PRs and Modifications

Creating new records for yourself is such a moral boost. 

The way my Crossfit Coach is having us train for heavy lifts has us increasing weights about ever 5-6 weeks.  This week and next are the heavy weeks meaning I will be lifting close to or higher than my last heaviest weight Ive done for that movement.

This week I had my heaviest Back Squat, 140#. So motivating!

Today we are doing Front Squats and my goal is 130#.  I can squat the weight, its holding it on my shoulders that may be my limiting factor for a while.  I did 120# last week and still feel a bit bruised.

I found out last week that I have tendonitis in my left forearm, which makes lifting any weight over my head with a bar painful.  Im wearing a brace most of the time, not during workouts due to the sweat I create and I only have the one brace.  So far I dont have an issue with the main weight lifting part of CF as those are either squats, deadlift or bench press and none of these require my arm to twist as doing any press over head will do.

Im not allowing the tendonitis to stop me from working out.  It is causing me to think a bit harder for workout prep, for what I can change in the workout that will allow me to do close to the same movements the workout is focusing on and gets me sweating.

Instead of barbell lifts, I can use dumbbells or a band.  Plate situps instead of burpees. 

With these modifications I still participate and get my sweat on.

Still Listening

Happy Day After 4th of July

Im still around, knitting, crossfit, cooking and all the rest.  As much as Ive wanted to keep writing here something always comes up and it doesnt happen.  Hasnt happened for a year.

Boy what a year.

I got my passport and actually used it – twice.  Both times to London.  Both times for work and not much site seeing was done.  May be going back later this summer, we’ll have to see. 

But on that note Ive got two words for you Virgin Atlantic. I flew with them my first trip.  The stewards were awesome, even in the cheap seats.  Second trip they were really expensive due to the short notice and I flew on Air Canada.  Dont.  Just dont. I thought that maybe I had cranky stewards on the way over, anyone can have a bad day.  But same on the way back?  Im stuck for 10+ hrs just as they are and thats too long to be stuck with bitchy people. Dont care about the cost of VA, thats who I will be with next time, if there is a next time.

D and I are still doing Crossfit.  18 months now and have been going 4 days a week for a year now.  Still loving it. Im getting muscles which is cool but not losing weight as fast as I would like which sucks but still fits with how my body likes to screw with my brain.  Being in medical menopause, being over 45, this flesh bag holds on to fat like feathers on tar. I will get skinnier, it will just take me a long time to get there.  Im ok with that.  I may look fat but I can back squat 150+, bench press 100+, front squat 130+ and deadlift 200+.  Not many out of shape, almost 50yo can do that – female or male.

We tried doing a keto diet.  I lost 15 lbs pretty quickly but my workouts tanked.  Couldnt keep up in the workouts and my weight lifting took a big hit.  I should be lifting heaver than I am, I was close to these numbers last fall, before keto.  Had to start over in Mar/Apr when we stopped.  For me, carbs help with my workouts.

Ive stopped looking at the scale and even measuring, going off of how Im feeling and how loose clothes are.  Keeping carbs low but not Keto low, no sugar, whole foods with veggies, no pasta. Close to Paleo.

This summer Im teaching DL how to cook.  I taught P when he was 14, DL got to wait until 17.  With summer Im not battling school & homework.  No excuses for him and the meals are much easier.  P knows the way around the kitchen and a recipe and enjoys cooking.  I can be assured that he can survive living on his own and not only have box mac & cheese or ramen every night.  Now the work is for DL to do the same.

Knitting – I got my first sock done in 2016 and Ive started my 24th pair this year.  I love wearing my knitted socks and wear them almost daily.  The AC in the house keeps me cold.  And they are great for gifting! I am knitting other items, mostly shawls and socks though.  Sweaters take me too long and those need to be somewhat fitted and that can take too much braining.  Since its summer, Im in a kal for socks.  So far Ive knitted 3 pairs with #4 close to gusset and #5 finished with toes and working on the foot.  I love having a pair of socks close to the foot for easy brainless knitting.

Signing off for now.  Hope to keep this at least a weekly talk and not a yearly talk.

Progress

Crossfit this week was really good.

P and I started going to the 6:30am class. Its hard really getting moving that early.  First thing is to get food in the bod, prep for the workout to happen.  Sticking with easy oatmeal is nice.  Quick to get ready, add some berries and down it goes.  Next is getting my protein drink for after the WOD and water for during and after ready.

Then its a wait until needing to leave for class. 

On the Fourth, the whole family joined the class where we did Hotshots 19 in remembrance of  the Nineteen members of the Granite Mountain Hotshots firefighting team tragically lost their lives on June 30, 2013, while fighting a fire in Yarnell, Arizona. 

WOD

• Six rounds for time of:
• 30 Squats
• 135 pound Power clean, 19 reps
• 7 Strict Pull-ups
• Run 400 meters

I didnt go running, I did 400 meters on a rower and was on my 5th round of Power Cleans (55lbs) when time was called.  P just finished his 5th round, D finished all 6 while DL just started his 5th.  Great way to celebrate the day.

Ive been doing Crossfit for 6 months now and Ive lost ~8 inches.  Weight is more difficult to judge as Im making muscle while I know Im losing weight but so far its been an even score – which Im totally ok with.  I can feel clothes fitting better or looser

Too early?

P wanted to switch up when he did crossfit as the 4:30pm class was cutting in his day weird.

So this week we are doing a 6:30am class.

Getting up that early isnt bad for me.  Im usually up at 5am as the duo of chaos start demanding their morning food that early.  Now its thinking time.  Can I get food in my bod with enough time between eating and working out so I dont get a cramp?  Answer for today is yes.  Oatmeal (zombie brains) with blueberries made a perfect breakfast and one I could scarf down and give myself time before the workout.

Workout was good.  No hot or humid like its been during the afternoon class.  And now its done!  No more workout until tomorrow.

Socking

Not even close to the heel on socks I started last month, I started another pair over the weekend.  Im totally blaming D for this.  Went out to the dollar store for cleaning supplies and he asked if I was going to the yarn store.  Well hell wasnt planning on it but know its in my brain and must go!

I went to Craft Warehouse looking for one color, didnt find it but came home with Premier Vegas Lights

Wonderfully bright colors and screamed to be made into socks for a friend.

Knitting over vaca last month got me confident with my knitting and Im no longer tied to looking at everything I knit as I knit it and can now read (a sentence or 2) before having to look.  Knitting by touch – booya!

Personal

So Friday I joined D for the 4th day of Crossfit for the week.  Friday’s weight-lifting is deadlifts and strict press.  Its been forever since Ive done a deadlift as we never went to the Friday class at this particular box and I didnt know what my max for strict press was either so I spent time during class to find my one rep max so that next week I can work to do more than one rep close to that weight so I can pass it.

in Feb, I did a 105lb deadlift and that was hard.  Since then, working at this box, Ive been working on other weight lifting and my body as a whole is stronger.  As of Friday, my new one rep max for Deadlift is 205 lbs! 

The strict press is a bit more difficult for me due to a flu shot a couple years ago that hit a nerve.  Ive had movement issues with my right arm and because of that, getting my right arm straight while pressing a bar up with weights is a struggle.  That said, I was able to get 75 lbs lifted over my head a couple of times and now I have a goal to work towards.  More movements and recovery exercises will get the arm moving how it should some day.

Saturday I pampered myself with a massage.  60 min of getting muscles a bit back to happiness and boy was it worth it!  I can bend, sit, walk, move without my lower back making me pay for each bit.  Havent had a massage in months and may do this monthly just to say thank you to all my muscles for putting up with me placing them in the Cross fit world. 

Spectrum

Quick update to share my progress on Spectrum

Just started part 5 of 6.  Not sure if I will have enough of the dark pink to finish the shawl.  Will have to wait and see.

Ugg

We had a week off from Crossfit thanks to a wonderful vacation at the beach.

Well we did try to do the metcon part of the WOD on Monday, did pretty good workout, but the winds the rest of the week were crazy and we were on vacation so didnt really push to do any part of workouts.

Bad adulting us.

Its Tuesday morning and Im already feeling yesterday's WOD in my legs.  Lots of squating thanks to wall balls and back squats.

I did make a PR for back squats, 100 lbs!  

Knitting

Not much knitting done yesterday.  Had bad restless leg syndrome issues after dinner.  Almost hurt to try and stay still.  The legs finally calmed down close to bed time (thank gods) and I was able to get a few rows in on my Spectrum shawl by Joji and found a new design element that Im just leaving in.  Im up to ~100 stitches a row and the new element is 6 rows back.  It doesnt impact the design too much and Im not tinking back that many rows to fix it.