WOD

Todays workout killed my legs, it took over two hours to complete somehow. No matter how hard I try, I can't get my workouts under an hour. And yes, I know that growth hormone decreases drastically after an hour and cortisol shoots up.

I did 5x5 of back squats and deadlifts, a little WOD, and some farmers walks.

Back Squat:
1: 135          2: 145               3:145                4: 145              5: 155

Deadlift:
1: 155         2: 165                3: 175                4: 175            5: 185

It's really weird that my 5 RM was so close for my deads and back squats. My deads should be far stronger than my back squats.

Then I did 4 rounds ( I had planned on five then shortened it) of:

10 OH squats ( 55 lbs)
15 full power burpees
20 lunges holding a 45 lb plate overhead
20 bench step ups with bar on back ( 55 lbs)

Then I did some uniltateral farmers walks with a 45 lb plate. Doing it unilaterally really works on keeping that scapula retracted and KILLS YOUR ABS.

I'm excited to see how sore my legs will be tomorrow :)

INSPIRED

Apart from thinking that I had mumps, this weekend has completely affirmed my career choice and inspired me. I took a course on assessment and program design by Kevin Darby and I feel sooo educated! At first I felt sort of depressed when I realized just HOW MUCH knowledge there is out there, but then I got excited, because the possibilities are endless.

I realized that the way I've been training the past few months has been completely retarded. Yes, crossfit has its time and place when DONE CORRECTLY. But I was not doing it correctly. Doing 100 snatches is great, once a year, and when you're form is perfect. It's no wonder that my body was falling apart. So tonight Im creating a whole new program for myself that focuses on re-mastering technique at lower loads, grooving the pattern neurologically, and then adding load and intensity. I want to be doing this for the rest of my life, I don't want to  lose my shoulder in 2 years. One thing that this course reaffirmed for me was my strengths, and to focus on those. I'm good at Olympic lifting, I picked it up extremely quickly, my potential in it is big, and I like it. So why not?!?! And it's got a high badass factor right? When I say Olympic Lifting, most people look at you like, "what the hell is that", and once you explain that it's a form of excercise not related to pilates they turn their noses up at you :)          Always a great feeling

When I see my clients tomorow I can't wait to properly assess them. I admit, some of the stuff I had in their programs I might find out is completely awful for them to do. But hopefully assessing them correctly and with knowledge will lead to more effective and safe results for long term health.

So here's to education! :)

Back at it

Fricking 10 by 5's, they're grueling. I am so used to 3 reps, not 10. Today was 5 sets, 10 reps of jerks and snatches each.

Snatch: 10 reps
Set 1 (65 lbs) Set 2 (65 lbs) Set 3 (70 lbs) Set 4 (70 lbs) Set 5 (70 lbs)

The reason my weight was so low on these was because I killed myself with too many deadlifts yesterday, so any sort of deadlift motion was hindered---> like half the snatch movement

Jerks: 10 reps
Set 1 ( 65 lbs) Set 2 ( 70 lbs) Set 3 (75 lbs) Set 4 (80 lbs) Set 5 (85 lbs)

The weight looks really low, but try doing it continuous for 10 reps, it is not easy!!

I had some protein pancakes for breakfast, and now im cooking some chicken and ribs for lunch at work. I hope everyone has a great day! I know that I will :)

Day 1

Today was Day 1 of training again. Although I'm not competing for the upcoming contest I was originally a part of, I am instead training for a contest a few months away that I'm going to kill my past team in. Muahahahahahaha.


So today my best friend Karen and I did 5 sets of 10 reps of clean and jerks and bench press. When you're so used to doing 3-5 reps of things, throwing in 10 rep sets really really kills you. It also doesn't help that we didn't have chalk, but anyhow, here are my stats.

Clean n Jerk:
Set 1 ( 75lbs x 10) Set 2 (85 lbs x 10) Set 3( 85 lbs x 10) Set 4 (85 lbs x10) Set 5 (95 lbs x10)

Bench Press: 
Set 1 (65 lbs x 10) Set 2 ( 75 lbs x 10) Set 3 ( 80 lbs x 10) Set 4 ( 85 lbs x 10) Set 5 (85 lbs x 10)

WOD:
8 ROUNDS ( 20 cal row, 10 pushups with hand release, 15 full power burpees). By the fifth round is when you really start hating yourself for recommending 10 rounds, but then feel grateful that you're teammate negotiated it down to 8.

It felt nice to lift some moderately heavy weights again. Tomorrow should be a leg day, I just haven't thought what I'll do yet!

Talk to you guys later :)

Murphy's Law

After a string of really bad days, I thought that the sun was really starting to shine when new and amazing people came into my life. And then I think I hit rock bottom: because of some gym politics I am no longer training with my crossfit team, and I am no longer working at my previous restaurant job. Although I feel slightly relieved at the latter, the first change is very upsetting.

I will continue to train by myself and go to the challenge in January solo, what better way to train then with the idea of killing your past teammates in competition (Karen excluded) :)

On the job side, yes, it sucks, and yes, I might have to pound the pavement to find a waitress job on the side, but it's mighty refreshing. Some jobs just weigh you down and make you miserable with their toxic environments. You want to work somewhere where you are constantly bettering yourself and around people that bring out the best in you. I am not settling for anything less than that anymore.

Sometimes you need some bad shit to happen in order to get your ass into gear and focus on the stuff that really matters and makes you happy.

So goodbye crappy job, goodbye crossFit team, and helllllo happppy Marianne!

Apples n Bacon: A marriage made in heaven

I bought a great paleo cookbook the other day and it totally inspired me! Sometimes that's all you need!

Unfortunately, this new-found inspiration didn't have such a positive effect on my kitchen.

First up was a pulled chicken crockpot recipe, it looks disgusting, but it's a party in my mouth!

Pulled Chicken:

2 chicken breasts, cut up into pieces
1 can diced tomatoes, no added salts or herbs
1 red onion diced
4 carrots, diced
2 green onions, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 handful mushrooms, diced
1 zucchini, sliced
1 tbsp chili powder
S & P to taste


Combine all ingredients into a slow cooker and cook! I had it on all night and I had the weirdest meat dreams. I won't be doing that again.


I also added 2 lamb sausages in there crumbled up. Mighty tasty.

Next up, I mixed some berries, watermelon, and nuts in a bowl for an easy pre-workout snack. Or as an addition to some protein for breakfast.

Next, a super amazing salad that I ate in 2 minutes, so ignore the photos; there wasn't much left to take a picture of.

Super Delicious Paleo Salad:


3 handfuls spinach
1 red bell pepper, diced
1/2 cucumber, diced
1 avocado, diced
3 hardboiled eggs, diced
5 slices bacon, cooked and diced
1 large granny smith apple, sliced, skin on


Dressing:


1 tbsp dijon
2 tbsp olive oil
5 tbsp paleo mayo
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
S&P to taste
1 stalk green onions, diced


One more thing that I made where I didn't take a picture because I ate it too fast was "Paleo Workout Pancakes":


1 ripe banana, mashed
2 tbsp almond butter
2 eggs
1 scoop whey powder


Mix well and fry in coconut oil! So delicious. I ate these cold during my workout, and a bit after. The banana replaces your glycogen, and the whey helps prevent you from going catabolic.


Here is an excerpt from the above mentioned book:
"The food that you eat before a workout is to fuel your body for the even it's about to do. This type of fuel needs to be light, relatively quick asimilating, and produce a lower insulin response to avoid a spike in hormones and thus a crash during your workout. A meal that contains some good fat (avocado, flax oil, seeds, nuts), lean protein ( tuna, white meat chicken and turkey, tilapia) , and low glycemic carbs is best ( berries, apple, citrus). Once you have completed an athletic event, it is extremely important to refuel your body and provide it with the necessary ingredients to recover. During a long or intense workout, your body uses its glycogen storage and breaks down muscle fibers. Your job postworkout is to supply your body with the necessary building blocks to reconstruct muscle and store glycogen once again. The two food groups that are most useful at this time are protein and carbs. Additionally, it might be necessary to rehydrate and replace losts electrolytes. A meal containing a lean protein source and a higher-glycemic carb (sweet potato, apple sauce, mango, melon, grapes)  is a perfect recovery meal. Fat, post-workout is not necessary and is best left for a meal two or mroe hours after the post-workout meal."



Talk tomorrow!

Sorry it's taken me so long. I feel like I've had absolutely no rest time. My cortisol is through the roof, i'm not sleeping enough, and my training is going backwards. I'm dedicating today, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday to full fledged rest from excercise. Unfortunately I'll be working like a maniac anyways, but, it's better than nothing.

Yesterday I did a 20 min WOD with a co-worker, and I almost made him throw up: 4 rounds (20 cal row, 10 clean and jerks (75 lbs), 15 pushups). Then I finished it off with some traditional shoulder work ( 4 sets 6 reps of shoulder press (30 lb dumbbells), 4 sets of 8 reps of front raises (15 lb dumbells), and some dumbell snatches, 4 sets 8 reps (40 lb dumbbells).

I probably shouldn't have done shoulders yesterday since I'm showing some people how to use Kettelbells tomorrow, but I'm still young right?! I'll load up on BCAA's and fish oil.

I made some delicious meals in the last few days. I don't have time now, but I'll post the pictures and recipes later tonight!

Bye :)