Crossfit log for Tuesday, February 18th

After three days off, it was nice to get back at it this morning.

Gotta get back on the clean eating. I've been lazy lately and just ate whatever the rest of the family was eating.  I've kept up my supplement regime, except I've run out of the TestAlpha (d-aspartic acid/fenugreek/maca supplement), which it is apparently good to take a week off every 90 days.

That being said strength work was push press, 1 rep max, and I hit a new record.  A clean lift of 175#. No hesitation, no struggle.

Which means I could've gone heavier.  Tried 185# but that was a non-starter.  Maybe 180#.  Next time.

Surprised myself actually.

WOD was a 12 minute AMRAP.
70 double unders (blue: 35 reps)
40 over the bar burpees  (blue: 30 rep[s)
20 squat clean thrusters  115#  (blue 95#)
10 muscle ups.  (blue: chest to bar pull ups)

I did the 70 double unders, but I scaled the burpees (down to 30 reps) since I was scaling the muscle ups anyway, and the clean/thrusters to 95#.

The over the bar burpees sucked. I was so winded that the thrusters took for bloody ever.

I got to the CTB pull ups with only a minute left and manged to get only 6.

Wow. Well I worked hard, and I got a PR.

Cash out was strict pull ups vs double unders, 4 sets for max reps.  Pull ups were 5, 6, 5, 4 for 20, double unders were 27, 13, 23 ,34 = 97.  Not bad I guess.

Then I spend 10 minutes in my deep squat:

So much more relaxed in the shoes than barefoot. But I really need to get my pelvis in tighter toward my shins. Not sure if it's my quads, hams or aductors.

Work in progress.

Progress update of revised weightlifting goals. Derived from intermediate level for my body weight (at the time the goals were set!) at www.exrx.net

New Push Press PR. 
 
Lift / target weight / current PR
Bench / 190lbs / 195lbs Jan 10, 2014 (up from 185lbs) !!!!!!
Dead Lift / 300lbs / 300lbs Jan 22, 2014 (up from 285lbs) !!!!!
Press / 130lbs / 125lbs Oct 30, 2013 (up from 120lbs) 5lbs away
Power Clean / 185lbs / 185lbs Dec 30, 2013 (up from 175lbs) !!!!!!
Power snatch / 140lbs / 115lbs Aug, 15, 2013 (up from 105lbs)
Back Squat / 255lbs / 265lbs Jan 14, 2014 (up from 245lbs) !!!!!

Other lift PRs:
Front Squat 215# Sept 11, 2013
Push Press: 175# (up from 165#) Feb 18, 2014
Clean: 185# (up from 180#) Dec 23, 2013
Jerk: 185# (up from 180#) Oct 30, 2013
Snatch: 130# July 22, 2013
Clean and Jerk: 175# July 24, 2013  

Spontaneous tears

Yesterday morning I stood in my kitchen and sobbed.

I have no idea why.

Kiza told me that I should help Delilah with her oral presentation since I was better at organizing her talking point sequences.  Then I lost it.

I suspect a number of occurrences coincided to bring about this unexpected outburst.

First and likely most significantly was the passing of Kiza's grandmother Dorothy.  A proud world war two veteran, who drove senior brass of the RCAF during the war (domestically). She was a vocal defender of her political views (ranging from veterans rights to gay rights) and was well known (if not always well liked) by a good number of politicians at all levels, journalists and citizens of Thunder Bay.  She led a good, full and long life.  She directly impacted the lives of countless others, mostly, but not only, by means of instructing young drivers for many years.  Despite some dark times, hers was a life many would be envious of.  She will be missed by so many.  I wish I'd known her in you younger days.  She was a interesting gal.

Remembrance day this year was all the more poignant because of her recent passing.

Second was the difficult workout on Tuesday morning which exposed my still very limited mobility in my over head squat, despite well over a year of addressing the contributing issues, it makes me feel like I've been wasting my time.  So much effort and seemingly nothing to show for it.

Lastly, I ate crap all weekend.  Since Kiza was away with Delilah at Grandma's funeral in Thunder Bay, Dexter and I led a somewhat bachelor-like lifestyle for 4 days.  McDonald's for one meal. A treat of a small container of ice cream from the grocery store which I had more than my share.  An unnecessary helping of macaroni and cheese. And finally at the movies with Caleb and Genie on Monday afternoon, I consumed an entire 300g bag of M&M almonds.

If my paleo diet has taught me anything, it's that these kinds of food play havoc with my emotional state.

Another factor that just dawned on my is the time Kiza has spent away from home in the past six weeks.  Between the funeral this past weekend and three trips out of town for work, I've spend more nights alone in my bed than with her.  More nights than ever before in my adult life.

Being an intravert, I depend a great deal on Kiza for my social interactions.  I don't remember the last time I've felt so lonely, even with the kids around.

It kinda felt good to just cry.  Such a release of raw emotion that we rarely experience as adults.

Well I'm glad that's out of my system.  Kiza is back, I'm back to eating right and I've already booked an appointment with my physio to look at next steps for dealing with my mobility limitations.

Upwards and onwards.  That sounds like something Dorothy would've said.

Crossfit log for Wednesday, October 31st

Workout for day 1 of the paleo challenge

The paleo challenge has ended (not that I actually participated. I already eat paleo enough, and i refuse to track what I eat), so we repeated the workout from day 1. On top of not really pushing my paleo habits to extremes, a friend came over last night with cake and ice cream for an impromptu belated birthday celebration. So on top of the m&m's I had on the bus ride home (once in awhile I feed this craving), I had a substantial amount of chocolate smarties ice cream 12 hours before the workout.

Despite all that I did quite well.

I was able to match my PR of 205# back squat (which I failed last time) and I finished the WOD in 16:19, 24 seconds faster, and with 75# on the bar instead of 65#.

A lot of recent work on snatches may have played in my favour. I'm happy with this.

Crossfit log for Monday, October 1st

Day one of the paleo challenge (which I'm not doing since I refuse to track my food intake), and we had a special WOD which will be repeated in 30 days to gauge the impact of the paleo diet on performance.

After back squats to 1 rep max (managed 195#, couldn't repeat my max of 205#) we did this lovely set:

9 rounds of 2-4-6-8-10-8-6-4-2
-snatch 65# (blue Rx was 95# but I can't power snatch 95#)
-double kettle bell swings - 16kg each hand
-knees to elbows

16:43

The middle three rounds were really rough. Kinda glad I can't snatch, it was rough enough at 65#

In the mood for paleo

I started eating paleo (aka the caveman or hunter gatherer diet) last October.

There are a couple of reasons I decided to give it a try:

• after 10 years of running, triathlon and nearly a year of Crossfit, I still had a gut and weight close to 190lbs.  
• It seemed like a very popular diet among Crossfitters and I wanted to see what all the hoopla was about.
• I won't do diets (or lifestyles or meal plans or whatever you want to call it) where I have to measure, weigh, count, calculate or account for what goes in my mouth.
• and finally, (this was the clincher for me) I saw this video of Dr. Terry Wahls on feeding your body the nutrients it needs to stay healthy, and how through diet she reversed her symptoms cause my multiple sclerosis.  Her diet, it turns out, is essentially paleo.

The premise behind the paleo diet is to feed our bodies what the human body ate during the hundreds of thousands of years of it's evolution before the agricultural revolution.  So basically meat (including organ meat), fish and shellfish, leafy greens, vegetables, fruit, nuts, seaweed, insects, etc...  (now before you go all "gross"! on me, I'm not strict paleo, I don't eat bugs, in fact I don't know of any "paleo" eaters that do, but it wouldn't be incompatible with the diet). So no processed foods, no food with sugar added, no gains or rice, no legumes including peanuts (other nuts are fine) and no dairy. Potatoes seem to be a point of contention among paleo aficionados, I eat them on occasion.  I also eat dairy, but as I mentioned, I'm not what would be called "strict paleo". 

I like the idea of eating what our bodies ate as we evolved as a species, so I guess that's a fifth reason.  My sister asked, wouldn't we have evolved in the last ten thousand years to adapt to bread and grain? And I thought she had a point. But once I really thought about it, we probably had, to a certain extent. Anyone who could not process wheat, barley, oats and whatnot, would've died at a young age, and those incompatible genes would've been removed from the gene pool, but any effects that manifest after child bearing years, like hardened arteries, disease from years of nutrient weak diet, or effects that weren't fatal, would still be around today. 

Without bread or pasta to fill my belly, my vegetable intake has skyrocketed. I lost ten pounds the first month and five more over the following two months.  Now I've stabilized at 170lbs and I feel great. My gut is all but gone, and for the first time in my life, I'm seeing some definition in my abs.  *glee*

The other interesting side effect is this.  Before, every once in a while, like every month or two, I'd fall into a sad mood, a kind of melancholy that lasted a three or four days, sometimes more. When I got this way, nothing seemed worthwhile, nothing seemed to have a point.  I had become used to it and was aware of it, so I knew if I just coasted through it (and made no decision during it), it would pass and I'd be fine.

Kiza pointed out to me that it hasn't happened since October.

Until last Monday after the family reunions that is.  Coming down from the excitement of two reunions (the Sauvé side on Saturday and the much smaller Dubeau side on Sunday), I was a bit sad that it was over.  More than a bit sad, it was that familiar melancholy settling in that I hadn't felt in over half a year.  But then I realized, I ate cake (well mostly icing, and not just a little) at the Sauvé reunion, and ice cream cake and dessert pizza at the Dubeau reunion. 

I returned to my regular diet and by the end of  Tuesday the feeling had gone.

I think the combination of the emotional down turn of the big weekend being over, combined with the sugary food in my diet threw my hormone response out of balance.

I think I'll just stick with paleo.  It seems to be working for me.

Crossfit log for Saturday, March 3rd: "Grace" before your meal.

Today was the much anticipated pot-luck/WOD at Physics Crossfit.

Friends and family as well as athletes that don't often train together under one roof at the same time.

Paleo food was on the menu, but naturally "Grace" came first.

Grace: 30 Clean and Jerks for time. Rx is 135lbs for men 95# for women. (The scaled version is 105lbs/70lbs).

When Kiza, the kids and I arrived at almost half past eleven, they had just started the first of 6 heats. 27 athletes had signed up to do the WOD.  I wasn't scheduled until the last round, so we spent that time corralling the kids while trying to mingle with the other parents/athletes.

The music was a bit loud for mingling, and for some of the kids. At 10 minutes per round it was looking like the possibility of a melt down was on the rise.  Thankfully I had forgotten the muffins, so Kiza took Delilah home to get them while I stayed with Dex (he had a good morning nap and wouldn't be a problem).

Soon I was up and while Kiza took care of our kids plus one (the son of one of the other athletes in my heat), I was cleaning and jerking. I decided to go with women's Rx (95lbs).  I took my time, one at a time stringing none together, I've hurt my back a few times cleaning (heavier), but never did this many clean and jerks in a row, so I was being cautious. I didn't struggle once to get the bar overhead, although I took nearly a full eight minutes to complete the WOD, I probably could have done 105lbs in similar time.

Then it was time to eat.  The food was delicious, although half the time I had no idea what I was eating. The ham was particularly good, as were the bacon wrapped dates, and the prosciutto wrapped asparagus. Dexter made a fine mess around his booster chair (good thing we brought it), but ate surprisingly well. There are plenty of delicious foods on the paleo diet, that's for sure.

Kiza still isn't sold on the whole Crossfit thing, but she's definitely curious about it. She admits that without having tried it, it's easy to feel a bit intimidated.

Now if we can talk Physics into a family discount of some kind (I'm sure Laura and Shane as well as Mark and Pat would agree)!

Crossfit log for Friday, November 4th

Strength. Front Squats.
5-5-3-3-3
135-135-155-145-145

My rack position is getting better. Back is still weak, especially after the massage yesterday, Angela warned me that I wouldn't be as strong for a day or two. Thankfully, cause I sucked.

WOD
15 min AMRAP
Push Press (95#/65#) did 75# then dropped to 65#, it was impossible to keep my core braced.
22 overhead walking lunges, (45#/25#) did 35#, brutal.
30 med ball twists 20# did 20# yay me!

Managed only 3 rounds with the weight change in the middle of the second round on the push press.

It was horrible.

On the good side, I've been on this Paleo diet for almost a month and I'm down 8lbs and under 180 for the first time in a long while.