Irony! Take that Alanis Morrisette!

Shoulder feels good but still playing it safe. The kettlebell swing is one-armed only. Felt good. After what felt like 15 mins., I looked up at the clock and only 5 mins had passed. By maybe my 6th round, I started to feel the workout in my lower back. It started to tighten up in. I felt it first in my GHD situps, then it spilled into my KB swings. 

And then, with a quickness, we were at 17 minutes. It was weird how my time space continuem just had a hiccup. 

I know that I didn't go as hard as I could have. I know that coming off of this injury it really spooked me... past injuries didn't get me down like this time around. 

I had such a great day today. I was all smiles. 

Who do you think you are?

I need to hear this girl live, in the flesh.

Positivity

Three rounds for time of:

30 One-arm Thrusters, 15# Dumb Bell

Overhead Squat with PVC pipe, 30 reps 

This was my special WOD to accomodate my left shoulder which is still weak and not fully functional. 

My right tricep was screaming by the end of the first round. By the end, my abs were screaming as well. It was a good medium level workout. I can't wait for my shoulder to be functioning. Even then, I'll be taking it easy, I don't want to reinjure it. 

I was told by 2 people today that I'm looking thin... like too thin, and that they were worried about me. Well, I am participating in the CF SB Paleo Challenge. It started today. My stats are: 103.2#s, 25.4% Body Fat, 26.5" waist, 33" hips. I don't know if I have anything left to loose. I may actually gain weight. I have started to take a post-workout protein shake to hopefully promote muscle healing and shorten the time I'm all sore.  If you want to know what a person who follows Paleo you can follow my FOOD LOG. 

I don't think I did that well in my phone interview with UNFI. The interview was not what I expected. I thought they were going to ask me character questions, which I was completely prepared for, but theY went a different route. They asked about my views on the current affairs with the words "organic," "natural," and "conventional." Now I have a huge opinion about it and I had a million things flying in my head, and all the thoughts that came out of my mouth were not linear thoughts. It was obvious I was frazzled. I'm not happy with what I said about organics. I could have divulged more, I didn't even touch upon the USDA's approval of organic pesticides/herbacides/fertilizers... "Natural" I hit the nail right on the head. "Conventional" was tricky. 

They also asked about why I felt "Fair trade" was important and what impact does it have on the industry... I mean these questions are soooooo open ended that I could have spoken for hours about each topic and either offend the hell out of someone or come off as an over-zealous nut job. I probably succeeded in both. 

I tried to salvage the interview in the end by emphasizing my experience fulfilling the exact function/tasks of the position. I stressed that I have strong existing relationships with qualified foodservice outlets in all sectors including fine dining, hotel/resort, business & industry, institutional (including Hospitals), education, and all the major studios, so hopefully they see that. 

Interesting things I found out about the "territory manager" position is:

-Newly created department focusing on foodservice outlets only

-Territory is LA/OC

-1 overnight travel WEEKLY req'd

-company laptop provided

This last bullet confirms to me that I'll be processing my own orders like Sysco and US Foods reps, so no customer service support for me.

I really want this job. I know that I'm am completely able to kick ass at it. Elise said she'd get back to me in 2 weeks to inform if I will move onto the in-person interview. 

Cross your fingers. 

I have yellow fever

"ADAMBROWN"

Two rounds for time of:

295/185 pound Deadlift, 24 reps

24 Box jumps, 24 inch box

24 Wallball shots, 20/16 pound ball

195/120 pound Bench press, 24 reps

24 Box jumps, 24 inch box

24 Wallball shots, 20/16 pound ball

145/100 pound Clean, 24 reps

My scale:

2x-

15 Deadlift @ 105#s

15 Box Jumps

15 Wallball 8#s

15 Ring dips w/ band

15 Box Jumps

15 Wallball

15 Cleans @ 65#s

The workout was tough. The easiest was the wall ball. The toughest was the cleans. 65#s is heavy for me. It was my 1RM PR just a month ago. The deadlifts kicked my ass. Not sure why. 105# is my usual weight, but for some reason it  felt really heavy. Maybe because I did them after the cleans, I don't know, but I had to break up the work into 3 sets of 5 each time. 

I was useless after the work out. My shoulder was really starting to hurt. I immediately iced it. 

It hurts when I...

-row

-Jump rope, esp DUs

-jerk

-overhead press

-open my car door from the inside

-swing my arms during box jump

and today, lifting my purse up onto my shoulder.

Things I do that surprise me that my shoulder doesn't hurt...

-Snatch

-clean

-dips

-pull ups

-deadlift

So today, I plan to see my chiropractor to get an adjustment and have him do the thing that he did last time to my shoulder. He cracked and popped it and it immediately relieved the pressure I felt was building in the area. I also plan to get a massage, time permitting. Friday I have a 9am appt. at Yosan with a post-grad student. I hope I heal quickly. I really don't want to be injured for my level 1 cert. That's 2 weeks away. I've got to really lay off of it until then. 

I'm so glad Heather loves Crossfit. She's dedicated. She goes to 6:30AM class. She texts me her accomplishments. I think it's awesome. 

A rant:

Asian aren't attracted to me. Seriously. There's all this conjecture that white guys are swoopin' in on all the Asian broads... well, it's because they have the balls to hit on us. Last Sunday, after the X games, Leah and I had dinner in K-town. The restaurant was filled with a mix of Orientals and their white friends feeling culinary adventurous. Not one slanty-eyed man would make eye contact with me. Now, there could be a myriad of reasons why (collectively) all the Asian men would not look at me, including that maybe they don't find me attractive, but this happens to me all the time. It's like I don't exist to my own race of men. Today, at Whole Foods, the checker was super hot so I flashed him a smile--- nothing reciprocated. 

I never really been attracted to Asian men until very recently. I did date an Dutch-Indonesian guy, but he looked straight Dutch. In high school, I liked a filipino guy, Erick, but again, I didn't exist to him. So I gave up on "them" because of their lack of interest in me- that was over 14 years ago. I went on to taste the rainbow of men.  I guess, I don't get it. Maybe I'm not approachable. Or could it be the way they are raised? Coddled by their mothers, but also conditioned to be stoic and reserved. Showing emotion is weak. When I think of Asian men, I hardly think them as emotionally deep. As if their capacity to express emotion is not necessary. It may seem bold of me to make such a broad statement about men of a certain region of the world, but I take into account the social mores of most Oriental cultures, where discipline and reserve is exalted as a sign of control and power over oneself... Conservatism is to be presented outwardly, while uninhibited behavior is for behind closed doors and away from prying eyes. I think this thought has a lot to do with how Asian men socialize... They are never controversial, or make waves... mostly agreeable, light hearted, good people. The same could be said of the women. I have never seen an Asian child acting up in public. My brother and I were angels said my mother. We mimic our family by being in control of our urges and emotions, even at a young age. Maybe Asians are more cautious. And this translates into not being aggressive when it comes to the male-female "dance."

Jan Bu and I had dinner a month ago. She had been in a long term relationship with a Filipino guy. After they broke up, she started to date men of other races and realized that each race had their own distinct flair, GAME you'd call it. She then came to the conclusion that Filipinos/Asians have NO GAME. They aren't bold or strong enough to make her notice. She felt she needed to chase them, pursue them because they weren't confident enough to pursue her. She wrote off Asian men. As harsh as that sounds, I totally know what she's talking about. I feel/felt the same way. It made me think about the "Americanization" of  women like myself and Jan, and the countless successful Asian women in our generation. We're not the same women that exist in our mother countries. Our ideals and romantic notions have morphed to include the bold fantasies that Western Social Media and pressed in our feminine minds. We'd like to have our men live up to those bold ideals, not blur into the background to the trail we're blazing for ourselves. As contemporary as our lives seem to be, I know that Americanized Asian women still have STRONG traditional family values, where the man leads. Men have gotten soft recently. What happened to courting, chivalry, and manners? We throw around terms like "dating" "seeing each other" "talking" "hooking up" "hanging out"... What does it all mean? We use those loose terms to avoid having to actually express what we truly want for fear of being rejected. Either you're on board or you're not, but people want to play in the gray area just in case they need to split or something better comes along. 

This rant has really morphed into something completely different. I have no idea where I'm going with this.

Double your pleasure

Three rounds for time of:

10 Ground to overhead (95/ 65) [35#s]

200 yard Shuttle sprint, 50 yards there and back twice

This was horrible. Really. I hated it. As well, I'm unhappy that my shoulder is acting up again. I could not comfortable press or jerk the bar above me, but I could snatch the bar. I find that weird. So I snatched all 3 rounds, which completely gassed me for the run. Then there's the tumultuous relationship with the run. It was yucky. 

After I finished the WOD, I had a huge headache that radiated from my ears and creeped to the back of my head. I felt dizzy and had to sit down for a bit. Martina thought that it may be my breathing when I run. I do have to say that I probably breath incorrectly or at least in a way that isn't conducive to getting as much oxygen to my moving parts. I would describe my breathing while I run as "hyper-ventilating." When I did the jog for the warm up, I did notice that my left arm went numb.  I probably should speak to someone about this in earnest. 

And in good news: I did 8 double unders in row!!!!!!!! Woo hoo. So Friday, I chained 2 together. Today I chained 3 together. Then 4 together. And then within 10 mins I did 8 together! How cool is that?

I'm seeing results to my commitment to working on it. 

I should also be giving my pull ups this kind of attention :-/ 

PS- just like I predicted my ass is completely sore from the back squats on Sunday. 

Lucidity

Complete as many rounds as possible in 20 minutes of:

7 Back squats (185/ 135) [75#s]

Dumbbell Overhead walking lunge, 10 steps right hand (45/ 30) [12#s]

7 Burpees

Dumbbell Overhead walking lunge, 10 steps left hand

My score: 

Now I'm at a loss as to what my true score is. I really think I did 7 rounds but miscounted. You see, we were paired up for our heats with someone to share the rack with for the back squat. I was paired up with Deniz. She started the WOD in its true order and began with B Squats. I started on the opposite movement at the burpees. Checking over at her progress once a round to make sure that we wouldn't meet at the rack at the same time, I noticed that we were in perfect "opposite" sync. When I was doing my left lunge, she was on her right lunge... When I was doing my back squats, she was doing her burpees... Deniz reported doing 7 rounds and I 6 rounds. I know that the 2nd to the last time I was doing BSs, I questioned whether I was in my 6th round or if I just finished my 6th round. Then take into account that I completed 4 rounds the first 10 minutes; if I really did only do 6 rounds total, that means I was working at half my power the last half of the 20 minutes, which doesn't sound correct. 

So I think my TRUE score is 7 rounds and 5 back squats. 

I loved this WOD. It was good and bad and good. I loved all the movements. I did not press the bar overhead for my left side since my shoulder is still jacked. I hung the dumbbell on my side, it worked. 75#s started to feel heavy after round 4. I was having a tough time at that point getting below parallel. My left shoulder was also feeling tingly in the position it was in for racking the bar on my back. I'm sure my posterior chain is going to be sore tomorrow. 

I only had 4 hours of sleep last night and did not eat a thing before I got to the box, so when the clock stopped I collapsed on the floor and felt a hot rush of blood to my head and face. I moved only once in the next 20 mins (to get out of the way for the next heat); I laid on the cold, glazed concrete floor by the door, enjoying the breeze  cool my sweat-slicked body. I felt all heady and liquid. The post WOD drunk was really intense and lovely feeling. I half closed my eyes and left my mouth go slack, leaving it partially open. I probably looked half in ecstasy and half straddling death. I didn't cheer for the second heat, I couldn't. I was completely content to get lost in my own nothingness. 

Day of Wreckoning

Five rounds for time:

5 Muscle ups (sub C2B PU/Ring Dips)

115 lb Overhead Squat, 10 reps (sub with 40# front squat)

15 Toes to bar (sub K2E)

20 GHD Sit-ups (Abmat)

My Scale:

My Time: 

I chained 2 double unders together-- twice! Of course, only 2, not more. But it feels good to know that I can :)

I woke up at 6AM Friday morning with only 4 hours of sleep. Not really a good thing since my body needs all the sleep it can to heal. I spent the day on my feet making hundreds of Prosciutto, Mozz and Spinach crepes... There were 3 parties at lunch and 3 parties for dinner. All day my lower back was aching. I couldn't lift anything off the ground. For example, I know I could easily lift a 50# bag of carrots to my station, but when I attempted it yesterday, I failed. My back and entire posterior chain was tight and would not "fire." I really think the 2 movements from yesterday of back extension and deadlift back to back is what really killed me. I did 105# which I am perfectly capable of doing, but coming out of the BE is what made it a doozy.

So standing on my feet all in Dansko clogs probably only exacerbated my back pain. Later into the afternoon, I start to feel "pain" running down my left thigh.  I say "pain" because it felt uncomfortable, but bordered on a soreness, tingly, numbing sensation... It was a little scary. This feeling has continued until this morning. I question if me standing all day has irritated my sciatic nerve.

As well, my left shoulder is acting up again. I cannot recall any specific movement I did this week that caused me injury or pain at the time of doing it. But Thursday evening, whilst at dinner, I felt it need to be move so I did mini-drom in my seat, rotating my arm slowly. It felt good to get it moving. It was at this time that I felt the clicking in joint. It was a weak click, but obviously there.

After leaving Dreamworks, I get in my car and my body is starting to vibrate. I'm feeling all my weeks activity and lack of sleep. I get pulled over by CHP (yay!) and get cited for a fix-it ticket.  I arrive at the box at 5:40pm; do not really say hello to anyone and B-line it to loft. I pass out on one of the folding chair. I awake not so invigorated. I feel ok. I question whether I should even work out or not.

I decide to work on my double unders for warm up... And that's when I string 2 DUs together. I was so stoked. I do it again. After several more failed attempts, being mindful of keeping the body upright and tightening the mid-line, I try one last time. During this last attempt I aggravate/pull/cramp a muscle in my neck!!! Now my neck is stiff and doesn't have range of motion. I start on DROM hoping to loosen it up, but it hurts to bad. My move onto rotating my arms, and that is when I notice the click in my left shoulder has become more pronounce and slight tingliness. I let Zeb know of my sorry state of affairs and we come to terms with how to scale the WOD to my injuries.

I felt good during the WOD. The dips scared me a bit with my shoulder but I felt no pain during or after. Knees to Elbows we ok. I had a hard time getting into a rhythm. I think in round 4, I finally was doing them consecutively, instead of breaking after each rep. I went light on my front squat not to stress out my already tense back. Going light was good because I was able to work on my form.

Overall I am happy with time and efforts considering....

I'm resisting the fact that  I have to start taking some kind of post-workout supplement. I'm 80% against taking anything processed or man-derived. But I cannot deny that I dont' think that I'm doing a good enough job with my meals or sleeping to jumpstart immediate healing like the SFH Post Workout REcovery shake says it does. All I know is that I'm committed to 3 on/1 off schedule, which is a lot of WORK, and I've hated how my body has felt all week. I've been taking fish oil morning and night desperate to facilitate healing. I need to seriously do something.

I'm sooooooooo glad today is a rest day. My plans to go to the Korean BBQ Cookoff have taken a backseat to relaxing at home. And the Going Away/Pool Party for Kristie and Alyssa doesn't seem so likely either, as I have no desire to drink and do not want to be in a situation where I will be tempted to drink alcohol. I just want to languish in my house.

Little Giants

Three rounds for time of:

Row 500 meters

30 Box jumps, 24 inch box

25 Back extensions

20 Deadlift

I scaled down to the 20BJs (16"), 20 BEs, and 15DLs @ 105#s. 

I loved this WOD, even with my sore body going into it. I knew that the rowing was going to get me in regards to time. My first 500 row I came in at 2:29. The box jumps were ok, I couldn't get a rhythm the first round. The back extension were fine the first round as well. Going into the Deadlift, I notice that my hamstrings are really tight from the BEs. I break up the work into 3 sets of 5. 

Round 2 I was tired. My row dropped by 16 seconds to 2:45, my box jumps were a snap. I just got a good head space and did them. I think I took a break once at #14. The BEs seemed to breeze by as well. My posterior chain and back seemed warmed up at this point and helped with the movement. 

Round 3 seemed to go fast for some reason. I really think my I was breathing better, I wouldn't characterize what I was feeling as tired. My last round of rowing I did the exact same time as round 2 of 2:45, which I think is pretty awesome. My last round of box jumps felt "easy"--- you know what I mean, not easy easy, but I had a good rhythm and didn't feel overwhelmed. The last round of BE really sucked for some reason, I just wanted them to be over. My DLs felt solid. 

So overall, I'm happy. I completely gotten over my shame/fear/embarrassment of scaling. I completely embrace it and know that it is what will make for a good foundation to slowly chip away at making BIGGER, GRANDER gains in the long run. 

I've decided to use my other blog to track my journey towards coaching kids crossfit. I think it's apropos that my domain is Littlest Giant--- that's what kids who do crossfit are, Little Giants :)

LittlestGiant.com

Snatch-tastic!

Snatch, 1 rep

Clean and jerk, 1 rep

As many rounds and reps as possible in ten minutes of:

6 Squat cleans (55kg/ 40kg)

12 Pull-ups

24 Double-unders

My total score: 203

I have soooo much on my mind, but I'm sooooo sleepy. I'll pick this up tomorrow morning :) While you wait for the continuation, enjoy this Snatch video:

Back in my own bed

Three rounds for time of:

50 Double-unders

25 Wallball "2-fer-1s", 20 pound ball

MY SCALE:

MY TIME:

I chose to scale way back just for the reason that I've been away from the box for over 10 days, that I battled a crazy sickness for almost 2 weeks, and because of that my diet has been not been clean.

I'm already sore. My adductor muscles are definitely tight. The 2 for 1 Wall Ball is trip. It's kind of scary from reason.

I've decided to go to 3 on/1 off training schedule. I'm excited to see what kind of gains I'll see in my game. I know that Zeb said that after he followed the main site schedule and programming he gained 5#s of muscle. I'm excited to see what's to come. Tomorrow, even though it's a "rest day," I do plan to go into the box to work on my some weaknesses. I think my unassisted pull up takes precedence over chaining my double unders together. And then maybe I'll work trying to get upside down... MAYBE.

It came in the mail, yay! I cannot wait to pore over it: