The Importance of Proper Fuel

Every Tuesday and Thursday I wake up and head to the gym to work out around 7am. After I work out I teach a class, and after that I go out on the trails and either do hill repeats or a longer run. My main concern is getting enough food in me before I hit the trails because I am usually not done with my "morning" until 12:30pm... which is 5 and a half hours after I started my first work out. In the morning, I usually work out on an empty stomach then have a protein shake with post work out carbs to try and get in as many calories as possible, and during the time I teach class I will usually eat a banana and a Perfect Foods Bar from Whole Foods. On my runs I bring some type of goo or cliff-blocks to take with me as a source of electrolytes and a quick little boost.
It never really hit me until today that I was not properly fueling myself prior to my runs. I was always getting light headed and tired quickly, and sometimes I would even start to see stars. My body would always fall apart and sometimes my brain would be telling myself to run, but my legs just couldn't turn anymore. I thought it was just dehydration and the high summer temperatures, but today I tried something a little different. I went to work out at 6:30am which gave me time to go out to breakfast and get a whole meal before teaching. By the time I had taught my class, my food did not feel heavy in my stomach and I felt ready to hit the trails. I wasn't cramming in snacks to try and get calories, instead I was able to have a complete, well-balanced breakfast. Today was the best I have ever felt and the best performance I have ever had on the trails. I ran 6.8 miles of single track mountain trails and I felt fantastic. The power of proper fuel is amazing.

Here is my OPT training for the day.

TRAINING:
A. Clean - build to a tough single in 10 min
B. Press - 5,5,5; rest 2 min
+
5 sets:
1 rope ascent - 20' legless
5 TnG Jerk - 155#/100#
6 x 24" box jump overs
Airdyne 20 sec @ 100%
rest 6 min actively
RESULTS:
A. 175#
B. 75#, 80#, 85#
+
:55
:56
1:02
1:01
1:01
*Rope was 14 or 15'
First time climbing a rope legless. I loved the challenge. These work outs are tough and continue to kick my ass every single day.

Baby, I'm Back.

My break didn't last long. I think I went about it all wrong. I forgot that training is my favorite thing to do, although stepping away from intense training for a week was probably a good idea, so that my body could rest. Mentally it may have not been the smartest choice. I felt somewhat lost without structure to my day, and I know I was not fun to be around. Anyways, I'm back, and now onto off season training.
Today's WOD was from CrossFit Cadence.
TRAINING:
Part 1:
5 rounds:
- 30 sec handstand hold
- 1 split jerk
*rest as needed bt rounds

Part 2:

For time:
- 1k row
- 30 box hops (20")
- 60 pullups
- 30 box hops
- 1k row

RESULTS:
Part 1: Loads @ 135#, 140#, 145#, 150#, 155#
Part 2: 18:39
I felt great on box jumps, better than I ever have before probably because I am pretty light right now since I haven't worked out in a while. However, it has been a long time since I've done pull-ups. I tried to keep a consistent pace with 3-7 reps at a time, with minimal rest in between sets. Last row was really slow.
Feels good to be back.

Getting Ready for 11.3!

TRAINING:

part 1:

A. Press - build to a tough single in no more than 5 sets from empty bar - rest as needed

B. Push Press - build to an easy triple in 3 sets max - rest as needed

C. Split Jerk - build to a tough single in no more than 5 sets max - rest as needed

rest 6+ hours

part 2:

5 sets:

Row 350 m @ 95% effort

breathe 10 times

30 unbroken back extensions

rest 5 min actively walking

Results:

part 1:

A. 95#, 115# (f), 105#, 110# (f)

B. Misread directions; I built up to a heavy single Push Press: 125#, 135#, 145#, 150# (f)x 2

C. 160#, 170#, 175# (failed behind)

*145# is a Push-Press PR! 170# is a tied PR for my Split Jerk but this time it felt and looked a lot better. My arms were fully extended in the bottom of my dip, I did not press the weight out. I felt like I had forgotten what I was doing, then all of a sudden I had 170# above my head in what is probably one of my best split jerks I have ever done at a heavy weight.

(No time for a rest between part 1 & part 2 today, did them back-to-back)

part 2:

350m time/ ave pace per 500m

1. 1:12.8/ 1:44

2. 1:12.5/ 1:43.6

3. 113.7/ 145.3

4. 113.4/ 1:44.9

5. 114.3/ 1:46.2

*All back ext unbroken. Lower back and hamstrings are on fire. I cannot sit comfortable while I type this!

Heavy Jerks, C2B Pull-Ups, Double Unders!

Training:
A. Split Jerk - build to a tough double; rest as needed
B. 15 CTB chin ups; rest 90 sec x 3
C. 20 unbroken DU's; rest 30 sec x 5
Results:
A. Split Jerk. Worked up to 160# x2 and then did a single at 170# which is a PR!
B. Completed, my sets were not unbroken, C2B is much more difficult than COVP
C. Completed 5 unbroken rounds, but I had a lot of trip ups so it took me around 10 tries to get 5 unbroken rounds.

I still need to work on dropping under the weight and not having it out in front of me. I am happy I got a PR at 170#, but I think I got lucky because it was in front of me, and I pressed it to lock it out. Now my max Split Jerk is equal to my max Clean, although they both have a lot of room for improvement.

DT

DT @105#
5 Rounds
-12 Deadlifts
-9 Hang Power Cleans
-6 Shoulder to Overhead

5/19/10 15:48
3/3/11 12:19
3/20/11 10:56 (today)

This work out was tough after yesterday's demanding grip work out. The weight became heavy very early on. My goal was around 10 mins, hopefully next time I will be closer.


DT from Chelsea Ryan on Vimeo.

Jerk Practice

Today I did 5 sets of a 500m sprint on the rower which absolutely killed me. My legs were on fire!!
After I worked on my split jerk. I was going to just practice my form with light weight, but I was feeling good so I decided, after a little light-weight practice, to add some weight. I did 135x2 and 155x1 which both felt very easy. My PR is 165# so I decided to see if I could set a new PR of 170#. Unfortunately, I failed a few times, but I think 170# is something I am capable of with a little more confidence and a little more practice. The things I need to work on are a quicker dip, keeping the bar closer to me, and getting comfortable with dropping under heavy weight. My splits at 135# look okay, but the second I add more weight, I seem to barely do a split at all. Here's a quick video of today's practice.

Jerk Practice from Chelsea Ryan on Vimeo.


PM Training
From http://optimumtraining.ca/blog

A. mixed grip chin ups wtd @ 21X0; 2-3 x 4; rest 3 min

B. amrap strict chin ups - COVP - pronated medium grip - 1 attempt

C. back extensions @ 1010; 20 x 3; rest 2 min

D. 30 sec AMRAP DU's; rest 30 sec x 8

A. 20#x 3, 20#x3, 25#x2, 25#x2
B. 6
C. Unbroken
D. 34, 45, 29, 39, 40, 39, 36, 34

Work Outs

 March 8, 2011


Part 1:
4 min max DU's: 183
3 min max Box jump 20": 60
2 min max GHD: 42
1 min max reps powerclean 65#: 21


Part 2:
Deadlifts and strict ring dips 5x5 alt sets
DL loads: 205, 225, 235, 240, 245 (x4)


Part 3:
30 power snatches (isabel) @ 95# 
then immediately 
5 rounds of
-15 GHD
-6 Ring dips
-10 lateral hop burpees


snatches done at 6:27 total 21:17


 March 7, 2011
a1. Strict press x1/Push Press x2/ Split Jerk x 3
a2. 10 chest to bar pull-ups


alt a1 and a2, 3 sets


set 1: 90#, ub
set 2: 100#, ub
set 3: 110#, ub


110# was a strict press pr


Wod:
1,000m row
40 wall ball (14#/10ft)
750 m row
30 wallball
500 m row
20 wall ball
250 m row
10 wallball


18:56


March 6, 2011


3x10 back squats
145, 155, 165