Amanda @ 135#

Today was my rest day but I felt the need to work on a few things. I wanted to work on heavy snatches and muscle ups. So, I came up with the idea of doing Amanda @ the men's RX weight. I weighed myself this morning, 138#, so this work out was pretty close to body weight. I played around with false grip vs non-false grip, still finding false grip to be better for me for now.

Let's first talk about the muscle ups: My first set of 9 felt okay, a bit slower than I had planned for but I was not sure how to pace and I didn't want to blow it. After my snatches, I came back to the rings and I flew. Muscle ups never felt better, and I have never been so excited to be back on the rings in a metcon because that's usually the most challenging part for me. My last set felt great, I was able to string a double together and finish off with singles in a timely manner.
The snatches.... they felt heavy today! This is exactly why I wanted to work on them. After muscle ups, which really fatigue my shoulders and core, better form was extremely necessary. In the video you can see me "fighting" for a few snatches, and barely winning. The snatches that were successful were completed with better form. I think to myself "fly the bar up and just get under it" There is too much to think about and if I start thinking about the position, or the deadlift I get thrown off. I wasn't trying to set a PR so perfect form wasn't necessary, just good enough form to sneak under the bar.

I estimated that it would take me about 30 minutes, but my time was a bit longer, I struggled with the snatches more than I thought I would, but it's still cool to be able to complete the work out Men's RX! It's been a while since I did heavy snatches so that's partly why I chose this work out. It was a good test to see how I could do both heavy snatches and muscle ups with a heavy shoulder work out. More consistent practice will help me improve my time in the future. I have only done women's RX at regionals as a team which I think Matt and I completed 17 minutes or so, I'd like to think I could do Amanda at women's RX in a decent time. 8 +/- 1 minute. Muscle ups will be the deciding factor, whereas the snatches in this work out hurt me. I could do 9-7-5 snatches unbroken and last time I did it I did 7-5 unbroken but I had small rests. When I do women's RX, I will probably do 4/5, 7, 5, and muscle ups in doubles or singles. I plan to test this soon, I just need to find the right time to do it (training schedule/attitude: since it is a benchmark I always feel more pressure).

So for today:
9-7-5
Muscle ups
Snatches (135#)

*@ bw 138#
*Female
*21 Years old

This was a good little boost because the past week of training was tough, I didn't do as well as I hoped and school is currently consuming most of my time/energy. I think the video does a good job of demonstrating how the work out almost gets "easier" for me as a go. Yes the reps decrease, but the # of failed attempts also decreases drastically.
I used to dream about snatching 135# just one time. Now I can handle it in a metcon. My current PR is just over 150# so 135# is about 90%...HERE WE GO!!

June 24

I got my wisdom teeth out on Tuesday, so today was my first day back in the gym since Sunday. The surgery itself went really well, I felt fine the day after and I never had any swelling, but my mouth was in pain and since I had stitches I needed to take it easy for a couple days. Sunday's work out I hit a new 3-rep PR in the Split Jerk @ 155# which was pretty cool.
Today I took it easy. I didn't want to have any super hard breathing or do anything that would get my heart rate too high since I had anesthesia on Tuesday.
TRAINING:
A. 5x5 Deadlift
B. 5 rounds
-3 PC @ 135#
-2 Muscle ups
C. One attempt at max reps HSPU (no kip)
RESULTS:
A. 185, 205, 215, 225, 230
B. ub/ub, ub/ub, ub/ub, ub/ub, ub/1/1
no time componenet on part B. I focused on power and trying to do the MU's unbroken. On the 5th set I swung right over the top, but I was too fatigued to catch myself to finish the MU, all other sets were UB.
C. 14 reps. Shoulders felt fatigued and I felt a little weak today.

Skill Practice!

TRAINING:
20 TGU/arm slow and steady
+
Muscle up practice - 10 min
+
DU's; 20 AFAP; rest full recovery to ensure speed/set x 8

RESULTS:
-TGU w/ 26#
-MU practice went super well. I got 3 in a row with a turn out which is a PR so im stoked on that. 4 sets of 2 in a row w/ turn outs. and a few singles
-DU fast and UB sets of 20. Around set 6 I felt a lot less powerful/speedy, and as a result was probably much slower

Overcoming Mental Defeat

So the first part of my work out today was 3 sets of 1,000m row with 5 minutes rest in between. The goal was to go at 90% effort and get the same time each attempt. Nothing about this sounded fun, but I made a commitment to follow OPT programming so I knew I had to do it. I thought about this work out and knew it would test my endurance. Anything that tests my endurance is so hard for me, I always want to just give up. I knew that I could row around a 4:00 1k, but could I do that three times? Would five minutes be enough rest? Sure enough, I was right on point and complete all 3 sets sub 4:00. I definitely feel like all the hill climbs and running I have been doing, in addition to the intensity of my CrossFit training and a healthier diet, have all helped me to improve tremendously on my endurance.
The mental defeat did not stop with the rowing. I knew what was coming my way in Part 2: a chipper that started with 25 Handstand Push-ups, followed by 15 muscle-ups. Umm... HSPU are not a problem but 15 MU's! wow. I thought this work out would take me over an hour to do. I was not excited at all because I thought it would be awful (and somewhat embarassing) to have a very long time. Muscle ups can be less difficult at times, but when a set of 15 is followed by 25 HSPU's I knew my shoulders would already be fatigued. I finished my HSPU's within the first 1:15 of the work out, and muscle ups took me 10 minutes alone. They were extremely challenging, I was catching myself very low. I failed on 2 reps, which is a lot harder on my body than a completed rep, so that caused a lot of frustration. However, the work out went a lot smoother than I had anticipated; I went in with a poor attitude today, but I surprised myself with what I could do.
The bottom line is, "it's not about how good you are, it's how bad you want it". If you set your mind and tell yourself "I can do this", soon enough you'll believe yourself and your mental state becomes reality. Always remember that you truly can do whatever you set your mind to. It is not only difficult to set your goals, but the hardest part is to never give up; you have to overcome mental defeat and work through any challenges or obstacles in your path. Realize that giving up is the easiest thing to do, and anybody can do it. There is nothing admirable about it. In whatever it is that you're passionate about, set goals, stick to them and just know that nothing is easy. People will admire your dedication and hard work, and it will pay off.
I find that it's best to write down your goals. Hold yourself accountable, and maybe grab a friend with similar interests and goals. It is a lot easier to achieve a goal if you have a companion for the journey!
TRAINING:
part 1:
Row 1K @ 90-95%
rest 5 min
Row 1K @ 90-95%
rest 5 min
Row 1K @ 90-95%
(same times/set)
rest 1 hr
Part 2:
for time:
25 HSPU
15 muscle ups
20 thrusters - 135#/95#
30 box jumps - 24/20"
50 GHD sit ups
150 double unders
RESULTS:
Part 1: 3:57.6, 3:57.3, 3:57.9
Part 2: 24:24

I finished my day going for a walk with my beautiful dogs. I didn't take a picture of them today but here is one of my favorite pictures of my dogs: Lucy and Roxy.

Yesterday's Double Day!

Yesterday I did a double day, the first part was OPT and the second part was running in the mountains.
TRAINING
Part 1:
50 TGU light and slow - 25/side
+
10 min Muscle Up practice - work on weakness
+
AMRAP triple unders in 1 min
rest 1 min x 4
Part 2:
Hill climbs 80-120 sec x6

RESULTS:
Part 1:
-TGU completed with 26# in sets of 2-5 per side
-MU prac went great. Easiest muscle ups. Worked on the turn out with false grip and played around with nonfalse grip but I found false grip to be a lot easier, without the false grip I catch myself pretty low then just pop my arms into the turn over position, so I'll stick with flash grip! Completed about 15 total, no fails!
-triple unders, unsuccessful. I was close on 90% of them but my feet always hit right before the rope
Part 2:
Complete. I felt great! The longer hill climbs were definitely challenging but I felt energized and was able to push myself pretty hard. I had a great time out there with Kimber and Johnny! Thanks again Kimber for pushing me and filming me :)

11.4

Today I did 11.4 again. I tied my score of 93 reps from Thursday. I had a much tougher time with the work out today; my legs burnt, I felt a little winded, and my shoulders were fatigued. I was hoping to better my score, but I am still happy with 93 reps. This work out was a good one for me. Burpees were slow, OHS were heavy, and muscle ups take a lot of skill and strength. I was happy to see a heavy ohs come up. The muscle ups will separate a lot of the competitors, so I am happy I was able to get in a few reps! We held a friendly competition/event at CrossFit Cadence for our gym, CrossFit Moxie, and Brethren CrossFit. I came in first place in the event which I was excited about. It was a great event, lots of energy and support from all three gyms, and thank you to everyone who came out.
Here's a video of today's first heat.

Third Time's the Charm

Today I redid 11.4 for the 3rd time. The first two times I did the work out I completed 90 reps but was not able to get any muscle ups. I tried to do them without the false grip, and it was frustrating because I was hoping for muscle ups to show up in the Open, and when they did, I wasn't able to do any. I felt like I was pathetic, and I was a little embarrassed that I had done so much talk but wasn't able to perform when the time finally came. I know a lot of the athletes will be tied at 90 reps, but knowing that I can and have done work outs with muscle ups, I was determined to get over 90 reps before the deadline.

Each attempt at 11.4 has gotten better; the first work out, the ohs killed me and I had barely any time to attempt one muscle up. Yesterday, the burpees did not wind me, and my ohs felt stronger than ever. I had about 1 minute and 20 sec to try two muscle ups, both which i failed. Today was finally a better day. I completed my burpees faster than previous attempts, and my ohs felt strong (took 2-3 minutes), I set myself up in a great position for muscle ups. I had over 2 minutes; so I was able to rest for about 20 second before getting my first one! I completed 3 reps, and just barely failed my fourth. The false grip definitely helped me out. I had strayed away from the false grip because the turn out is so difficult for me to hold, but I used tons of chalk and just gripped the rings and told myself "this is it". I am stoked, although I may try just once more on Saturday in a competition/event type of atmosphere at Crossfit Cadence but at least now the pressure to get even a single muscle up is finally gone, and I can stop thinking about the work out... at least til Saturday!

11.4
RESULTS:
60 (bar facing burpees) + 30 (ohs@90#) + 3 Muscle Ups= 93 reps

Back To Training

TRAINING:

Part 1:
A1. Power Snatch - 2-3 x 3; rest 20 sec
A2. Max Vertical Jump - 2-3 x 3; rest 4 min
(10 sec b/t attempts)
B. Power Snatch x 1/Snatch Balance x 2/OHS x 3; rest 2 min x 3
C1. KBS heavy x 6; rest 10 sec
C2. Knee Tucks - 6 rebounding tucks; rest 2 min x 3

rest 6+ hours

Part 2:
5 sets @ 97%:
10 hang squat clean - 95#/65#
10 burpees
10 chin ups
10 burpees
35 double unders
rest only through breathing; no activity 5 min b/t sets

RESULTS:

Part 1:
A1. 105# (x3), 110# (x3), 115# (x1) failed 2 and 3
A2: done
B. All sets at 115#
C1: all sets w/ 2 pood
C2: done
I'm excited to finally power snatch 115#! I couldn't even squat snatch 115# a few months ago. I have eliminated my early arm bend in my snatch and clean, but now I need to work on the bar position in both. The bar is always too far in front of me, so I end up jumping a few inches forward during the lift in order to "chase" the bar. In my snatch I also hit the bar off my thighs, and I need to work on bringing the bar back into my hips and us the power from my hip pocket rather than my thigh area.

Part 2:
I decided to do 11.4 as my second work out of the day. It may not have been the smartest idea considering I did heavy squat snatches yesterday, and snatch/ohs work this morning. I killed myself earlier this morning during the am training but I decided that sometimes I have "bad muscle-up days" and I did not want to have a bad day on Saturday and have it be my only shot, so I tried 11.4 today, and plan to re-do it Saturday.
11.4
AMRAP 10 min
-60 burpees (facing the bar, jump over)
-30 OHS @ 90#
-10 Muscle-Ups

I finished all the burpees and OHS but failed my MU. I was irritated that I didn't get my muscle up so I retried it 5 minutes later and was able to do one. My plan for Saturday is to move faster during the burpees and OHS so I will hopefully have more time to rest before I attempt (and hopefully get) a muscle up, but we'll see what happens!

Muscle Ups!

Training
part 1:
run about 2 miles

rest 6+ hours

part 2:
A. Hang Power Clean - 3 x 3 @ 80% effort; rest 2 min
B. AMRAP Muscle Ups; rest 3 min x 4
C. Row 2K - if feelin it, go for it, if not, back off

Results:
A. HPC @ 130#
B. Muscle Up practice (no false grip)
C. 8:21 (ave 2:05/500)

Today was my first time getting a muscle up without the false grip. I am excited to finally be able to do it. Right now they do not seem any easier than a muscle up with the false grip, but with practice I am confident that they will become easier and more efficient in a work out.

HPC/ NO FALSE GRIP MU'S from Chelsea Ryan on Vimeo.

Muscle Up/ Butterfly Pull-up Practice

Today was a rest day so I decided to use this time to practice my muscle ups and butterfly pull-ups. My muscle ups were going well a few weeks ago, I felt light and strong; I was able to string a couple in a row with a full turn out but I ended up over working my arms and experienced unbearable pain around my elbow joint for a few weeks. I decided to get back on the rings today to make sure I can still do muscle ups. The good news is I was still able to do them (and without pain), but the bad news is I was only able to string two in a row one time today (I did not get it on camera).
Butterfly pull-ups are another exercise I need to work on. I finally figured out how to do them, now I just need to keep practicing so I can string more than 5 or so together. Below is a video of a few of my muscle ups, as well as my butterfly pull-up practice (the butterfly pull-ups continue to get better through out the video so it is kind of cool to watch).

MU/Butterfly PU Practice from Chelsea Ryan on Vimeo.