Taking time off

Haven't posted in a few days since I've been sick, again. This time I'm being smart about it and taking the time off until this cold passes. And honestly, I haven't even thought about exercising. Usually I'll struggle with, eh, I feel ok, I can do 10 minutes. Nope. Not this time. All I can think about is where are my tissues and I need to lay down. Today is actually the first day since Saturday night that I feel like I'm not in a fog and want to sleep the day away.

Still testing the wheat tolerance. I've been adding a bite of bagel here, a regular pretzel rod there and seem to be ok with it. I haven't tried anything like a whole bowl of pasta or couscous yet. I normally don't eat bread so I'm not going to start now. I'm guessing in really small quantities, I can handle it. Funny, I was just listening to Mark Sisson's Paleo Summit broadcast and he mentioned there is no reason why humans should eat wheat. There is really no benefit whatsoever. Cutting it out hasn't really been that difficult and I've been feeling better, so I have to agree with him.... not that I didn't before.

Tea and back to the couch for me.

Sunday
Rest day
*breakfast/lunch - eggs w/chicken, salsa. dinner - turkey burgers w/guacamole, bacon, cheddar on a portabella mushroom, baked sweet potato fries. 


Monday
Rest day
*breakfast/lunch - eggs w/beef, mushrooms, green peppers, salsa. snack - macadamia nuts, pom bar. dinner - shrimp stir fry w/broccoli, onions, green peppers, mushrooms and brown rice. 2 oreos. 


Tuesday
Rest day
*breakfast/lunch - apple slices, eggs. dinner - grilled chicken of some sort w/sprouts, bacon, apples. 

I heart burpees

So what was I thinking when I decided to do 7 minutes of burpees? It went a little something like this...
10 - this isn't so bad.
15 - pacing is good.
25 - shit that was only two and a half minutes?
35 - second wind! I can do this!
50 - I need a rest. Just 5 seconds...
60 - holy shit I actually made it to 60? FU 6" jump. My legs hurt.
65 - i'm going to throw up. how much longer?
70 - thank the fucking lord the timer went off.

My goal was at least 50. I low balled it so anything I did over that would seem like a major accomplishment. I thought I could get 60, but didn't want to get my hopes up. Needless to say I'm happy with 70 even though I missed the 6" touch about 4 times. Not too bad considering my stomach was in knots before I started. Over-thinking it again.

Friday
Rest Day
*breakfast - eggs w/collards, steak. lunch - turkey, almonds, hummus, almond butter. dinner - bacon and eggs


Saturday
*breakfast - oatmeal w/flax, walnuts, pb, banana, maple syrup. lunch - beef w/collards, broccoli, sprouts, onion, mushroom. dinner - grilled lamb chops w/tztiki, roasted acorn squash

CrossFit Games Open 12.1
Complete as many reps as possible in 7 minutes of:
Burpees

70 - missed about 3-4 on the 6” jump, so technically 66. Better than I thought I would do.

warm:
kte
ohs
squat cleans
good mornings
squats
kb swings
shoulder presses

Recon Ron:
Step 10/1: 6-4-4-3-3

Skill:
free standing handstand holds (could only manage about 3-4 seconds each time)
static ring holds

Restarting strength

Nice weather here in the Northeast today. 62 degrees in February? Unheard of. I needed to get outside and run. I think I got the running bug again. So what better time than today to do the dreaded deadlift 400m wod. It really wasn't that bad. Maybe I was just in the right mood for it today. Or it could have been the awesome leftover flat iron steak and potatoes for breakfast. Good fuel for me today.

Restarting the strength bias program to work on my sets of 5. Bob said it's a good idea to change it up around week 7. So with that, I did 5 reps of my heavy back squats yesterday. Yeah, thats not what I was supposed to do. Little did I know I was supposed to recalculate 65% of my 1RM and start from there with sets of 5. Ooops. But, I was able to do 5@160 which is 10 less than my current 1RM. Hopefully that means my 1RM will improve by at least 10 next time I test. Deadlifts felt fine today. Got thru the 15-12-9 relatively well. I did run 400m between the sets so there was a little gasping for air but still felt good. Finally feel like I'm getting over the hump I've seemed to be stuck in for a little while.

Wednesday
*breakfast - oatmeal w/apples, walnuts, maple syrup, flax. lunch - ??. dinner - flat iron steak and fried eggs. 
warmup:
yes

CFSB C1/W7
Back Squat
warmup: 5x45, 3x95, 120
work: 5x140, 150, 160#

WOD
Angie
Puppies and Buttercups: ALL 35
For time:
20 Pull-ups or 25 Beginner or Assisted Pull ups - blue band assisted
20 Push-ups
20 Sit ups - anchored palms down
20-50 Squats

5:57
*notes - Push ups ate up most of the time. I suck at pushups and need to practice them! should have shot for 50. next time. happy that assisted pull ups are not as draining as they used to be. yay me. mistakingly did 5 rep @ heavy weight for back squats. should have restarted at 65% of 1RM.... but got thru 5@160. definite progress there. 

Thursday

*breakfast - leftover flat iron steak and mashed sweet pots. lunch - ?? dinner - pork tenderloin and veggies. 

warm:
kte
squats
ohs
squat cleans
kb swings
shoulder presses
stretching/mobility

CFSB C1/W7
Deadlift
Restart @65% of 210# (sets of 5)
warm: 5x85, 3x115
work: 5x120, 130, 140#

WOD
15-12-9
110# deadlift
400m
9:52

*notes - felt good. legs a little tight from squats yesterday. deadlift to run was hard for first 10-20 meters. focused on good form, not speed thru high rep deads. 

Visitors

Busy with my brother in laws family in town for the week. The kids are insanely hyper and annoying, hence the need for the running the past few days. Momma needs a break and to burn off some steam I guess. Not much else to say at this point. Just trying to get thru the days, stick to my schedule, not overeat and not start drinking at 11am.

Friday
Rest Day
*breakfast - eggs w/collards and mushrooms. lunch - hummus, almonds, pretzels. dinner - filet w/brussle sprouts, apples, bacon, onion. 


Saturday
*breakfast - bacon and eggs w/salsa. lunch - turkey, hummus, pretzels, almonds, carrots. dinner - turkey tacos w/corn shells, guacamole, tomatoes, lettuce, pinch of cheddar 

warmup:
squats
good mornings
400m
stretching

Puppies
15-12-9 reps for time of: 21-15-9
25-45 pound Power clean - 45#
25-45 pound Thruster - 45#
7:44

Recon Ron
Step 9/13: 5-4-3-3-3

1/2 mile run NFT
5x50m sprints… just for fun racing the kids on bikes

Sunday

*breakfast - eggs w/taco meat, salsa. lunch/dinner - turkey chili, fruit salad. beer and cookies. (which killed me)  sea salt caramel ice cream
warmup:
yes

CFSB C1/W6
Front Squat
warm: 3x85, 105, 115#
work: 3x120, 130, 140#
high rep back squat @90 15-12-9

Recon Ron
Step 9/14
5-4-3-3-3

Monday

*no breakfast. lunch - eggs w/turkey, mushrooms, salsa. dinner - grilled chicken w/mashed sweet pots, grilled veggies
Active Rest
2.5-3 mile run/walk NFT but approx 25 min.

Tuesday

*breakfast - oatmeal w/flax, banana, pb. lunch - hummus, guacamole and tort chips, almonds. snack - homemade oatmeal cookies (not paleo friendly though, kid project). dinner - sketti w/homemade meatballs, chicken sausage.

warm:
kte
good mornings
squats
kb swings
stretching

CFSB C1/W6
Shoulder Press
Restart @80% of 80#
warmup: 5x16
work: 5x45, 55, 65#
high rep @45 (20)

No WOD today

*notes - restarted the shoulder press this week @80% and moved up to 5 reps. feel like i'm close to making 85, maybe after these next few weeks. no time for wod today. stomach good even after oatmeal today. 

Deadlift love

Finally back to liking deadlifts. During the 5-3-1 program I hated them. Not sure why that happened, but it did. With this program even though it's harder I like it more. Maybe it's the challenge of the high rep stuff or maybe I'm finally gaining some strength and they just don't feel as heavy. I'm of course hoping it's the latter. Time will tell. I was able to get 185 x 3 pretty easily today. Happiness.

Definitely had the energy to do a full wod along with the strength stuff, unfortunately not the time this morning. Not quite sure what the change is but I'm finally back to feeling good, positive, energetic, strong. Maybe all I really needed was to cut out bread and dairy. Hmpf.

So the verdict on the bacon wrapped chicken thighs, eh. Not a big fan of thighs to begin with but thought I would try something different. I guess if you have them and don't know what to do with them, it's a decent recipe. I liked the smokey seasoning, bacon and chicken combo, just not the work involved getting meat off the thigh. Too fatty as well. My solution would be to try boneless skinless breasts, pounded, rolled and wrapped. Maybe even fill them with blue cheese (if you do cheese) or some kind of veggie like a spinach, kale or mushroom.


*breakfast - beef w/mushroom and kale. lunch - ??. dinner - poached salmon w/lemon and capers, cucumber salad and ??.

warm:
45#good mornings
kb swings
squats
split jerks
kte
stretching

CFSB C1/W6
Deadlifts
warm: 3x95, 125, 145
work: 3x165, 175, 185#

WOD
12-9-6
110# deadlift*
TTB

NFT but came in between 4-5 min

Used my high rep deads and threw in TTB to make a short wod. Short on time today.

Holy lunges

Seems like I always have a complaint about a particular exercise lately. Today it would be lunges. They have never been a particular favorite of mine and rank right up there with cleaning up vomit out of my car. But, even with that being said, I liked todays wod and overall, it wasn't that terrible. And it contained 2 other exercises I dislike. Double unders and burpees. If anything else, I'm happy I didn't look at it and find an excuse not to do it.

Oh and I'll report back on the bacon wrapped chicken tomorrow. Obviously haven't made it yet but it has bacon, how can I resist.

Wednesday
*breakfast - apple slices w/almond butter, strawberries, turkey. lunch - eggs w/spinach and mushrooms. snack - gluten free cookies. dinner - smokey bacon wrapped chicken thighs, mashed sweet pots, veggies. 


warmup:
squats
kb swings
kte
45# front squats
45# good mornings
stretching

CFSB C1/W6
Back Squat
warm: 3x95, 115, 125#
work: 3x135, 145, 155#

WOD
Pack
Five rounds for time of:
10 Burpees
15 Jumping alternating lunges
20 Double-unders - 2 rounds du/3 rounds tuck jumps
25 yard Shuttle sprint (5 x 5 yards)
Rest 90 seconds

17:17 w/rest

Overmedicating

Interesting facts on over medicating on MDA today. As a former pill popper I can say less is more. I used to have no qualms about going to the doc for every ache and pain and just taking what they gave me. Regardless of side effects, regardless of the nagging feeling that I probably don't really need it. But, like every one else, I trusted the doctor. They went to medical school and they know what's best for me..... or do they? I'm horrified to find that over the years that some doctors are more interested in numbers and profits and prescriptions than overall welfare of the patient. And as I've gotten older, and thanks to CrossFit which introduced me to a whole new world of living healthier, I've learned that meds aren't always the way to go. And to think, I used to laugh at my grandmother who always, always, said medication is no good, all the doctors want is to keep you sick so you keep coming back. I thought she was nuts. Yes, there are beneficial meds for those who need them for heart health, high blood pressure, cancer, depression... I'm not completely down on meds and would never tell someone to stop taking them and chew ginger and kale instead. But come on, doesn't anyone see the bigger picture? Pharma wants us to be sick and scared. Thats how they make money. Anyway, just my opinion on a touchy subject. Take it with a grain of salt.

And on a side note, not to make light of Whitney Houston's passing, but jesus christ, if I hear "I will always love you" one more time I may just vomit.

Tuesday
*breakfast - eggs w/collards, chicken, tomatoes, strawberries. lunch - avocado, tomato, chicken salad. dinner - rice pasta w/meatballs
warmup:
squats
shoulder press
ohs
ttb
kb swings
good mornings
stretching

CFSB C1/W5
Shoulder Press 1RM Test
warmup: 3x45, 55, 65, 70
75, 80, 85(Fx2)
high rep @40# - 21-15-9
*previous 1RM was 80#.

WOD
Puppies
Complete as many rounds as possible in 12 minutes of:
15-25 pound Push press, 7 reps - 45#
15-25 pound Overhead squat, 10 reps - 45#
15 Sit-ups - anchored, palms down

6 rounds + 6 PP

*notes - Was able to get shoulder press @85# to top of head, couldn’t press it out. Failed twice. got thru high rep today though. last time was stuck at 21-13. ohs were a little shaky, arms were fried, first 4 rounds unbroken, last 2 broke @6 and then 8. depth ok, some shallow. shoulder tweaky.