CrossFit Lifting Competition Denver hot crossfit chick

CrossFit: Just When You Begin to Wonder Why You Continue

by crossfitmomm, posted in CrossFit

It’s been all I can do to keep up with my CrossFit for the last few months. Every day it seems has been a challenge just to get it done. Between being sore all the time and my run still not where it needs to be, I’ve been questioning again why.

Until yesterday when I crushed DT.

DT is a CrossFit Hero Workout I’ve done before.  It’s insanely hard and is a test of strength.

CrossFit Hero WOD DT is 5 Rounds for time of:

  • 12 Deadlifts 105 lbs
  • 9 hang power cleans
  • 6 push jerks

It’s always been the hang power cleans in the CrossFit Hero Workout at 105 lbs that have gotten me.

Yesterday, I did this CrossFit workout with no expectations. Then I cut 7 minutes off my previous time. It gave me hope that all this work is doing something because most of the time I feel like I’m wasting my time.

After 3 1/2 years of doing CrossFit, it’s rare when you PR it seems. But yesterday I did. And it was a PR that meant something.

CrossFit Competition Arcanum Games hot crossfit chick running

CrossFit: I’m in It to Do It, Not to Win It

by crossfitmomm, posted in CrossFit

So as I was doing CrossFit Hero Workout Luke, I realized I would set no record. I’m still not recovered from running injuries so my runs all suck. I just can’t go above a jog most days. But, I needed a long workout, and I needed to run.

At this point I realized everything in CrossFit for me is mental. Sure, there are things I can’t do physically, but after 3 1/2 years of CrossFit, it’s hard just to do it any more. That’s why for me, victory is in the doing, not in the setting a good time or beating others. I save that for CrossFit competitions, but even those sometimes I’m not in it to win it.

I’m in it to do it. That’s all I can do right now. And I’m happy with that.

CrossFit Hero WOD Luke

by crossfitmomm, posted in CrossFit Workouts

I did CrossFit Hero WOD Luke today. I hadn’t done a Hero WOD since Murph, so it was time. Named for Marine Staff Sgt. Leon H. Lucas Jr. who died Aug. 1, 2011, in Helmand Province, Afghanistan.

The CrossFit Hero WOD is:

  • 400 m run
  • 15 clean and jerks 105 lb for women, 155 for men
  • 400 m run
  • 30 toes to bar
  • 400 me run
  • 45 wall balls
  • 400 m run
  • 45 kettlebell swings
  • 400 m run
  • 30 ring dips
  • 400 m run
  • 15 lunges at 105 lb for women, 155 for men
  • 400 m run

Just under an hour for me (I still don’t have my run back after having problems since March), this was an excellent workout with relatively easy moves, except for the heavy barbell. Highly recommended, and a great way to honor those who’ve sacrificed for our freedoms.

 

 

hot crossfit chick doing Handstand Push Ups at CrossFit Competition in Colorado

CrossFit: DOMS is Real

by crossfitmomm, posted in CrossFit

DOMS or delayed onset muscle soreness is real. DOMS is the soreness felt after working out, and it usually sets in 24 to 72 hours after your workout. No one is sure exactly what causes DOMS, except for the fact that you’re injured your muscles and they are repairing (which is how you get stronger).

Today, I feel worse than yesterday after my three-day CrossFit competition over the weekend. My lats, my core, and my arms mainly. My legs were sore at the beginning of the competition, but the last two days of the CrossFit competition were arm-heavy exercises, and I’m definitely feeling it.

The thing with DOMS is you just have to endure it; there’s not much you can do to help it. It hurt to sneeze yesterday, and I couldn’t scratch my back. We’ll see how today goes.

hot crossfit chick doing burpees at crossfit competition colorado

CrossFit Competition: Arcanum Mile High Games

by crossfitmomm, posted in CrossFit Competitions

This weekend, my daughter and I embarked on a three-day CrossFit competition in Glendale, CO. It was the Arcanum Games, and let’s just say it was an experience. First off, we had the weather to contend with. It was cold, rainy, and with lightning and thunder, there were multiple rain delays. Hence, some of the workouts were changed to accommodate the weather.

Overall, it was a good competition. Working out at a CrossFit competition in the pouring rain was definitely an experience. Beside the fact I probably won’t be able to walk on Monday, it was fun.

Some highlights of the CrossFit Competition Arcanum Games:

  • I did 15 OHS at 95 lbs.
  • I ran on a TrueForm runner.
  • I worked out in the rain.
  • I lifted in a firehouse.
  • I handstand walked over 50 feet.

A three-day CrossFit competition definitely takes its toll. The third day you just showed up and did the workouts. You’re sore, tired, and mentally drained. There’s really no thought behind it.

 

CrossFit Hero WOD: Murph at Home

by crossfitmomm, posted in CrossFit Workouts

Memorial Day weekend is a very special weekend in the CrossFit community. It’s a weekend where almost all CrossFit gyms program the CrossFit Hero Workout Murph, in honor of Lt. Michael Murphy, who died protecting our freedom.

The CrossFit Hero Workout Murph is:

  • Run 1 mile
  • 100 pull ups
  • 200 push ups
  • 300 air squats
  • Run 1 mile
  • Wearing a weight vest (20 lbs men, 14 lbs women)

It’s a test of endurance and mental fortitude.

Crossfit Hero murph hot crossfit chick
CrossFit Hero Murph

This year was the first year I did it alone at home. I did it early in the morning before it got hot, and it felt special being alone, as if it meant more to honor Murph’s sacrifice for us.

This is one of my all time favorite workouts. It was the first one I ever did when I first took a CrossFit class, and I still remember how I couldn’t move afterwards. I’ve done Murph now a dozen times and will do it again probably another dozen. It never gets old; it’s always challenging; it’s the least we can do to honor such a hero.

Fitness Festival

by crossfitmomm, posted in Fitness, HIIT Workouts

This past weekend my daughters and I entered a fitness festival.

It as a 40 minute HIIT workout, followed by a 2-mile run, followed by a 40 minute barre workout, followed by a 2-mile run.

When I signed us up for this, it seemed like a good idea.

However, what I didn’t take into account was the fact that during the HIIT workout, I ran over 2 miles. So the total run was almost 7 miles.

By the time I got to the barre workout, I was done. The last 2 miles seemed like a limp because my muscles had gotten cold during the transitions.

This was fun, but I definitely paid for it by being unable to walk or move much the next day.

I do this all the time; what looks like fun on paper and doesn’t seem bad at all, actually is.

CrossFit: I’m About to Throw in the Towel

by crossfitmomm, posted in CrossFit

Two days ago, I did a CrossFit Hero Workout called Coe, a seemingly simple CrossFit WOD from looking at it:

Ten rounds of

  • 10 thrusters at 65 lbs for women (95 for men)
  • 10 ring push-ups

I finished in under 20 minutes, which is short for a CrossFit Hero Workout and didn’t think much about it — until the next day when every time I went to lift my arms over my head, it hurt.

That same day, I decided to do Flight Simulator, a Crossfit Notable workout that involves jumping a bazillion double unders. I didn’t think much about this either — until the next day and my right calf was seized up again.

Incredibly, this didn’t bother me. What bothered me was the next day when my shoulders were still sore and my right calf was even worse. It was at this moment I got completely fed up.

I can’t run. I can’t jump. And I can’t do a bazillion reps without thinking about it first. This is what is bothering me. Everything I do from now on has to be strategically planned. God, this sucks.

CrossFit: A Pivot in Strategy

by crossfitmomm, posted in CrossFit
hot crossfit chicks doing snatches in crossfit in colorado
Snatches in Crossfit

This week I posted on how frustrated I was with working out and then being too sore or too tired to do anything else. Well, I’ve decided it’s time to pivot my strategy after reading this article.

TAKING REST DAYS IN CROSSFIT

At the beginning of the year, I thought I needed to workout more, to push my body more in order to see the results I want to see. Well, for five months now, it hasn’t been working. I’m stronger mentally (which is important), but it’s not my primary goal.

Hence, I’ve decided to cut my workouts and take more rest days and try that for 5 months and see where that gets me. So I’m quitting HIIT workouts because, although I love them, I’m always physically exhausted afterwards, which is not why you workout.

You work out to have more energy to do the things you want to do, not the opposite.

And I’m adding in a rest day in my CrossFit routine in the middle of the week. For the last couple of months, it’s been challenging to do the whole week so I’m hoping to improve on this as well. I’m hoping to give my body and my brain the rest it needs.

CrossFit: Don’t Let the Clock Rule

by crossfitmomm, posted in CrossFit Workouts

In our last blog post, we talked about ignoring time caps so you can get to the part of the workout you want — the heavier weight part.

In this blog post, we’ll discuss how and why you should not let the clock rule.

BEATING THE CLOCK IN CROSSFIT

Many people get caught up on time in CrossFit. Many CrossFit gyms do as well. You’re always pushing yourself to “beat the clock.” But why?

One reason is because you’ll work harder and get more interval type training when you race the clock down. And there is a time and place of this. However, there also is a time when you ignore the clock and do your own thing.

When you’re not worried about the clock, you go at your own pace. You do the work how you want to do the work. You don’t care how long it takes as long as it gets done. You take short breaks when you need to. You go until you finish.

For me, this is how I work out most of the time. I go at my own pace. I break when I need to break. I don’t stop because it’s been 20 minutes. I go until my body says it’s time to quit. I don’t care what the clock says.

If I want to push myself, I’ll attend a CrossFit class. But mainly I push myself in CrossFit competitions or the CrossFit Open. That’s about it.

I think more people would try CrossFit and do CrossFit if they didn’t have some kind of standard to live up to, say doing 5 rounds in 10 minutes.

Try working out without worrying about the clock. See if you’re more motivated.