back Squat (75% of 170)
warmup: 3x45, 95
work: 3x100, 115, 130#

WOD (from 111015)
Pack:
Five rounds for time of:
95 pound Squat clean, 7 reps - 65#
14 Kettlebell swings, 1 pood - 25#
Women - 65/25
9:55

Recon Ron
Step 9/1: 5-4-3-3-3

*notes - back squats were pretty easy. felt good. squat cleans tough. had minor stabbing pain in left palm around thumb during cleans not during kb swings. grip issue? no lingering pain after wod. 

*recipe - Fajita Frittata. Saw this on MDA. Haven't made it yet but looks like a good one for us everyday egg eaters. May have to try it tomorrow.

So I got my strength bias stuff worked out...

all explained and written down. It's the 'you do high reps this day, this day and do 10 minute metcons this day and 20 minutes this day and you do 15-20 reps then 12-9-6' stuff that was confusing to me. But thanks to a plan ole pencil and paper chart, I'm set. Did my shoulder presses today, not bad considering I don't like them too much. The high rep stuff is going to be the tough part. You would think 40 pounds is light, I'm sure for most it is, but doing 20 reps was a challenge. The first 10 or so I thought 'eh, not so bad'. The next 10 were 'just. eek. out. 3. more'. Looking forward to a rest day tomorrow. I need it. Body is a little sore and over worked. But a good over worked though. I've had some decent workouts and felt good, even... dare I say, motivated, so a little soreness is welcomed.

Day number one of the teacher strike at my daughter's school. They are supposed to be out at least 2 weeks. 2 weeks! I love my kids but when they are home together, it's chaos. My son and I have a routine and we're good about doing our own thing at certain parts of the day. He knows I exercise and 99% of the time he leaves me alone until I'm done. My daughter on the other hand lobs questions and requests at me like "can you brush barbie's hair and put her new dress on?" while I'm in the middle of an over head squat.

I also noticed something else this past week. I was planning on trying the 21 day sugar detox. So when I went food shopping I tried to buy some different snacks and foods to keep me on track. I cut out the creamer in my coffee, gave up my sliver of dark chocolate that I have once a day, didn't eat almond butter etc. And you know what I realized, the stress of figuring out what I can and can't eat, made me gain weight. No lie. I was up like 3-3.5 pounds for a few days. Now that I've stopped and realized that my diet is pretty good and I'm back to my regular eating habits, I'm back down in weight to where I was before I started. Weird. Psychological? Coincidence? Water weight? Who knows but I think I'll just stick to what I know. I'm not saying don't try it or it doesn't work because I believe it's a good thing, it just didn't work for me that particular time. I may have to give it another go at some point.

A few days worth of workouts to post.

Saturday
*breakfast - eggs w/beef and collards. lunch - ?? dinner - chicken sausage, shrimp and collards. 
warmup:
400m
good mornings
squats w/25# plate
ohs - 16.5#

CFSB
Front Squat 1RM test
warmup: 5x45, 75, 3x105#
work: 125, 140, 150, 155(F)

High Rep Back Squat @ 50% 1RM
20x85#

WOD
21-15-9
power cleans - 45#
sit ups - unanchored
5:35

Sunday
*breakfast - bacon and eggs. lunch - ?? dinner - greek tacos
warmup:
squats
kb swings
good mornings
stretching

Pack:
Ten rounds for time of:
75-95 pound Deadlift, 10 reps - 75#
10 push-ups
11:53

Monday
*breakfast - muffin w/almond butter. lunch - yogurt w/blueberries, almonds, turkey, hummus. dinner - tilapia w/sauteed veggies
warmup:
kb squats
kb swings
jump rope
5x16.5 shoulder press

Shoulder Press - (75% of 80#)
work: 3x45,50,60#
high rep (50% of 80#) - 20x40#
*shoot for 15-20 on high rep

WOD (NFT)
2x15 incline dumbbell press - 15#
2x10 tricep pull downs - blue band
2x15 ab roll outs