F.U.C.K.

I apologize for the obscenities, but I can't think of any better words at this moment to express how I feel.

I broke a rib.

Okay, maybe it's just badly bruised. I haven't gotten an X-ray. The point is, I am out of commission, for at least a few days, and then who knows how long I will take to heal, and what movements I will be able to do. 100# squat cleans? Doubtful. Chest to bar pullups? Not looking so good.

I am so pissed. My training was going along so well - I even starting linking the chest-to-bar pullups pretty well. I was setting PRs left and right. I was feeling amped and ready for the games.

And then I went to my boyfriend's hockey game last night. I had to go - I hadn't been to a single game all year because they are all really late at night. This one was at 8:30, which honestly, is too late and I would have rather just stayed home and gone to bed anyway. But, he asked me a million times if I would go, so I had to go.

I was standing on top of a bleacher bench (you just stand when you watch hockey games, normally), and I stepped over the next bench up and went for the footrest behind it - so that's 1.5 benches up. I don't know what happened, but the next thing I know my right foot has fallen through the crack and I can't breathe. Of course, I'm more embarassed than anything else at this point, so I get up quickly and act like I'm totally okay. I still can't breathe, and I can't ignore the pain on my right side. I didn't even see the rest of the game, because not only was I freezing my ass off, but I was too focused on my pain and worrying about the upcoming games.

I feel like all of the hard work I've put in the last 3 months is all for naught. Any inkling of a chance I had of doing well at the qualifiers has pretty much all disappeared. I'm depressed and I think I am going to go take a nap.

More Snow?!?!?

I am really sick and tired of all this snow we've been getting! Despite the bad weather, Justin and I stuck it out and did "Nancy" this morning. What's "funny" is that the last, and only other time, that I did Nancy, it was the day after the last, and only other time, that I have done the "Filthy Fifty".

I nearly took the day off. My back is killing me from where I dropped 105# snatch on it in February. (Maybe I should go see a chiropractor!) My hip flexors are super tight, I think from the meet on Saturday. Other than that, I feel okay, except I am just tired.

I decided instead that I would do "Nancy", because I'm going to have to get used to working out in less-than-ideal physical condition. Plus, I wanted to practice my overhead squats. I knew from the get-go that I wasn't going to be able to hit her at 100% intensity, but I was hoping that doing a WOD, even half-heartedly, would loosen me up and make me feel better afterwards.

Buy-In: Gymnastics kip, Chest-to-Bar pullup practice

"Nancy"
5 Rounds for time of:
400m Run
15 Overhead Squats, 65#

12:54

PR by 1:30

I was hoping for under 12. I did have a snafu with the dog in the first round. I decided to take Mikey on the run with me, on a leash. He kept running in front of me, which was rather annoying. Then, when we got back, he decided the best place to park it was directly in front of me. I was squatting pretty slowly, afraid of dumping the bar on his head. And THEN, my brother took off on round 2, and of course Mikey took off after him. I had to bail, run after the dog, throw him in the office, and go back to squatting. I doubt I would have been sub-12 even without all that commotion, but I think I could have dropped a good 20-30 seconds at least.

Last time I did this it was in 14:24, so I guess this is a good improvement, especially considering how I felt today. AND, it was snowing, which always makes an out-and-back sprint extra fun. Nothing like a good reaction-time test at the 200m mark.

Next time I do "Nancy", I'm not doing the Filthy Fifty first.

Yikes

Two WODs in 13 hours. That was rough. I guess it's good though - it'll help prepare me for the qualifiers. Just under 3 weeks to go. I am so excited, I can hardly contain myself.

Yesterday I was feeling pretty stiff and sore, particularly my hip flexors. I almost decided to do Fran, but decided against it with hips like that. I had planned on doing the DL/Burpee WOD from the 2008 CF Games, and I stuck with my original plan.

Buy-In: HSPU, 3 sets of 5 with the red band.

5 Rounds for time of:
185# Deadlift, 5 reps
10 Burpees

4:43

Cash-Out: Lay on floor, get trampled by dogs, try not to die.

Compare to:
12/15/08 6:53
July 2008 8:something

Very stoked with this time. Especially because the bar felt unusually heavy. I'm not stoked that the bar felt heavy, of course, but I'm happy that I was able to put down a good time in spite of that. I know that my body just needs a bit more rest. Last week was a rough week with too little rest and way too much work.

This morning I tackled the "Filthy Fifty". I did this last October in 28:55, so I was really hoping for a time around 26 or so. But, from the word "go" everything felt heavy, or hard, or impossible. Even the box jumps, which I would normally fly though, took me almost 3 minutes. My right ankle was really hurting (it's been a nagging injury for sometime now...I need to figure out what's going on with that), but I just felt like I had no hops today. The jumping pullups were hard, so were the kettlebell swings (even though they were light!). Everything. was. hard.

Filthy Fifty:

For time:
50 Box jump, 20 inch box
50 Jumping pull-ups
50 Kettlebell swings, .75 pood
Walking Lunge, 50 steps
50 Knees to elbows
50 Push press, 35 pounds
50 Back extensions
50 Wall ball shots, 14 pound ball
50 Burpees
50 Double unders

32:17

The absolute worst part was the double unders. I got to the double unders in under 28 minutes. So, not a terrible time considering how I felt, but not good either. I guess you could say I was a little discouraged. I shouldn't have worn my watch. I kept checking it, and getting more frustrated. I just couldn't do double unders today. Then I started crying. It was awful.

The most frustrating thing was that yesterday I just finally got my double unders on my new jump rope. I did 3 sets of 20, easy. And THEN, after the WOD today, I grabbed the slighty longer jumprope and knocked out 10 double unders, no problem. Why couldn't I just have done that in the WOD?

So, now, if I qualify for the games and get to fill out the questionnaire about my favorite and least favorite WODs, at least now I have an answer for least favorite. I could never decide before, but now I know for sure. I hate the filthy fifty.

Oh! Let me leave you with some entertainment. This video is most decidedly NOT WFS. Turn off the volume and you'll be okay. The soundtrack is "Starfuckers, Inc." by Nine Inch Nails.

Deadlift/Burpee WOD from Jenna Rettenmayer on Vimeo.

Success, failure, and lessons learned

Yesterday I competed in my first-ever Weightlifting competition. What a blast! The atmosphere was very encouraging, and fun, and very competetive. I only had 1 female to compete against, and she was in a different weight class (even though we are only 4 pounds difference in size!) and I pretty much knew ahead of time she was going to beat me. See, she had been training the olympic lifts at least weekly for several months. I have gone for 2 max snatch attempts and 2 C&J attempts each since last July.

I usually get really, really nervous in front of a crowd, so I started my lifts conservatively. I started with a 45kg Snatch, which I have never, ever missed before. I got it! Not only that, but it felt EASY. Something about being on the spot makes the bar feel 10kg lighter. I went up to a 50kg snatch, which is a bit trickier, and something I have only done once. I got that, as well, so I decided to go up to 55kg, which would be a PR. Much to my surprise, I got it over my head as well! But, I think I was so shocked by that fact, that I lost my concentration, and I missed the lift. AND, I missed it to the back. Usually when the weight gets heavy, I lose it to the front, because I get scared and don't get under it. Even though I missed 55kg, I am really pleased with my snatching.

Then, for the Clean and Jerk. I started out at 60kg, which was easy. My goal for the day was 65kg, but I decided to make that on my second attempt. I got it, and that was a PR. I was feeling tough, so I went for 70kg. I got the clean, which was a PR for the clean. I went for the jerk, and I missed it. Honestly, I think I've got that jerk. I think, again, I just didn't believe that I could do it.

I can't wait to go for another max Snatch and Clean and Jerk. I also can't wait to do another weightlifting meet. I learned that I don't get as nervous in front of a crowd as I had thought I would. I also learned to maybe not be quite so conservative with my starting weights. In both cases, I was wishing I had another attempt. I am confident that with another try for both weights, I could have gotten them. That would have given me 10kg more in my total! AND, more PRs!

Take that, Angie

After yesterday's exhausting Inverted Burpees and Oly lifting, I barely had the energy to tackle "Angie" this morning. But, I had a standing date with my brother to do the workout at 7:30 a.m., and I certainly wasn't going to put her off until tomorrow. She turned out okay though.

"Angie"
100 Pullups
100 Pushups
100 Situps
100 Squats

For time.

19:52

There's that Sub-20 minute Angie I wasn't sure I could ever get!

I reviewed my Goals for 2009 aka my 2nd year of Crossfit, and I noticed that I have 5 of my Benchmark WOD goals already achieved. The other 4 benchmarks I have not attempted since making my goals. I still have a ways to go on my strength goals (well, except the deadlift), but I am confident now that I will get there.

Isabel, anyone?


135# Clean and Jerk 090422 from Jenna Rettenmayer on Vimeo.

140# Clean and Jerk 090422 from Jenna Rettenmayer on Vimeo.

No news and big news

Another busy day, but today marked the end of the really busy streak. Now it's back to normal...

I was so incredibly sore this morning from yesterday's rest day, err, squats and trail run. I decided to tackle the 100 Inverted Burpees for time. I had heard from others that it wasn't necessarily a very hard WOD, so it sounded like the perfect thing to loosen me up.

7:30 a.m., WOD 090422 Part 1

100 Inverted Burpees, for time.

12:25

I didn't kip to standing, because I can't really, but I did roll onto both feet. I also used a wall, because I thought it would take me too long to do free standing handstands. My kick-up to the wall was nice and smooth and I made sure to keep a fairly decent handstand the whole time.

Then, 1 nap for time. 1 hour :) Actually, it was a pretty lousy nap. It's all I had time for - back to the office for some more computer work.

7:30 p.m., WOD 090422 Part 2

Snatch, figure out what weight to start with for meet on Saturday.

65-85power-85power-85-100-100-100-110f

Not happy with that 110 fail, but even 85 felt really heavy today. I was feeling exhausted, like I shouldn't even be lifting. I got 100 pretty easily 3 times, so I'm thinking 45kg would be a good starting weight for Saturday. I was hoping to go up to 50kg after that, and then maybe 52.5 or 55 after that. 55kg would be a PR, but I know I have it in me.

Clean and Jerk, go for a 1 rep max

95-105-115-125f-125-130PR-135PR-140f-140PR

Even 125 was a PR since I opened up Bridger CrossFit. I've got video....but I'll save that for a rest day :)

Tomorrow: "Angie" I was hoping to tackle her when I felt fresh. Hopefully I can still get a good time tomorrow. If not, I'll at least die trying...

Most decidedly NOT a rest day

Today was supposed to be a rest day, but I got the bright idea of going to run up the 'M' trail. I could have at least taken it the easy, aka long, way, but I decided to try my hand at running up the steep part. I had invited one of my new athletes to go along, and he came in to hit up the Back Squat 1-1-1-1-1-1-1 ahead of time, so I decided to join him in that, too. You know, to make it fair :)

WOD 090421

Back Squat 1-1-1-1-1-1-1
185-195-205f-205f-195f

Um, I guess back squat isn't going to happen today. My legs were pretty toast. I don't know why I tried.

Run up the 'M' the short way: 13:22
Run down the 'M' the long way: 9:20
Total run time: 22:42

Here's my brother and I doing "Helen" on Sunday:

Justin and Jenna do Helen from Bridger CrossFit on Vimeo.

Seen on the back of a Hummer H2...

A sticker saying: "Is the climate changing or is it just me?" 'Nuff said there.

I had planned on having a video ready for ya'll today, but this week has been CRAZY busy. I've barely had enough time to get my WODs in.

WOD 090420

Buy-In: Box Jump for Max Height. I got 36.5 inches. Not bad for a shorty!

WOD:
5 Round for time of:
115# Power Clean, 3 reps
200m Run

5:59 (whew, just under the wire!)

Cash-Out: Deadhang Pullup Practice. I did 5 sets of 4, which is definitely a PR for total reps and reps per set.

More later.

The Snatch and "Helen"

The next 10 days are going to be absolute chaos. Meriah is out of town for 10 days, I have several training meetings set up to get MindBody Online up and running, I'm getting a haircut, I have to go buy food to keep up with my Paleo Diet....the list goes on and on. I'm definitely NOT looking forward to getting up at 5 a.m. for the next 5 days straight....but, I love my 5:30 a.m. clients so it's always a really good morning, once the coffee is made.

This morning I held a Nutrition clinic for my "I Am CrossFit" Challenge members. It went over really well, and all 4 participants are going to do the Paleo Diet for the next 6 weeks! Even my Mom and my Aunt have jumped onboard. I can't believe it!

I got home around 12 from the morning's festivities, and proceeded to sleep until 1:40. I was really tired! And, I can really sleep on this Paleo Diet!

WOD 090419 (tomorrow is our older dog's 7 year birthday! Happy Birthday Sam!)

Snatch 1-1-1-1-1-1-1
65-85-105f-105-105-115fx4-115PR-120f(a lot)

Yay, a PR!!!

Metcon:

"Helen"
3 Rounds for time of:
400m Run
21 KB swings
12 Pullups

8:14 (PR by 1:11)

I am really pleased with this. My goal was 8:35. My secondary goal was to do the whole thing unbroken, which I did. I almost stopped on the last set of pullups, but I decided I would rather fall off the pullup bar than voluntarily let go.

Overall, a very good day. I would say this Paleo thing is working for me :)

115# Snatch from Jenna Rettenmayer on Vimeo.

D.T.

This morning we had a gymnastics seminar at the gym, to impart all of that wonderful knowledge we gained at last weekend's gymnastics cert to our outstanding athletes. We had 12 people in attendance, which pretty much blew my expectations out of the water! It was great!

AND, I did a skin the cat today, on the rings, all by myself! It was awesome!

Then, this afternoon, we hit up D.T.

WOD 090418

"D.T."
5 Rounds for time of:
105# Deadlift, 12 reps
105# Hang Power Clean, 9 Reps
105# Push Jerk, 6 reps

16:00

Bah. That sucked. It took me until the 3rd round to feel like I could even handle the weight. I kinda sorta forgot to practice my power cleans and push jerks before the 3-2-1-go! I don't know what happened - I wasn't thinking.

The weight was definitely too heavy to keep good form, but I am really feeling it in my legs, so I am happy enough that I stuck with this weight. It was a good workout - definitely made me stronger.

I've got to cut this short. I've got to hold a Nutrition Clinic tomorrow morning at 8 a.m.!!! I'm not quite ready yet....

I'm going to do WHAT? In front of an audience?

I don't know what in the world I was thinking, but I signed up for a Weightlifting meet next weekend. It's being held at CrossFit 4800. Yes, our local rivals/competition. They extended an olive branch. I grabbed it. How could I not? I mean, I just set a 10# Clean PR, which brings me to a total of 20 pounds MORE than I could ever clean when I was at CF4800, being coached by world-class coach Steve Gough and former Olympian Mike Karchut.

Of course, then, I realized my Jerk isn't up to par. And, unfortunately, it's the Clean and Jerk. I decided to add some Split Jerk as a Buy-In to the WOD.

I also realize that I haven't gone for a heavy Snatch since my 110# PR that I set in February, when I was motivated by Dutch to do so. That will have to wait. Until Sunday.

Here's the latest workout:

WOD 090416

Buy-In: Split Jerk technique work. Go heavy, but not too heavy.

35-85-95-105-115-125-130PR

Good enough for me.

Metcon:
5 Rounds for time of:
95# Thrusters, 5 Reps
10 Box Jumps, 24" box

5:39

That beat my boyfriend by 4 seconds. Yes, I am proud of that one. Same size box. 35# less than my bodyweight, 65# less than his. 95# Thrusters have never felt so easy.

Cash-Out: Muscle up practice, strict transition work. I suck at these now. I keep going through one arm first at a time. That's no good. I am going to take a break from the kipping muscle ups for a while and just get my form back. I might even make a rule that I need to get a strict muscle up before I do any more kipping ones. Still thinking about that....

Here's a video of my 130# Jerk PR. It's a crappy Jerk. I need to take more video and jerk more, and maybe I will be able to fix my form. My goal for the weightlifting meet is a 65kg C&J and 53kg Snatch. That would be sick.

Jenna puts 130# overhead from Jenna Rettenmayer on Vimeo.

Just Another Workout

Yesterday was Day 2 of the Paleo Diet. I feel really good. I have a LOT on my plate right now, so it's good to not have to think too much about my food.

And, because I have so much on my plate, this will be a really short post. Yesterday we did a WOD that we made up. We are evil. Very evil.

AMRAP in 20 minutes of:
5 Ring Dips
10 CTB Pullups
15 Front Squats, 65#

8 rounds

The last couple of rounds I did my ring dips 1 at a time. I managed to get more than 1 in a row for the first 6 rounds, so that was pretty good. I am sore today, but not like I used to be after a WOD with ring dips.

I know my pullup form is pretty terrible - at least when I do chest to bar. I need to work on my form, but at the same time, I need to keep the intensity of my workouts up at this point - get ready for the qualifiers. I'll keep working on my form in as skill-work, but during the workouts, I'm going to get my chest up there however I can.

The front squats were really hard - I would say they were the toughest part...but I think the ring dips were still harder. The front squats were definitely harder than I thought they would be.

Overall, I was pretty destroyed after this WOD. I had to push pretty hard to finish 8 rounds, that's for sure.

Paleo diet, day 1

I've decided to go Paleo again. This will be my 3rd time, and this time I am making the fewest changes to my diet in order to go Paleo. I'm not weighing or measuring, but I am recording what I eat and when, and how I feel. This diet isn't so much performance based as health based. There is something that I add to my diet when I stop going Paleo that makes me break out. Okay, so it's aesthetic based. I want to have clear skin. So there.

Yesterday was day 1. No grains. No sugar. No dairy (yes, no butter). No vinegar (I still don't understand that one, but I'm going with it for now). I have eaten bacon but that's because we just bought some and I refuse to throw it away. I eat it in moderation, and I also don't really understand why bacon is a no-no. But, I will switch to chicken sausages for breakfast. No problem there. I have

Yesterday, I had an awesome workout (details below), and last night, I slept like a baby. The previous night, after my pre-diet splurge on Ice-cream, Knob creek and Ginger (with HFCS, no less), and cheeseburgers, I slept like crap. I woke up early, before my alarm, and didn't feel very good. I much prefer sleeping, thank you. So, hold the sugar, please.

Okay, on to yesterday's workout:

Clean 1-1-1-1-1-1-1

115-125-130-135-140-145PR-150PR

Also, I tried 155 twice, and both times I got under the bar, but couldn't stand up. WTF. I am really pissed I didn't stand up, and I was soooo close. So close, that in my head, I know I got a 155# clean. When I used to workout with Steve Gough and Mike, and I would clean 130#, I couldn't stand up with it, and Steve would always help me stand up. He always counted it as a clean, even though I didn't think I could do it without him. I'm sure next time I'll stand up under 155#, no problem. Now, if only I could jerk it.

But, I am super happy because not ONCE did I NOT drop under the bar. It was by far the best cleaning session I have ever had. I haven't gone for a max clean since the last time I set a 15# PR, and this was another 10 (almost 15#) PR. My technique was far better than before. I never thought I would get a 155# clean and jerk, and now I feel that if I keep at it, it's not that far off.


Jenna Cleans 140# from Jenna Rettenmayer on Vimeo.

Jenna Cleans 145# from Jenna Rettenmayer on Vimeo.

Jenna Cleans 150# from Jenna Rettenmayer on Vimeo.

Jenna Fails 155# Take 1 from Jenna Rettenmayer on Vimeo.

Jenna Fails 155# Take 2 from Jenna Rettenmayer on Vimeo.

I heart HSPU

This post will have to be short and sweet. I am buried up to my eyeballs in stuff to do. Meriah and I headed to the gymnastics cert this weekend in Denver, CO. It was such a good time - I had no idea I could do even half of the stuff that I ended up doing this weekend. My handstands improved tenfold. My pullups also improved, and yesterday I easily linked 10 chest-to-bar kipping pullups, and I had plenty more in me.

One of the highlights of the weekend was on Friday night. Meriah and I stayed with my good friend Nicole Gibson, who currently owns Garage 4150, and is in the process of affiliating with CrossFit HQ. We arrived in Boulder around 5 p.m., and decided to do the mainsite WOD, the CrossFit Total. I was nervous, because Nicole and Meriah both kick my butt in the total.

CrossFit Total:
Back squat, 1 rep
Shoulder Press, 1 rep
Deadlift, 1 rep

Back Squat 185-195-205
Shoulder Press 80-85-90PR
Deadlift 230PR-235PR-245PR
Total: 540

I asked Meriah to set my bar up for me for the DL. I have a mental block against the Deadlift (which, maybe I have overcome now). I told her I'd like to start somewhere in the neighborhood of 210-220. She put 230 on the bar, and when I lifted it, I was pretty sure she had put on 210. Sneaky Meriah, tricked me into 3 consecutive PRs. I still can't believe I picked up 245#. We have video to prove it, but Nicole has to send it to me. She did send me one video, I believe it's me picking up 235#:

Jenna Deadlifts 235# from Jenna Rettenmayer on Vimeo.

Stronger people are harder (for viri) to kill

Yesterday was an impromptu Rest Day. I got out of bed and my body was begging me to rest. I'm usually very excited about training, so when I am not looking forward to it, I know something is wrong.

I slept in today and luckily had Ben do the 9 a.m. class for me. I lay in bed for about half an hour, contemplating my plan of action, before getting up. I thought about taking the dogs on a little run, but decided I was too hungry for that.

Immediately upon standing up, I got sick. I will spare you the unpleasant details, but suffice it to say, I was not doing well. I had all the flu-like symptoms that everyone hates - nausea, cold sweats, etc. I got really, really dizzy and was sweating like a pig. I looked at the clock - 9:15 a.m.. Thank god I didn't go to the gym. It's rare for me to ask someone to cover a class for me - how lucky.

Then, as quickly as it came on, it was gone. I couldn't believe it when I felt warm again, and felt like I could leave the bathroom without taking the garbage can with me. I went back to bed, but soon I was too hungry to sit in bed.

I wonder why my "flu" was over in a matter of 20 minutes. Am I strong enough to fight off the 24-hour bug in 20 minutes? What would have happened if I weren't as fit?

I really, really want to workout right now, but I am resisting. I could use an extra rest day before the Gymnastics cert this weekend. Tomorrow we'll do a WOD with my friend Nicole, of Garage 4150, in Boulder. I'm looking forward to that. And, from what I hear, I will get enough of a workout during the gymnastics cert that I won't miss the WODs.

Here's a video of the "Fab Four" workout:

"FabFour" from Jenna Rettenmayer on Vimeo.

Enough is enough

My body hurts. Twenty-one rounds of Cindy is no small task, as it turns out. It was all I could do to stay away yesterday afternoon. Of course, when I went to bed, I couldn't sleep easily. I had a lot on my mind...and maybe I'm training a bit too hard.

We decided to for-go this morning's strength session in the name of Time and Energy. I tried an air squat - ouch. My adductors are really sore, not to mention the rest of my legs. My shoulders hurt, my calves are sore. Everything hurts.

So, what better time to try the recently-famed Fab Four workout (as named by Shana Alverson of CF East Decatur)? Admittedly, the only part of my shoulders that didn't hurt were the muscle responsible for HSPU. My pull-up muscles were pretty sore, but there's not a ton of pullups in this WOD. Deadlifts - eh, usually they are okay. 135# felt unusually heavy today. My box jumps I thought were pretty good, until I saw Shana jump.

I warmed up with a LOT of box jumps. I was trying to get faster. I can't seem to link my jumps very well without an extra hop between jumps. That was definitely slowing me down.

3 Rounds for time of:
4 HSPU
8 Chest-to-bar Pullups
12 Deadlifts, 135#
16 Box Jumps, 20"

6:08

If only I hadn't rested in my last set of deadlifts...I could have been sub-6. (There's a goal right there - have no more workouts where I think "I could have been faster if only...").

I am pretty pleased with this time. I really wasn't feeling well. I'm not particularly good at any of those movements, except for maybe the pullups, and usually my DL is at least stronger than it felt today. I'd love to hit this WOD again, when I am a little more fresh. But then again, I'm not going to spend too much time trying to beat Jolie/Caity in this one workout. I'm pretty sure if I had been doing this WOD side-by-side with these girls, my time would have been faster.

I also really don't think there are going to be box jumps at the games or the qualifiers. They're just so hard to judge - most people don't stand up all the way at the top. I was reviewing the video of me doing the WOD and I wasn't standing up enough on some of them. I was trying to go faster and faster, and even though I thought I was standing up all the way, I apparently wasn't. (You can see for yourself when I post the video - probably Thursday).

Food yesterday:
I fell a couple of hundred calories short of 2k yesterday, so before bed I had a nice big spoonful of peanut butter. Yum!

• Calories: 2006
• Protein: 123 g (20.6%)
  
• Carbs: 79 g (13.28%)
  
• Fat: 175 g (66.11%)

I definitely like this better in terms of macronutrient ratios. That's a LOT of fat - I'm surprised it didn't add up to more calories. Protein is good - close to bodyweight. Carbs are nice and low, despite the fact that I started out the day with a banana!

And another one bites the dust

Today was a big day. I decided to hit another girl AND I decided that I would do the WOD with the 9 a.m. class. Last week, my regular 9 a.m. guy, Matt, commented that he had never gotten to workout with me, whereas he has worked out with Ben and Justin, our 2 male coaches. I decided that today would be a good day to workout with him, because I didn't do any strength work ahead of time. He's often the only one at the 9 a.m..

WOD 090406

"Cindy"
AMRAP in 20 minutes of:
5 Pullups
10 Pushups
15 Squats

21 Rounds. PR by 4 rounds.

Matt got 15 rounds, which is a PR by 5 rounds!!!

My strategy was to do 20 rounds of Cindy, no matter how long it took me. If I got 20 rounds before the 20 minutes was up, I decided I was just going to keep going and see how many I could get. I got 21 rounds with 30 seconds to spare, which isn't quite enough time for a round. I probably should have pushed it to see how far I got, but I just did the pullups and then called it good. The pushups are what get me, and I thought that 210 pushups was good for one day - especially because my pecs are really sore from "Elizabeth" on Saturday.

Here's a video of most of my last round of Elizabeth. My brother took the video, and I haven't processed it at all. Here it is:

Jenna Finishes "Elizabeth"...One. Ring dip. At a time. from Jenna Rettenmayer on Vimeo.

My ring dips are much stronger looking than they feel. That gives me confidence. Now, if only my HSPU would feel/look like that!

Face the truth

I'm going to get straight into the workout of the day before I blabber on about myself....I had a great workout today! Set 4 PRs in the 400m distance. It was supposed to be a rest day, but the weather was great so Meriah and I took the opportunity to do some interval runs instead.

WOD 090405
4x400m Run with 2:00 rest.

1:17/1:17/1:21/1:20

I only got 1:39 rest after round 2. Our timekeeper got confused...I ran these at the gym, NOT at a track, but we have measured it. It's a teeny bit short but it's an out-and-back so I think the turn-around time kinda levels the playing field. I can't wait to run these at a track. Last year I was running around 1:30-1:35 for 400m repeats. Very stoked on this.

Here's my "feeling sorry for myself" rant::

I have been feeling sort of...big, lately. On that note, my boyfriend instituted a rule where I have to do 10 burpees if I ever use the "f" word. I figure, at least I'll lose weight because I'll be doing about 100 burpees a day! Just kidding....sort of.

Anyway, today was the first day of our "I Am CrossFit" Challenge, so we weighed and measured our clients. I have seriously been avoiding my scale lately because I know the numbers it gives me will be less-than-desirable. I've been trying really hard to focus on performance only, but there's a huge part of me that wonders if I could perform even better if I were 5 pounds lighter.

I decided to suck it up and use the scale.

Last fall I was:
Weight: about 123/125, maybe 128
Body Fat %: 18-20, depending on hydration level
Muscle Mass: about 98lbs

Weight: 134.6 (yikes!!!!)
Body Fat %: 22.9% (double yikes!!!), a little under-hydrated, so maybe it's not as bad as I think.
Muscle Mass: about 98lbs (um, triple yikes!!!)

I have no idea why my performance has increased so much even though I've basically gained 7 pounds, or more, of fat. I don't feel that much fatter. I can only hope that a large part of that is the fact that maybe I was a little dehydrated. Also, I used to only weigh myself first thing in the morning, and today it was about 1/2 hour after eating lunch.

Anyway, now I am even more motivated to keep better track of my food and make better food choices. But, at the end of the day, I keep setting PR after PR, and I am really happy with that. I just can't help but wonder what if I were 5 or 7 lbs lighter. I also wonder what will happen as the sun stays out more and it isn't so cold here. Maybe the weight will just melt off!

Food today:

• Calories: 2052
• Protein: 97 g (19.57%)
• Carbs: 105 g (21.21%)
• Fat: 131 g (59.22%)
  

Yet another girl

No time for the shoulder press today, and I was thinking of skipping it anyway due to my planned Metcon: Elizabeth. My shoulders have been on the verge of being overworked lately, and I have also been doing a ton of HSPU work, ring dips, muscle up, and even working in some push jerk practice. I have probably only done the shoulder press 2 of the times I was supposed to. I might continue to add in some shoulder press when this CFSB is done (next week!), or I might just continue all of my HSPU work.

WOD 090404

Buy-In:

• OHS
• HSPU practice
• Push Jerk
• Clean and Push Jerk, working up to 95#

"Elizabeth"
21-15-9 reps for time of:
95# Squat Clean
Ring dips

13:16

More than pleased with this. It's my first time doing "Elizabeth" as Rx'd. Last time it took me 8:47, with 85# and the red band. My ring dips were slow, and I never got more than 3 in a row. I probably could have, but I didn't want to wear myself out. I was afraid of reaching muscle failure. I think I have sort of a mental block against ring dips though...I can do sets of 5 pretty easily, but when I get to them in a WOD, I never seem to get more than 3, and I quickly have to go down to sets of 2 or 1.

My cleans today felt spot-on. I could easily do several in a row. 95# just isn't heavy anymore. I feel like my form is really improving. I think I am still jerking the bar off the ground some, but I am working on that.

I'll continue to work my ring dips, now that my left shoulder is doing better.

Oh, I have been keeping track of food a bit better, but then today I ate brunch out (Huevos Rancheros - lots of eggs/cheese/beans. Probably the best choice of where I was, but I should have just eaten at home.). Dinner will also be out. It's a celebration for my cousin's birthday. Yay more mexican. I should be back on track tomorrow, hopefully. I think I've just been over-eating a tiny bit. Not much, but I feel sluggish, so maybe if I can knock it down a couple hundred calories (i.e. a couple of spoonfulls of peanut butter) a day, I will feel lighter/faster/stronger.

I think my brother got some good footage of me during the end of Elizabeth, so I should hopefully have a cool video tomorrow :)

And I thought Fran was bad

Woke up with a terrible sore throat this morning. I had planned on working out between 6:30 and 9 (not for the entire time, but in that time frame!) but ate breakfast, then decided to come home and take a nap before the 9 a.m. class. To my surprise, I fell asleep almost immediately upon laying down, which I can almost never do so early in the morning (it was about 7 a.m.). I slept so hard, that between the time my alarm went off the first time at 8:20, and the second time at 8:25, I had an entire second dream.

I decided to work out this evening with Meriah. I had been working on greasing the groove all day for HSPU - and I actually got my first static HSPU! My brother and good friend Lauren were spotting me, but they didn't help at all! I think I must have had a lot more confidence with 2 spotters, so I went for it. I got a total of 5 or 6 HSPU today, static. I also spent some time doing sets of 2 with the purple band, which I think will help me A LOT.

Anyway, here's the workout:

Front Squat 3-3-3

• 45x5x2
• 75x5
• 95x3
• 135x1
• 140x3
• 150x3
• 160x3

I think I had more in me. But, my recent 1RM is only 165 (all time 1RM is 198 aka 90kg) so I thought this was a pretty good showing. I'll go for 170 next week, and then my Strength Bias cycle is over and it's time to go for a 1RM again!

Skill work: Ring Dips. I did 2 sets of 5. It feels good to have these sort of back. My left shoulder is still kind of bugging me, but not bad. After seeing that the qualifiers happening this weekend had both HSPU AND Ring Dips, I am a little worried. Time to get to some serious work!

Metcon:

21-15-9 Reps for time of:
65# Thrusters
Burpees

6:15

Very, very happy with this. Makes me think that sub 4-minute Fran is possible after all. My goal was to do all my thrusters unbroken, but there was no way I was doing more than the 1st set unbroken. My shoulders were toast from those Burpees. I felt slow in the burpees, but I tried to keep moving. I need to get faster in these.

I think I am eating a little too much. I haven't been doing very well with keeping accurate track of calories. I am going to start measuring again. Not "dieting", per se, but at least keeping accurate track. It's hard to do, but I at least need to be doing my best. I think I have been eating too much in general. I feel....big. Too big. Hard to say. I wish I could see myself from the outside.

No more HFCS, please!

Last night I caved and had a Knob Creek and Ginger. It was my boyfriend and my anniversary (28 months thank-you-very-much) and we had to celebrate. I had planned on not drinking at all starting April, up until the games. I don't drink much, but I really don't need the extra sugar at all.

I haven't actually had any sugar in a couple of weeks, except a couple of little bites of ice cream last weekend. I could hardly sleep last night, and I really think it was the sugar. Particularly because the ginger I had on hand was Canada Dry - full of High Fructose Corn Syrup. Yuck.

So, I'm seriously laying off the sugar now. I felt H.O.R.R.I.B.L.E. this morning. Absolutely terrible. And, usually, when I wake up feeling not-so-great, a good hard workout is able to get that right out of my system. Not so today. Afterwards, for about an hour, I wouldn't go more than 10 feet away from the bathroom. I was sure Mr. Pukie would visit. But, I was spared today. No Pukie.

WOD 090402

5 Rounds for time of:
105# Hang Squat Clean
15 ft rope climb, 3 ascents

16:09

You might recognize today's WOD from the mainsite on March 14. There's a really cool video of Dutch and Dave Castro doing this WOD. Dave actually doesn't use his feet for any of the rope climbs, except the very last one. Dutch gives in after round 1 and starts to use his feet. I used my feet because I've never done this many rope climbs in one day before, so I was a little nervous. Especially because of the heavy hang squat cleans. I believe that Women are supposed to use 100#, but I really hate putting the 2.5# plates on my bar.

I would also like to point out that I beat Dutch. Just sayin'.

This WOD was really hard. My grip was so tired at the end. The cleans were really hard, too, though I did get my first 9 all in a row. That was pretty cool! I feel like my cleans are really coming along nicely...

And, for your viewing pleasure...here is a video of my recent 3-Rep Deadlift PR. I look like a tank. Let's just say that's not my best angle.

Jenna Deadlift 215x3 from Jenna Rettenmayer on Vimeo.

There's 2 kinds of people in this world...

Those who, when doing "Karen", walk away from the ball. And then there's those who don't. I think you can tell a lot about somebody by which category they fall into.

Today is a glorious rest day. I don't know what I would be able to accomplish today, if it weren't. Yesterday just about finished me off.

WOD 090331

Buy In:
Push Jerk @ 45# and 75#. I feel much stronger/more stable/better on these when I don't actually leave the ground.

Deadlift 3-3-3

• 95x5x2
• 135x5
• 165x2
• 185x1
• 205x3
• 215x3 PR, so I stopped here

Deadlift 12-9-6 @ 155#. This felt relatively easy, but I could really feel it in my ass.

"Karen" 150 Wallball shots for time. 14# ball, target centered at 10.5 feet. 9:32

(When I put up our wallball targets, I thought they were supposed to be bottomed at 10 feet, not centered. Oops.)

Anyway, I am stoked with this time. I thought for sure it would take me 15 minutes. I made my boyfriend stand there and yell at me whenever I put the ball down. I never took more than 5 breaths between sets, so even though I only did sets of 3-5 for most of it, I didn't rest very much. I had some trouble counting, but if anything I think I might have done too many. I finished a lot closer to Meriah than I thought I would, so I second guessed my counting. I guess I was just "on it" yesterday.

I apologize for my really long, sometimes boring videos. I am working on getting an editing software that works for me - one that I can use to fast forward, and do slow-motion, etc. I'm not very good at this "creative" thing, and I am pressed for time. I use my videos to analyze my movement and my attitude. Like, in the following video, notice how with each rep of the Clean and Jerk, I am jerking with my arms more and more. Also, I notice how I tend to hop forward under the jerk, and my legs tend to split, too. All this tells me that my jerk needs some serious work. Here it is:

Jenna does 100# squat C&J, 30 reps for time. LONG video, unedited from Jenna Rettenmayer on Vimeo.