To whom do I owe this honor?

8/25: rest day

WOD 8/26: catalyst wod

• back squat 285lbs x 3 reps x 5 sets
• clean deadlift 205lbs x 3 reps x 3 sets
• push press 145lbs x 4 reps x 4 sets
• weighted pullups (26lbs vest) x 20
  
• ghd situps x 7
  

conventional catalyst strength. took me around 1hr45m! great workout.

8/27: rest day

WOD 8/28: catalyst wod

• front squat 185lbs x 3 reps x 3 sets
• snatch pull 150lbs x 3 reps x 3 sets
• power clean + push jerk 135lbs x 2 reps x 3 sets
• power snatch 105lbs x 1 rep x 1 set

for time:

• kettlebell swing (25lbs) x 20 reps
• box jumps (hip-level) x 10
• kb swing x 15 reps
• box jumps x 5
• kb sdlhp (25lbs) x 50 reps
• box jumps x 5
• kb swing x 15 reps
• box jumps x 10
• kb swing x 20 reps

time to complete: 9m08s
total reps: 150 reps + 31 = 181 total reps

great metcon! got me breathing hard. glad to have snuck it in under 10m!

It's only a little lightning....!!!

WOD 8/22: catalyst wod

• power snatch + 2 snatch balance 90lbs x 1 rep x 1 set
• power snatch + 2 snatch balance 75lbs x 2 reps x 3 sets
• overhead squat 115lbs x 1 rep x 1 set
• overhead squat 95lbs x 2 reps x 3 sets

For time:

• pullups x 50
• pushups x 50
• situps (incline ~45 deg) x 50
• squats (air) x 50

time to complete: 12m46s
total reps: 200 + 11 = 214 total reps

WOD 8/23: hiking

liz and i finally had some time to explore the wilderness of our new home! well we live in a desert, but believe it or not, there is some wilderness! and it's only 45m or so away.

we went up to the catalinas. driving up the catalina highway...i was literally at a loss for words. that mountain range is the most amazing natural thing i've ever seen. it topped the adirondacks. we felt as if we were wiley coyote being chased by the roadrunner! this must have inspired the setting for those cartoons, as you wind up canyon upon canyon with drops reminescent of those cartoons.

we ascended to 8000 feet...wow. wow wow wow wow. they say that the ecology going up the 25 mile drive from tucson to the top of mt. lemmon is similar to driving from mexico to canada - but condensed!

we hiked part of the butterfly trail in the mixed conifer forest. this was amazing, again. take western mass forests and multiply by 1000. we turned around about an hour or so in when it started raining. of course we were up on a high peak at this point and got pretty close to a huge lightning strike. we both double-timed it back down the hill! it was actually an incline heading back, so we both got a great workout in as well. i can not wait to go back - and it seems like at every elevation change we have a totally new climate to explore!

time: 2 hours

8/24: rest day

Uhm...what core?

8/19: rest day

8/20: rest day

WOD 8/21: catalyst wod

• front squat 177lbs x 3 reps x 5 sets
• snatch deadlift 145lbs x 3 reps x 3 sets
• tall clean + push press + push jerk 95lbs x 2 reps x 4 sets

3 rounds for time:

• kb swing 30lbs x 20 reps
• knees2elbows x 20 (did 10 reps on last set)
  
• box jumps (hip-level) x 5
  

time to complete: 11m51s
total reps: kb swing x 60; k2e x 50; box jumps x 15 = 125 + 32 = 157 total reps

Tis the new season!

WOD 8/18: catalyst wod

• back squat 265lbs x 3 reps x 5 sets
• snatch deadlift 155lbs x 3 reps x 3 sets
• push press 135lbs x 3 reps x 4 sets
• pullups x 10 reps x 3 sets
• ghd situps x 10 reps x 3 sets
• plank x 2 sets

this wod starts the first day of the new mesocycle (4 months)! i scaled it back because i'm still getting my body back into condition.

this morning i weighed in at 168lbs (let's see what happens). maybe i should see if the new gym has a way to measure bodyfat. it would be interesting to get a baseline.

at the close of my last official catalyst wod (~1 month ago), i weighed in around 172-173lbs and looked different in my musculature (that is, i had more, and less bf i think, despite the fact that i currently weigh 4-5lbs less).

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly?

8/15: rest day

8/16: rest day

WOD 8/17: catalyst wod

• back squat 245lbs x 5 reps x 3 sets
• push press 145lbs x 3 reps x 3 sets

3 rounds for time:

• clean (medicine ball 20lbs) x 10 reps
• kettlebell swing (30lbs) x 10 reps
• pullups x 10

time to complete: 8m40s
total reps: clean x 30; kb swing x 30; pullups x 30 = 90 + 24 reps = 114 total reps

oh man does it feel nice to write "catalyst wod". it just feels right. but am i using the right color??
either way i'm sore as hell right now but i had to throw myself back into it. the new mesocycle starts tomorrow (whoo!)

muscle knots in the back are still there, but i've only had 1.5 hours of massage put in. my back in general does feel better and looser and more flexible. right now it's sort of roughed up from the workout, but that's ok. got to get into it somehow.

All Knotted Up :(

8/9: rest day

8/10: rest day

WOD 8/11: skill work

more oly lifting practice. c&j'd 135lbs and power snatched 125lbs. practiced dropping the weight as well. also played around with a bunch of stuff. this gym is a playground.

time: 1hr

WOD 8/12:

• jumping lunges x 50
  
• box jumps (upper-thigh) x 30
• ghd situps x 20
• jumping lunges x 35
• box jumps x 20
• ghd situps x 10
• jumping lunges x 20
• box jumps x 10
• clap pushups x 20
  

i started off timing it, but stopped after the 50 lunges. i got really frustrated because i didn't have my usual "snap". my legs were still beat from the walls balls a few days ago.

also, i knotted up my rhomboid/trap area pretty badly yesterday on my last snatch.

this led me to getting my first ever massage. i knew i had years of embedded knots, so i finally threw the towel in. it was an hour of deep tissue massage - let me tell you...this was not the stereotypical "relaxing" massage. i have so many knots in my back it's a wonder i've made any progress at all. after the hour, she had just begun to loosen them up. i still have them everywhere. i'm going in friday as well. i'm pretty sure that i'm a bad case.

so, i'm not working out today. i may take some more days off. i feel really bad because we've taken sooooo many rest days with the trip and everything else, but my body needs it. i really can't progress like i have been with all these knots, and i feel like working out will just screw me up more.

the massage is interesting though. it is a workout all its own because it is stimulating the muscles in a completely different way. she also started working the toxins out, and i have been peeing like a race horse ever since.

8/13: rest day

8/14: rest day

Wall Balls anyone?

WOD 8/5: skill work

even more skill work and getting my body acclimated. worked up to c&j's w/115lbs and snatches w/95lbs again. also messed around with wall balls and such.

time: 1hr

8/6: rest day

8/7: rest day

WOD 8/8: karen

150 wall balls for time w/20lbs medicine ball...throwing to a "target" ~7-8ft in height (to the top of the monkey bars).

felt pretty good doing this one. my first crossfit metcon in a couple months or so? my legs feel like jelly right now. i also left a sweat angel on the floor. yow!

i also fooled around with kb's and tried some kb push presses w/20lbs and 30lbs kb's. awesome! def going to work these in for the future!

completed in: 8m52s

Back and better than ever!

7/30: rest day

7/31: rest day

8/1: rest day

8/2: rest day

WOD 8/3: skill work

worked on all forms of cleans, jerks, presses, squats, snatches, deadlifts etc with the bar only (45lbs). have to get the body back into it.

we found a new gym!!!

this gym is great. it has a specific HIT room that has monkey bars, jump ropes, kettlebells, an actual lifting pad with...bumper plates!, a GHD machine, bands, farmer walk implements, etc etc etc. liz already got a job there so we are in, like flynn, as they might say? i can finally drop the weights and it's fine! they also have chalk! yay! how many times did i complain about that?

plus, we are finding that the higher elevation, in combination with the monsoon season (it is humid!) are making an interesting time of working out. once we get back into shape, we'll see how we take to it...

time: 1hr

WOD 8/4: skill work

more getting my body reacclimated with working out. did the same thing as yesterday, but worked up to c&j's with 115lbs and snatches (squat) with 95lbs.

i also tried a box jump for the first time, and learned how fabulous those are. took the highest box (upper thigh level) and hopped on and off w/no probs.

i used the GHD machine for the first time as well, and that is awesome. that thing just took situps and put them on an entirely new level of pain. whoo!

time: 1hr