The past week has been a blur.  Michael brought home the flu last week and I’ve been sick on and off since last THUR night.  When my alarm rang on Tuesday morning at 4am, I was not feeling good but decided to go to CF Endurance since it only meets 2x per week.  I REALLY did not want to miss it.  I want, no, I NEED to regain my strength.  It’s important to me for a lot of reasons.  In my world a strong body is way more important than a thin one.  Ever heard the quote, “Strong Is The New Skinny”?  Strength, both emotional and physical, that’s what motivates me.  What motivates you?

Regardless of what I wanted, heading to CF Endurance on Tuesday was not the smartest move.  I choked on just about every aspect of the workout, including the warm up.  I was absolutely exhausted, had zero energy and just about as much focus.  I look back at the pic of Tuesday’s white board and can hardly even remember anything other than how fatigued I felt.  Thank goodness I was back on track today!  Here is a recap of what CrossFit Endurance at CrossFit Tactical Strength in Ft Wayne, Indiana looked like for Week 2.

Week 2 – TUE 5:30am

Warm Up – Squats – 30/20/30  – Initially with bands around our knees, no weights, then we added in a weight bar.  I think.  I was already exhausted by this time and we hadn’t even gotten started.  I remember that we counted.  Out loud.  Together.  And I didn’t want to even do that.

Strength – Box Squats – 10 minutes.  We started with the bar only, 33#s for my group, then did a back squat onto a box (or bench for those of us who are extra tall).  Progressed by adding weights, 10#s each side, 53# total.  The first graphic shows the movement, the second shows the form better on the back half of the movement.  Goal being a good squat and to load the glutes & hamstrings, not the quads.

Sumo Deadlifts – New skill for our newbie class.  Bar only.  Progression on the squat movement.  It was a bit of a struggle for me because I’ve only done traditional deadlifts.  So I wasn’t keeping my feet far enough apart or getting my knees out enough.  Here is a great explanation from PeakPerformance365 on the difference between the two deadlifts.  Graphic below is from the same source.

• Conventional deadlift. Conventional deadlifts place more emphasis on the back and spinal erectors (posterior chain). If you have a very strong lower back there is a good chance that you will be able to deadlift more using a conventional stance. (Body structure will also come into play)
• Sumo deadlift. Sumo deadlifts shift some of the emphasis to glutes, hamstrings, quads, hips and upper traps. If you are experiencing lower back issues, or have a history of lower back problems, sumo deadlifts may be a better option.

Traditional deadlift pictured on the left.  Sumo deadlift on the right. 

Accessory Work – Jump Ropes – Skips – Foot work

Metabolic Conditioning – AMRAP (As Many Rounds As Possible) – 3 min.  10 Sumo Deadlifts, 10 Push Ups.  Rest 1:30, repeat.  Yeah, I was exhausted way before this.  I “lucked out” and got the bigger bar for deadlifts, so that was already 45#s, then I had to add 10#s per side.  Not my idea, ok.  And I didn’t use my words and say this was too much for my ailing body.  My bad.  So I was 65#s with the Sumo Deadlifts and I didn’t do well.

Week 2 – THUR 5:30am

Feeling better today and we are finally starting to move into some real workouts.  I was super happy about our WOD today, or the “Met Con” section as they call it at this box.  This was our 4th class and it’s good to see that we are getting somewhere, slowly but surely. 

Warm Up – 4 Rounds – 10 seconds ea:  Jumping Jacks, Air Squats, Mountain Climbers, Lunges.  All traditional things, only twist was with the Mountain Climbers.  We had to take our forward leg OUTSIDE our arms.  Made it way tougher and very awkward.  Great image from CrossFit Oakgrove below to show the exaggerated movement.

Mobility – Hip Distractions with a slight variation to work on additional flexibility to ankle.

Strength – Push Press.  12 min.  33# bar, progress to 10# weights on each side.  53# total.  Yay, something I recognize!  Graphic below from CrossFit Gardendale.

Metabolic Conditioning – 3 Rounds – AMRAP in 1:30:  Sled Sprint + Max Ring Rows.  Rest 1:30, repeat x3.   Working on anaerobic threshold.  Short burst of intensity to exhaustion and it worked.  I couldn’t breath after pushing the sled.  And I could barely pull myself up for the ring rows.  Plus they wanted us super low on the ring rows so it was even harder.   Sled image first, we used one 25# plate and that was plenty.  I liked this graphic because the lady is pulling her knees up high (like a sprint), which was what we were supposed to be doing.  Ring Rows second, old pic of me at CrossFit New Lenox when I was thinner and stronger.  We were lower today, or supposed to be closer to the ground with out feet out further.  Tough.

And that’s a wrap for Week 2.  So far, I’m super happy.  This is definitely different than what I did at CF New Lenox but it’s good.  The current Endurance course is like a cross between personal training, physical therapy and CrossFit.  We are spending a lot of time now trying to get critical movements to become second nature as our muscles build memory.  After that we can build with more skills, or add onto the basic skills for more complex movements.  I look forward to where we are headed!  How about you?  Crossfit?  Love it or Leave it?

** Trying to Get Strong (AGAIN) ** Amanda – TooTallFritz