Box-Crash: StoneWay CrossFit

July 8, 2011 2 Comments

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: You will not find community like that of CrossFit. While passing through Seattle, WA, on this whirlwind cross-country tour, I was invited by Stoneway CrossFit box owner, Scott Rodriguez and fellow tweeps Katie and Heather to drop in for a WOD with coach Jess Fleming.

I took them up on the offer (and the opportunity to meet some tweeps in person!) and scheduled my touristy day of Pike Place Market, Space Needle, and Puget Sound around their 5 o’clock WOD. We started off with stretches and dynamic warmup which included wall walks (which, by the way, are harder than they appear!!) Then we worked in some 3×3 sets (at prescribed percentages of our 1RM) of either squats, deadlifts, or press.

Thanks to Katie Chasey for snapping this pic!

And then it was WOD time:
200m sprint
100 situps
75 pushups
100 air squats
200m sprint

Let me just come out with it and make it known: 2 months of nearly non-stopping roadtripping, less-than-ideal Paleo nutrition, and no WODs make for a very out-of-shape girl. But, coach Jess kept the encouragement coming and everyone there was SO upbeat and encouraging.

And here is the part where I say it yet again: You’re not going to find community like THIS anywhere else.

HUGE thanks to the StoneWay crew for letting Ryan and me box-crash! It was much-needed for me and very much enjoyed.

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PR’s

May 1, 2011 10 Comments

I’m blaming my lack of recent blog posts on my ultra chaotic major life changes. And when I write “major” I mean “this is (more) mayjah” than David Beckham hanging on the beach sipping on Pepsi. But more about my life in due time.

I’m dropping in to jot down my recent PR’s established during “PR Week” at CrossFit Love. I’ve been consistently working on my four major lifts for only less than a year so, as Craig “The Z” Zielinski pointed out, these are probably not my true 1RM’s just yet. But, it’s good starting point and I won’t lie, I like that I’ve graduated into Rippetoe’s Strength Standards “Advanced” category.

Bodyweight: 108-110#
Squat: 155#
Deadlift: 205#
Press: 85#
Bench: 105# 110#

I was most disappointed in my squat but most pleased with my bench press. Such is life. Sometimes I can’t have it all (all at once.)

This vid, filmed by Ryan and me and compiled by Joe, has been posted elsewhere on the interwebs but here are my CF Love teammates (including Tweeps @deckerra, @polobear716, @laurenancona @JeanineDESQ, and @klhorn22) setting some PR’s:

I sat down with Joe and jotted down some goals to eventually accomplish. I’m not going to work on all of these at the same, that may be detrimental. For now, I’d like to focus on my developing just my strength. Call me naive but I think the stronger I am, the faster I’ll be able to move weight around. It takes a lot longer to develop strength than cardio, metcons, and technical skills like double unders, so it makes sense to focus in on strength now.

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On The Prowl(er)

March 4, 2011 2 Comments

I’m feeling the urge to blog today because I might die tonight. No, really. Joe just posted our scheduled workout for tonight and I have Prowler sprints at 6:00 pm. “What are you doing tonight, Jess?” Oh, you know, pushing The Prowler and trying not to puke.  (Gone are the days when I looked forward to Fridays.)  My lack of excitement is warranted: The last time I did Prowler sprints, I almost didn’t make it home.

The Prowler is a deceiving little torture device.
p-(roll the ‘r’)-OWW-le-(roll the ‘r’)
“PrrrrOWlerrr”

Don’t do what I did and get it mixed up with the similarly scary-looking but sometimes FUN Cougar.

Unlike a cougar, there is nothing fun about the Prowler.  You’re going along, doing fine, just pushing the Prowler and BAM! It’s like hitting a brick wall. All of a sudden the leg muscles go on strike. My calves cramped up so bad, I thought I had rigor mortis. It’s like an arena death scene out of Spartacus with bodies hunched up or lying all over the place, but without the blood and boobs.

This pic is the exact opposite of how I feel after pushing the Prowler but I had to show you what my face looked like on the body of Crixus.

I survived my first Prowler experience but after struggling back to my apartment with a THROBBING headache, I had to lie with my head on the cold kitchen counter for nearly 20 minutes to fight off the nausea.  I’ve never before been so glad I had an empty stomach. In fact, nausea is guaranteed. Ask my fellow CrossFit Love member Chris. So, I know it’s not just me.

If you ever have the opportunity to push a Prowler, do not do as Joe recommended and YouTube “Prowler Flu.” Actually, you should totally watch this stuff:

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