The dirt on Jenna

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.

Labels: deadlift, heavy squat grace, Karen, push jerk

After 2 days off and 1 short little Metcon yesterday, I woke up this morning feeling awesome. Actually, when I went to bed last night I noticed that I was looking (feeling) strong, and refreshed, and just HOT. I feel okay saying that, because I'm usually the type that goes around pinching her possibly-imaginary fat rolls and critiquing every little thing that is wrong with me. But, it's amazing what some sleep/rest/food can do for my attitude.

I had a big day planned - including one of the toughest metcons I can think of, that I have been pushing back for weeks at a time. On top of that, I had a 3RM back squat planned that would shatter my recent 1RM. Plus, I decided I would start the day with some snatching. I plan to attack "Isabel" soon, so I have to get ready for her. (Isabel is 30 reps for time of 135# Snatch - we use 85# at our gym, currently, but I'd like to do it with 95#)

Buy-In:

Burgener warm-up
Snatch

35# - some hang power and hang squat snatches. Feeling good today.
65# - a few singles. This felt good
85# - didn't feel quite as good, but still not as heavy as 85# usually feels.
105# - failed 2 reps (didn't even try to get under the first, didn't get my head through on the second, but nailed the 3rd).

I'm really pleased with that. 105# was my 1RM snatch up until March 1. Of course, you can see the video of my 110# snatch here. Actually, my old 1RM was 48kg, which is closer to 106#. Whatever. This is only my second near-max Snatch attempt since last July.

Then, I moved onto the back squat. Today, I focused on keeping a wider stance when I squat. Whenever I Clean and Jerk, or Snatch, I always land with a sorta wide stance. Not too wide, but sorta wide. Clearly, that's the way my body wants to squat. Warming up, it felt good.

Back Squat 3-3-3

45x5x2
95x5
135x2
165x3
180x3 (recent 1RM AND 3RM PR)
190x1 (recent 1RM PR)

So, I have no excuses for not getting that 190x3. That first rep felt easy, so I think I kinda let down my guard, so to speak. I think I didn't approach reps 2 and 3 with the same sort of intensity. It's a fine line we must walk in our heads. If you think for a second "I can't do this" then, you won't. But, if you are too confident and think "this is easy" you might not try hard enough to get a rep that is heavy. You have to think "this is really, really hard, but I can do it!" and then you can do it. You have to be ready to attack that bar - to not let the bar defeat you. In this case, the bar defeated me.

But, I'll show that bar. Next time, I'm getting 195 for 3!!!

Metcon
"Heavy Squat Grace"
100# Squat Clean and Jerk, 30 reps for time:

8:18

Only sort of pleased with that time. My goal was under 10, so I got my goal. But, I was also hoping to be a bit faster. My lower back was smoked from those goblet squats, so the front squat was the hardest part of this WOD. I also suck at push jerk, so that was really hard, and my form wasn't that great. I am going to attack the push jerk for a few weeks - work that sucker until 100# feels easy. I'm just not great with weight overhead. Look for a fun video of this WOD in a couple of days :)

And now, for your viewing pleasure, some videos of me squattin':

090330 Back Squat 180x3 from Jenna Rettenmayer on Vimeo.