sticktoitiveness

W.O.D.
100 Wall Walks


For some reason I didn't think it would be so difficult. Half way through the first one I was just sure I could not complete the whole 100 reps. No way no how. Not happening. Your entire body weight on your hands is way heavier than I imagined.. So I just took it one at a time. One... Two... Three... How far can I go... I decided to do 25 wall walks and call it a day. As I got to 25, I figured "Ok, do 50 and be happy to have done half the workout. I'm already halfway there." At 50 reps I was delighted to be half way done and ended up doing the entire 100 reps as called for. All it really took was some serious sticktoitiveness.

sticktoitiveness: noun;

dogged perseverance; resolute tenacity

WALL WALKS:

Begin in an elevated Push Up position with feet against wall

Walk feet up wall simultaneously walking hands to wall

Until you are in a vertical handstand position

Walk feet and hands back to starting position.
That is one repetition.

Never Get Bored

Today I did a WOD (Workout Of the Day) that consisted entirely of monostructural modalities (i.e., "aerobic / cardio"):
Run 1 mile
Row 2 kilometers
Run 1 mile

This was the mainsite (www.crossfit.com) WOD from 2 days ago... I fell behind on my schedule and wanted to catch up. In particular I made myself make-up that WOD because I hate to run.. if that makes sense (?!)


At the same time my husband who is a stickler for regimen and rarely falls behind on the mainsite schedule did today's prescribed WOD:
10 sets of 2 bench presses for a total of 20 heavy bench presses.


Simultaneously my step son (who is the furthest thing from a stickler for regimen) was making up the WOD that I did yesterday, which he missed:
50 weighted backsquats + 5 fifteen foot rope climbs
40 weighted backsquats + 4 fifteen foot rope climbs
30 weighted backsquats + 3 fifteen foot rope climbs
20 weighted backsquats + 2 fifteen foot rope climbs
10 weighted backsquats + 1 fifteen foot rope climbs
adding 10 - 20 pounds of weight to the barbell each round so that as the number of reps goes down, the weight on your back gets heavier

                                                                                                         [PHOTO: David just finishing his bench presses (20 x 215 lbs) and Cody on his 14th rope climb]

As I coached and cheered my stepson on to his own personal finish line I marveled at the constant variety that CrossFit offers, and how, after over a solid year of CrossFit WODs, I never get bored.  

Evidence Based Fitness

"CrossFit believes that meaningful statements about 

safety, efficacy, and efficiency, the three most important 

and interdependent facets of any fitness program, can be 

supported only by measurable, observable, repeatable 

facts, i.e., data. We call this approach evidence-based 

fitness”. 

- CrossFit Training Guide, page 2

Today I experienced, once again, CrossFit's empirical methodology. 

The WOD (Workout Of the Day):

Run 1 mile

Row 2 K

Run 1 mile

I started off at an easy pace. I did the run through my neighborhood, which is rural. Very rural. About 1/4 mile out my dog got attacked by a pack of dogs. I had to detour and chase the wild dogs off before continuing on my run. Then I got onto the row. It was my first time on my new rower. It took a moment to figure out the control panel. After the row I had to search around the garage to find the mace I often carry when running. Then I hit the road again. And by "road" I mean rocky dirt and gravel with hills. 

By the time I finished the WOD and hit the stop watch I had completely resolved that I would just have a poor time/score for my records and be happy with the fact that at least I got in a workout today. Last time I did this same workout I ran a loop around a quiet neighborhood that was mostly flat, paved, and with little to no traffic & the rower was one I used often and was very comfortable with. 

I wrote down my sorry time/score for today, then looked up the last time I had done the same workout 5 months ago with premium conditions and had given it my all..  and guess what -- I actually bettered my time/score by almost 2 minutes without even trying and including all those distractions. What a great feeling! 


If that's not empirical evidence of improvement in fitness then I don't know what is.

PULL UPS

Today's workout called for 20 consecutive pull ups.   {CrossFit pull ups means full extension ~arms all the way strait at the bottom~ and chin over the bar at the top.}   No problem. But not always the case... 

I used not to be able to do pull ups. Not one.. single.. pull.. up.. no.. way.. 

So if you think that you can't do pull ups, well, I am here to tell tell you that you can. My belief is that there is only one way to really train to do pull ups - it's by doing pull ups. I used resistance bands to develop the skill. I started with a heavy band that took 85/50 pounds off my body weight, then switched to a lighter band that took 35/50 pounds off, then switched between the light band and jumping pull ups until I learned kipping pull ups. I can do a few strict/dead hang pull ups now but I do kipping pull ups most of the time.

The photo above shows 2 people using the green heavier bands taking off 50-85 pounds of their body weight and 2 people using the purple bands taking off 35-50 pounds off f their body weight. 

This particular workout included 150 pull ups.

Today's WOD (Workout Of the Day) 9/22/10 

For time:
25 Walking lunge steps
20 Pull-ups
50 Box jumps, 20 inch box
20 Double-unders
25 Ring dips
20 Knees to elbows
30 Kettlebell swings, 2 pood
30 Sit-ups
20 Hang squat cleans, 35 pound dumbells
25 Back extensions
30 Wall ball shots, 20 pound ball
3 Rope climb ascents

www.crossfit.com

****Pull up bands come in many different sizes, the lightest take 5/25 pounds off your body weight and the heaviest take 80/200 pounds of your weight off. If you are heavier and need more assistance, bands can be doubled up to multiply their weight assistance value. 

 

Weighted Pull Ups

Yesterday's workout called for weighted pull ups... because regular pull ups aren't difficult enough?! 


Less than a year ago I could not do one single pull up, let alone adding weight. Today I did it.. with weight. It took some figuring out. I tried to do the W.O.D. (workout of the day) as recommended, with a dumbbell between my crossed feet but that didn't work out because I have to do what's called "kipping" in order to get myself up over that bar. Kipping is basically swinging my body forward before arching back then up over the bar. It is a bit more dynamic and gymnastic looking than what we're used to seeing in a strict or dead hang pull up. At first I kept dropping the dumbbell from my ankles so I ended up putting it in a backpack. I've come a long way baby.. 

             

Today's W.O.D. (workout of the day) from www.CrossFit.com was: 
15 thrusters 15 weighted pull ups 
12 thrusters 12 weighted pull ups 
9 thrusters 9 weighted pull ups

What is it about CrossFit

WHAT IS CROSSFIT?

Text book answer: Constantly varied functional movement performed at high intensity. What does this mean? It means that several days a week I go into the gym or my garage and do really quick short fun work outs that are different every single day. fun? yes. FUN 
I get the workouts off the mainsite : www.CrossFit.com 
check it out

RESULTS. GUARANTEED. 
What more do you want

If you are dissatisfied with spending several hours a week at your regular gym and not getting the results you want, rejoice. I guarantee you results with CrossFit and here is the good news: Most of the workouts are under 20 minutes. No joke. But it's not easy. For that 20 minutes you will work your a$$ off! That is why the results are so astounding, because of the INTENSITY of the workouts. (Long story short, working out really really hard for short periods of time triggers your metabolic engines, and releases hormones.. that causes muscle growth and fat to burn. It also triggers "happy" feelings hormones too :) It almost doesn't matter what you do as long as you do it with maximum intensity. That is where you will gain your results. I PROMISE YOU.




Can I do it? 

Can I (you) do it? YES. Everyone can do it. The work outs are scaled to each person's individual ability. For example one of the components in some of the work outs are box jumps. Say the WOD (workout of the day) calls for 50 box jumps. Here is how I would scale that. An elite athlete would do all 50 of the box jumps onto a high 30" box. Myself, I will do all 50 of them but onto a 24" box. If you are pretty fit yet it's your first time I would probably have you do 25 jumps onto a 20" box. If it has been awhile since you have worked out and want to ease into it or if you are rehabilitating from an injury then I will have you do 20 reps (instead of 50) to a 12" box and just step up rather than jump; or if you are much older and have not worked out in years you can step onto a 4" box just 10 times to get started. So yes, everyone & anyone can do CrossFit! 



What is a workout like?

CrossFit typically has two basic formulas for their workouts. 
"Time Priorities" and "Task Priorities" 
Time priorities go like this: you are given a certain amount of time, as well as a task, and you do that task as many times as possible inside of that time frame. For example: there is a workout named "Cindy" where you do: 5 pull ups, 10 push ups and 15 squats. That is one round. You have 20 minutes to do as many rounds as possible. (side note: If you think you can't do pull ups I have news for you - you can. And I will prove it to you no matter who you are :)
Task Priority is like this: you are given a certain task. For example: there is a workout named "Jackie" where you: Row 1000 meters, do 50 Thrusters, then 30 Pull-ups. You do this as fast as possible. 
Then you write down how many rounds you got done for your "Cindy" workout or how long it took you to do the "Jackie" workout. The cool thing is that we come back to these workouts every month or two and you will be amazed to see that next time you do "Cindy" you get in another round. Or that you shaved 45 seconds off your "Jackie" time. We also lift weights and you will be pleased to discover that you can lift heavier weights and/or do more reps each time. This is a real measured, empirical way of tracking results and this is also why CrossFit became known as the "sport of fitness." You get hard evidence of your own results not only on the scale and in the mirror but you will see an improvement in your work capacity and efficiency. The beauty is that you don't have to compete against anyone else (unless you want to ;) but yourself. 



CrossFit has changed my life. It has given me physicality on a level I did not know I could attain: strength, stamina, speed, agility, and endurance.. I eat well, I sleep well, I get few headaches, and I feel way less stress than ever. I haven't been very sick in years. Of course it has made me a better stunt woman; but more importantly, it has made me feel younger, healthier, happier, and it reminds me daily how to access my tenacity, perseverance, and inner strength. 

I hope you will GO FOR IT :)