10 days, wah?

It's been a full 10 days since I've done my last WOD. On December 19th, while enjoying the drunken company of my fellow boxmates at our Paradiso Crossfit Holiday Extravaganza, I was "injured." Out of sheer excitement (or stupidity, you decide) a friend of 6'4" stature and 210# in heft proceeded to throw me over his shoulder and take off running on the beach. He then looses his footing, falls forward, slamming me on the ground, on my back, and then landing on top of me with his full weight.

In the moment, I thought my back snapped in two. The pain was very sharp, and excruciating. My entire back seized and tightened and I immediately flopped onto my stomach. There was several minutes of dramatics that took place afterwards, but I'll save you the details.

The next morning I awoke feeling as if I had survived a car accident. I was sore all over. My neck was stiff and limited range of motion. At the top of my butt-crack (sorry- is there a scientific term for butt crack?) running down to my left butt cheek was blackish-bluish-purplish. The entire area was tender and putting weight on it for too long (like driving a car) was uncomfortable.  I also had phantom bruising on my hip, and on the front of my right thigh. I looked like an abuse victim.

So I took the week off from Crossfit. Last Thursday, doing laundry, deadlifting my laundry basket made my back all twitchy. I'm hoping to fit a WOD in tomorrow at LAX Crossfit.  I will be cautious of my movements, as well as the weight.

I'm very very happy that I didn't break my back. Thinking about the whole situation still makes me soooo angry. Serenity now. Serenity now. ahhh.

imPRESSive

Shoulder press 1-1-1-1-1 reps

Push press 3-3-3-3-3 reps

Push Jerk 5-5-5-5-5 reps

Shoulder Press: 35-45PR-50m-50m-45

Push Press: 55-60-65-70mx2

Push Jerk: 60-55-60-60-60

Holy moly, I just realized that I set a new PR for my shoulder press. My former 1RM was 42.5#s. That's pretty cool. Shoulder press will always be something I need to work on slowly but surely. Hopefully the biproduct of me doing my strict pull exercises on the regular will be more power/strength in my presses. 

I've never really done push press for max effort, only in programmed WODs. So this is new for me. So technically 65#s is my baseline. 

As well, I've never done the push jerk for max effort. Of course, 5 rep sets adds a new dimension to the weight so it really wasn't a max effort. Knowing I can C&J 75#s I assumed that that would be where I'd start. Zeb advised to go lower in weight as 5 reps is a lot of work. And boy was he right. 60s fuckin' killed me. my 4th and 5th rep were always the ugliest and were a struggle. I'm very happy with the work I did with the push jerk today. I definitely had good speed getting under the bar, but it was mostly my arms failing towards the end that made me all wobbly.

Ok 'nuff about this boring stuff (ha!) and on to the juicy part of the day:

After class, I was enjoying my post wod SFH recovery shake (in chocolate) sitting on the bench under the white board that has the WOD posted. Next to me is Patrick. We're being lazy and watching the 6:30 class wrap up their WOD, shootin' the breeze. A man with shaved head and full beard, dressed in all black workout gear walks through the door and into the gym. 

Me: I know that guy

Patrick: Uh, ya he looks familiar.

Me: I know I follow him online (Could it be? No...)

Patrick: He definitely is someone big...

Me: Firebreathers....?

2 more people follow him; a lady holding bright red Inno-v8s, and another gentleman in red. 

The man in all black engages in conversation with Diso at the bottom of the stairs...

I look at Patrick and mouth the name "Mikko Salo?" Patrick shrugs. 

"Does he have an accent?" We both listen carefully. Yes, we can hear the distinct Finnish accent. 

My eyes almost pop out of my head when I realize it's him, and my mouth drops. I instantly become this retarded school girl who's hoping the members of her NKOTB poster would magically come to life. 

I look at Martina and Gretchen and they too have reverted to 13 yr girls and having the same dancing eyes that I do.  

The lady happened to Christy Phillips, 6th place finisher for the ladies 2009 Crossft Games. The other gentleman, I believe is Mikko's business partner, whom runs their box in Finland. They chose PCF as the box to do a WOD in prior to jumping a red eye flight back to their respective home towns. The determining factor in choosing us (cause we're definitely not the closest to LAX) was because we HAVE A SHOWER! 

They set up to do hero WOD "Jack." Watching them attack the wod with a definite plan, with deliberate breaks (!!!) to achieve their goal was fascinating. It's a 20 min AMRAP of 10 Push Press(135/115), 10 KB swings (1.5 pood/1pood) 10 box jumps. We all later find out that Christy had a goal of 16 rounds, and Mikko 18 rounds. He figures that he has 66 seconds to do one round if he wants to meet his goal of 18 rounds in 20 mins. Any time left over  of his allotted 66 secs. is "rest." Crossfit math is fuckin' genius. 

The spectators (myself, Patrick, Gretchen, Martina, Joe, Franny, Zeb, Diso... the other guy) were in awe watching them go hard for pretty much the entire 20 mins. At some point, Zeb says, "We can cheer for them right?" Up until that point were were all in quiet amazement, not making a peep. We started to cheer them on, and it felt weird to me. Like I didn't really know them, but who doesn't like to be cheered for? I know I do, I talk extensively about the how cheering affects your mental state during a WOD. Both Christy and Mikko met their goals by the end of the 20 mins. 

After the WOD we all gather around Mikko and start to ask questions about his strategy in the WOD. He shared his Crossfit math and how he uses it to set and accomplish goals. We were all enrapt in listening to him speak. It was crazy. Christy starts to shower. Mikko obliges to take multiple pictures with everyone. It was crazy. Christy comes out and she starts talking about her experience in SoCal, and how she wanted to go out to the club tonight and dance, and Mikko said that he didn't want to be drunk on the plane ride home. Then it comes up that Mikko was getting down to 93.9 KDAY's old school hip-hop, that he was dancing in the car on the way over to the box. We were all laughing and it was super jolly. Did I mention that it was crazy?

We took more group pics, this time with Christy, who is just the sweetest thing. She's only 25 yrs old. And she is a bad ass. Her body is soooo out of control. 

I do want to share that at the Games this year I had a "moment" w/ Mikko. Games were done and all the vendors were breaking down their booths. I was standing by SFH booth, waiting for Zeb, Rico and Matty. It was over 108 degrees that day. I was wearing a fun, flirty dress that was backless. In the midst of the hustle and bustle, I see Mikko walking through the sea of commotion, heading my direction. He looks tired and irritated, his head is down, as if he didn't want to be stopped by a fan. When he was about 10 feet from me, he looks up and we make eye contact; immediately his eyes light up and his mouth curls into this big smile, a genuine smile of mutual attraction. I blushed but held his gaze until he walked past me. The chemistry was palpable. 

I joked with Mel from Valley Crossfit that Mikko is soooo bad ass/the epitome of masculinity that he was able to impregnate me with just his eyes- immaculate conception! Hahaha!

I don't think Mikko would remember our "moment" from July today, but I still think there is a mutual attraction that I felt. When I was talking to his biz partner, and Mikko was engaged with Martina, our eyes "caught" each other several times-- each time making the blood rush to my cheeks:) On my departure, I followed Mikko into the changing room alone and hugged him goodbye. His gaze still felt strong and intense. I asked him when he would be back stateside and insisted that he must come back to visit us @ PCF. He said he didn't know, but promised he would come back to our box. He was still all wet and sweaty, but I didn't mind and reveled in his big-hot-wet hug. 

Ahhhhhh.... he's so dreamy. My Finnish crush. Lol. 

Back to reality Lauren. 

A stinker

Three rounds of:

10 Deadlifts

30 GHD situps

Wow, this was doozy. The bar was stinkin' heavy. And the GHD sit ups were gross. My back was achin' the whole time, even with the amount of rolling and stretching I did before the WOD. Glad I got below 10 mins. It was the sit-ups that slowed me down for sure. By round 2 I had to take a break every fourth sit up due to being dizzy and that my muscles were failing. Round 3 was the worst, my legs would not fire at the bottom. I literally had to use my abs/back to get up from inversion. Ya, my abs are sore already. 

My deadlift was heavy, but it felt good to do the WOD at this weight. Now I know I can do 130# on high rep WODs. Sweet. 

Very very sleepy. Only got 7.5 hours. I needed to be home to register for classes at 12noon, so I set my alarm to be at 10AM class. I'm glad I did. 

Today, I started a new regiment as part of my cool down to accomplish my goal of doing strict pull ups. 

5 jumping pull up with slow eccentric decent

5 very slow strict pull ups with thinnest band

My arms and shoulders are definitely feeling it right now. Not sure how to time this goal, but I'm thinking if I do this consistently I could get a strict pull up in a month or so... who knows?

Still eating clean. Body definitely craving carbs and feels a bit weaker and sluggish from lack of calories. 

Yesterday:

Shake, Shrimp Salad from CPK, Coulotte Steak, Spinach. 

Jerky Boys and Girls

Clean and Jerk 5-4-3-2-1-1-1

I was really gassed in this WOD. At the end of my set of 5 reps of I seeing stars. Every round I was seeing stars. I thought my C&J 1RM was 70#s, but I found out it is 75#s. After several failed attempts at 75#s, I just walked away. I was down on my myself for sure. I guess there could be a lot factors in why I couldn't get myself under the bar; maybe I was just tired from all the work I had already done, I just started eating "clean" again and my body is recalibrating from loss of calorie denseness it got from carbs, I was wearing running shoes with squishy soles, or maybe that I was on 6 hours of sleep and had not eaten a thing for breakfast before coming into class.... who knows? 

So, I will chock this up to a "next time" and hopefully will be able to do 75#s C&J in the near future, and then smash it with a new PR.

Filthy Fifty

For time:

50 Box jump, 24 inch box

50 Jumping pull-ups

50 Kettlebell swings, 1 pood/.75 pood

Walking Lunge, 50 steps

50 Knees to elbows

50 Push press, 45 pounds/35#s

50 Back extensions

50 Wall ball shots, 20 pound ball/14#s

50 Burpees

50 Double unders

I did the Filthy Fifty in April.  Not sure if I'm happy that I pretty much clocked the same time. A few differences: 

1.) I used one of the black boxes for my BJs, which is just over 19". I realize now that the box I used in April was just 16" no 18"- it was the pink box (14") + 35# plate. 

2.)  I did RX'd ladies weight of 35#s for the push press; in April I did 30#s. 

3.) I actually did Double unders; prior I had done 200 singles.

So I did get stronger/fitter in the past 8 months. But for some reason I'm not happy with my performance. I really wanted to get under 40 mins. My Waterloo was the Double Unders. I finished the burpees at 38 mins. I figured if I could string together 10 DUs at time I could potentially hit the 40 min mark or maybe just a few seconds over. I took 10 seconds to take several deep breaths and turned the rope... I was gassed, I couldn't turn my wrists fast enough or make my body rigid enough to jump in a smooth pace. I took me over 8 mins to accomplish 50 DUs. I was pretty much doing one or two at a time, then the rope would get caught in my feet. It was only when I was at rep 46 that I wanted to finish so bad that I finally strung together the last 4.

The box jumps went great. Today was only my 2nd WOD for me to use that box height. Every jump felt deliberate, and I wasn't spring up for the next rep right away. Jumping pull ups were actually pretty tiring. KB swings I felt really strong, good stamina, could have actually done more (not that I wanted to:). Walking Lunge went by fast. K2E was where I got killed. At rep 25, I couldn't get my knees to my elbows any more. My entire core was aching. Kipping violently for me to get my K2E was justing zapping all my energy. I did 4 at  at time. Then 3 at a time. The last 10 were ugly, and were pretty much just knee raises- can we say MUSCLE FAILURE?!

Half of the WOD done and I'm starting to feel it. The Push press was difficult. I broke it up in sets of 5. After each set I would see stars, so I'd have to catch my bearings, and take big breaths. The last 2 sets of 5 I went to muscle failure on the 5 rep. My arms are pretty much jello right now. 

I was hoping the back extensions would be like a break, but I was wrong. I broke up the 50 is sets of 7, but I really wanted to do 10-- my ass and hammies would just start to burn every time. 

Getting to wall ball, I was starting to feel totally demoralize and completely sad that I had to do 50 reps. I did 3 at a time. It was sad. My legs would not fire at the bottom of the squat-- muscle failure again. 

Burpees- Fuck you! They were ugly. It was my arms that were not cooperating this time. It was like peeling my body off the ground every time. I got through it. Thank god. 

And then you know the rest of the story with the DUs. 

I collapsed on the floor, completely elated that I was finished. It went into the post WOD euphoria that I so love. Can I mention that I did the WOD COMPLETELY BY MYSELF!!!!! I really think that contributed to my awful time as well. Just me. All by my lonesome. All the coaches were having a meeting in the office and I was working out in the 1PM hour... no other peeps suffering with me, nor any one yelling at me to pick up the fuckin' ball or to get down on the ground.... No, "you can do it, Assassin!" So I definitely got in my own head with negative thoughts... it just happens, the voices turn on and you start to feel hopeless, and all these "I can'ts" start playing in a loop. That's why suffering in a group is way more manageable than not. And the encouraging words of a coach can shave seconds off your time- I really believe it!

2 eggs (2P)

8oz SFH Daily Balance Shake (3P)

1/2 apple

1/2apple

8oz SFH Post WOD shake with almond milk (sweetened)

I'll probably have a Lobster Cobb Salad again when I get to work. 

All over again

3tsp Fish Oil
8oz SFH Daily Balance Shake (3P)
2 eggs (2P)
2cups Salad
2Tbs Balsamic Dressing

Balsamic Dressing
2tbs. Balsamic
1Tbs. Maple Syrup
1/4c Olive oil
pinch of chili flake
pinch of salt

Lobster Cobb w/ Balsamic Dressing

No cheese, extra avo, bacon

1oz. slice baguette

10oz Latte, whole milk w/ splenda

And my Crossfit hands are back!

Three rounds for time of:

Run 400 meter

15 Pull-ups

50 Squats

15 Pull-ups

So looking at the times on the board from the morning classes, I gave myself a goal of completing this WOD in 35 mins. So when I called time and saw that I did it in under 25 mins I was pleased as punch. 

My entire shoulder and upper arms were still sore from K2E on Monday; and I definitely exacerbated that 

soreness by working on my kipping last night with Rico. Actually my body feel pretty beat up as a whole. My posterior chain is very tight from the Deadlifts yesterday. Doing DROM was painful and pleasurable at the same time. 

The first run was fine. It cold as hell, though. I broke up the pull ups in sets of 5. Air squats are my thing. I think this is where I made up a lot of time. I mostly jog a very slow comfortable pace; it was rest time. The second run was different. I felt my nose running; it forced me to breath through my mouth, which I felt didn't oxygenate me as well. I got back to the box and blew my nose, at which I heard a loud pop in my ears. Then my head started to vibrate and ears started to rings. I felt a lot of pressure building up in my ears and under my eyes. My sinuses were putting on a mutiny. Somehow I managed to complete my 15 pull ups, then my squats... It felt good to massage my temples at that time. The second 15 pull ups were way easier than the first 15 in all 3 rounds- peculiar, right? 

The last run was easy and smooth. Got back and felt like I could see the light at the end of the tunnel. The pressure in my head had subsided. But my hands were feeling really raw. I didnt tear or anything, but they were feeling very worn. The last set of 50 squats felt like they were going by soooooo slow. Again the last 15 pull ups felt like doable--- this time in sets of 3s and 2s. 

My body is soooo wrecked. I'm going to take the day off tomorrow. Let my muscles heal up. I don't want to really take the day off, but I know I should. Can't wait to get back in on Friday :)

I'm soooo sleepy and full of quab-lol!

El muerto

Rest 60 seconds between sets:

Deadlift 2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2-2

155-155-155-155-160-160-165-165-160-160-170

I did 11 rounds. Oops. I warmed up with 105 and it felt light. I loaded up the bar to 155 and I decided I wasn't going to pick it up until 3-2-1-Go cause I didn't want to psyche myself out by knowing how heavy it was. This WOD was very very tiring. By round 3 it took a lot of effort on my part to get the bar off the ground. It was complete ego that made me put more weight on the bar. I had the "Just fuckin' do it" attitude. 

More of my ego came into play when I haphazardly jump 10#s in round 11. Just to see..., I thought. I first rep at 170# was ugly. My second was a lot better. 

Afterwards, I lingered with Rico and we worked on stringing my kipping pull ups together. Today is a heavy pull up day, and i know having to reset between each pull up is going to kill my time (plus my slow running :-/). 

We'll see. I'm contemplating doing Jackie. Which looks horrid. 

Hungover

21-15-9 rep rounds of:

115 pound Power snatch (I did 40#s)

Wallball shots, 20 pound ball (I used 8#s)

Knees to elbows

What a great, intense day for me to choose to come back into the box. 2 and half weeks away. It was good. I awoke parched and had a throbbing headache. Too much Crown from the night before. Steven and I finally made it to Harvelles. Only took us a month. Lol. I drank glass after glass of water but couldn't shake the hangover. I stayed committed to going to the noon class. I ate a boiled egg and an apple. That's all I could stomach. 

Warming up it felt strangely foreign. The noon class was packed today. At least 15, def. more. I choose to scale the workout to 21-15-9. Practiced my snatch and I felt wobbly. By the end of the first round, I finally felt warm and the movement was seamless. After doing 21 wall balls, my lungs decided to contract and want to expel phlegm and mucus. It was awesome. I felt like I had to clear my throat for the rest of the WOD. The wall ball and K2E were easy part of the WOD. The snatch just completely gassed me. The set of 15 were just tough. 

After I called time, I sat in one place for a good 10 mins. My post workout high was immense. I missed that feeling. I wanted it to last forever. At that point my hangover was just a memory. 

Tomorrow: DEADLIFTS! I love!!!!

Introducing my Coach

Article featured in the Marina Del Rey Patch.

SPORTS

David Paradiso, Fitness Trainer

The owner of Paradiso Crossfit in Marina del Rey helps keep 95 gym members healthy and fit.

David Paradiso, 31, Fitness Trainer

Athletes pulling on rowing machines, skipping rope and doing pull-ups fill the workout floor ofParadiso Crossfit in Marina del Rey under the watchful eye of fitness trainer David Paradiso.

Paradiso is at the gym six to seven days a week from 7:30 a.m. to about 9:30 p.m. and has been blogging daily for the past two years about the benefits of staying in shape.

"I had a history of digestive issues that I addressed and I've become stronger and happier and I see a better way for a lot of people out there," he said.

The Crossfit regimen consists of a different workout each day of less than 20 minutes. The exercises are described online and based on several realms, including gymnastics, lifting, and sprinting/rowing. Gymnastics focuses on controlling one's body. Lifting is designed to help people carry any object outside their body, whether it's a bag of groceries or a baby. The sprinting/rowing exercises focus on getting the body moving.

"It changed my life," Paradiso said. "When I look around I see other people who have the same desires I had to be adventurous and capable and healthy."

The rates start at $150 a month for three times a week and $200 a month for unlimited workouts. The prices might sound high compared to normal gym memberships, but Paradiso said it's actually a good deal when you consider it's about $12.50 an hour for a workout that works.

"We don't do any long-term contracts, everything is month-to-month because we want people who want to be here and not stuck in their contract," Paradiso said. "We have to prove ourselves month to month."

The Crossfit philosophy has been summed up in a pyramid with nutrition at the bottom and the gym buys bags of groceries on behalf of members to make it easier for them to eat healthier. A full $25 bag of groceries last about a week and focuses on 75 percent local foods that change during the seasons, with more root vegetables in the winter, for example. Grocery bags at the gym were  stuffed with eggs, kale, collared greens, escarole, free-range chicken and steaks and pork chops that are all hormone, antibiotic and cage free.

"It's something different," Paradiso said of his gym. "It needs to be experienced to be understood. "

He said one of the hardest parts of his job is getting people to believe that, partly because there are so many health and fitness gimmicks out there. 

"The only thing I can do is tell them to come in and see what we do and see that it's different," he said.

Rest

I has been almost 2 weeks since my last WOD. I battled turkeys, pies, and a nasty-nasty cold. I am hoping to be well enough by tomorrow to do the WOD at noon class.

I miss Crossfit. But am grateful for the time off to rest my body, get my sleeping schedule aligned, and finally get settled into my new apartment.

Rest is a WOD. It needs to prescribed and done.