Hi Friends!
Time for another Fitness Friday!
It’s been an exciting couple weeks of workouts! First of all, I just have to tell you guys this: I did my first legitimate handstand!!! I’ve been working on them forever and when I first started crossfit I wasn’t even close to being able to do one. But this past week, I did! So proud of myself. My goal for 2013 is to do a handstand pushup! I’ve got a long way to go…but at least i’m making progress! Before you know it i’ll be doing this:
Ok so it may be a while….but still 🙂
Second exciting thing to share with you guys:
This past weekend, our gym had a little crossfit competition and guess what?! I got 3rd place! Here’s how it worked- there were 5 rounds. People were cut after round 2 and round 4 and then the remaining people did round 5. We got about 10 minutes rest between each round…and let me tell you..it was brutal. Here’s what each round consisted of:
Round 1: 3 minutes of burpees
Yep…just as bad as it sounds. I did 43. I tried to just set a pace so i could do them continuously for 3 minutes without stopping. One guy did 69. WHAT?! Ridiculous.
Round 2: 10 air squats + 15 situps. 5 rounds for time.
It took me 3 minutes and 10 seconds. We had to squat down and touch our butts to one of the balls we use for wall balls and for situps you had to touch your hands behind your head and then sit all the way up and touch your toes.
There were 12 of us….so after round 2, four people were cut. The remaining 8 moved on.
Round 3: 15 kettlebell swings + 15 hand release pushups. 3 rounds for time.
This one was brutal. It took me 4:04. Girls used the 35# kb which is heavier than i’m used to so that was tough for me.
Round 4: 30 deadlifts + 30 boxjumps
OMG this was killer. I did it in 2:13 which i was pretty darn proud of…but let me tell you, that first box jump after doing those deadlifts…I almost collapsed. My hamstrings did NOT want to help me jump. Girls did 85# deadlifts and 20 inch box jumps.
They cut 3 more people and then 5 of us went to the final round.
Round 5: 30 clean and jerks (girls did 65 pounds/guys did 95 pounds)
Prior to this, I hadn’t done a clean and jerk since high school. AND i’m still working on my upper body strength so while i could clean 65 pounds fairly easily, pushing it from a clean to over my head was RIDICULOUSLY hard. I almost gave up on this round, i must say. If I hadn’t had one of the trainers and one of the other competitors that had already been eliminated right next to me cheering me on, I wouldn’t have finished.
But I did! And that’s why I love crossfit. The community 🙂 I ended up getting 3rd place and got a t shirt and a $25 gift card. Hubby got 4th place and he was sick! So proud of him!
So, what I haven’t mentioned yet is that prior to this competition on Sunday, we had also worked out Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
Thursday we actually tried out a new crossfit box. Our favorite trainer left the box we are at now and we thought about following him…This is the workout we did when we tried out the new box:
The skill we worked on prior to this workout was ring dips which, let me tell you, are not my forte…remember how i said i was working on that upper body strength?! yeah…you definitely need that to do ring dips…so I just worked on negatives…Basically holding yourself up and then lowering down to the ground slowly. Also…I can’t do clapping pushups- let’s be serious 🙂 I just did hand release.
So, this other box is a LOT bigger than the one we workout at currently and a lot of the people are much more serious into the competing side of crossfit. While we thought it would be good to challenge ourselves, we really love the people at our current box so we’re going to stay. PLUS they just hired a new trainer at our current box…and she’s pretty much a badass. Seriously. She finished in the top 25 at the Crossfit Games last year. SO excited to train with her!
The next day we went back to our box and did this workout:
This is not my idea of a fun workout to begin with. But since I had just done ring dips the day before, doing pullups and working on ring rows was even more painful. I can’t do pullups…so I worked on negatives for those as well, which basically involves jumping up and then lowering yourself down slowly (4 seconds) and then repeating. Super hard for me but i’m getting stronger!
Sooooo that was Thursday and Friday…then we woke up Saturday and went in for the group workout. At our box the saturday morning workout is really big. It’s fun to see a lot of the people that all workout at different times during the week. Here’s what we did:
We got into groups of 3 and did a tabata style workout. So for Round 1, one person in my group did deadlifts, one did pushups and one did box jumps…and then we rotated through so we each did the three exercises 2 times, 20 seconds on, 10 seconds rest. Then each group rotated and moved on to the next set of 3 exercised. We kept track of our total reps for each set of three and then added them together with our two teammates to keep track of scores between groups.
And then Sunday we had the competition. Then we took two much needed rest days 🙂
On Wednesday I headed back for another workout. Hubby was sick so he stayed home to rest. I told him he made a good choice because it was brutal:
First we worked on lunges. Then we got to the actual workout. Five rounds for time- burpees, squats, ground to overheads, situps and a down and back run. All while holding a 25 pound weight! I finished in 12:54. For those of you that don’t know, ground to overheads are where you hold a weight, touch one end to the ground and then lift it over your head, and then repeat!
Thursday I headed back for another workout:
Holy hell you guys, I almost died. First of all, the skill was pullups. So hard for me…but I can actually do the kipping motion and I’m getting way better at pullups!! So exciting. Then the workout. I did 9 rounds plus 15 (the pullups and wall balls of the 10th round). I did jumping pullups for the workout but…just in case you don’t feel like doing the math- that’s 135 kettlebell swings with the 35 pound kb. ROUGH.
Here are some other random crossfit workouts that I’ve come across over the past few weeks and plan to try:
I should also mention that i’ve been rocking my Avia Maximus shoes for pretty much all my crossfit workouts and I love them. They’re so light and they have a low profile so my heels stay close to the ground! Perfect for cross-training and all non-running activities!
Avia was one of our Elf4Health sponsors so all the winners get a pair. Hopefully they will love them as well 🙂
And finally, I just have to show you guys one of my new pairs of workout pants! They’re Reebok and I’m pretty much in love with them. They’re perfect for crossfit, they weren’t that expensive and they are NOT see-thru when I squat which is hugely important!
And the best part?! They’re size medium…which I haven’t bought in literally 15 years! Proof that hard work pays off!
Wheeee!!!! Happy Friday!
–Lindsay–
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You are hard core!!! Congrats on placing!
The secret to the clap push ups is the width of your feet… spread them a little wider and you’ll have the stability to clap. 😉
Congrats on placing! That workout sounds TOUGH so great job
Holy cow Lindsay!! Congratulations!! That is so awesome. I got winded just looking at the competition rounds. You should be very proud of yourself and everything that you’ve been working towards. What an incredible week for you!
The first picture? I seriously thought that was you until I started reading! hahaha! You are on FIRE girl! Keep up the awesome work.
WOOOHOO for Handstands!!! AMAZING!! I can not even come close haha. Looks like you totally rock your first week of 2013!
Wow–you are crushing it! Congrats on your placement. That is just too cool. You are just as badass as the instructor in my book!
Wow congrats! What an awesome experience. I am just getting back into non-running focused workouts and it is HARD! WTG!
Amazing, Lindsay!! 3rd place is so impressive- and I can’t imagine those rounds with no rest day beforehand… way to go!! I can run and run and run, but Cross Fit is a whole different ball game. One minute of burpees is plenty for me!
Wow congratulations!! You look fantastic and your work outs are hugely inspiring!!! BTW I Love that there’s a hero WOD for Victoria Soto – how inspiring!
congrats on your handstand!! SO awesome!! and that one armed kettlebell handstand is LEGIT – i’ve gotta try it!
yay linz, smokin! you look awesome. Crossfit is killer but worth it!
This is why Crossfit scares me, but it sure does make you strong! Congrats!!
don’t be scared!!! they definitely help build strength!
Wow, amazing. I’ve never tried cross fit, but I’m starting a kettlebell class.
awesome! hope you love it!
So impressive!
That’s so awesome! And very hard work. I just started crossfit and I love it. Headstand push ups are so hard!!
This just made me EXHAUSTED! 🙂
Woohoo!! I’m so glad that Crossfit is working for you! And those abs – awesome girl. 🙂
Yay!!!! So awesome!!! Keep up the great work!
Wowza, Congrats for jumping on the Crossfit bandwagon full-throtle! You’ve had some amazing workouts. Happy Friday!
Woooo congrats! You look amazing!
Super cute pants! I’ve been wanting to try Crossfit, it’s just a little too expensive for us right now. I’m thinking about some of the at-home type workouts to try though
definitely try the at home wods. there are a lot of good ones out there!
Congrats on your handstand. I can do the HSPU against a wall but I can’t hold a handstand away from the wall. One dayyyyy.
And congrats on your competition.
I think the thing I like about crossfit is my class is filled with people who have become friends. If I didn’t get along with them and have that support system I don’t think I would have stuck it out.
And anytime I see burpees on the board I want to puke.
same with me. the people make it!
Congrats on 3rd place AND a size medium AND on doing a handstand!!! WAY TO GO 🙂 I hope that I will be able to do a handstand someday… I think most of my hesistation comes from fear of smashing into the ground, haha!
you definitely gotta leave fear behind! i just basically hurtle myself toward the ground and slam into the wall…but it catches me every time 🙂
Thanks for sharing your workouts. I really like reading about what other crossfit boxes in my area are up to. Your little competition on Sunday sounds very challenging but fun. Congrats for placing!
Who is your new trainer at KP?
I was wondering if you have changed your diet at all since ramping up the crossfit workouts. From your ‘what I ate’ posts, it doesn’t seem like you have but I was curious. I eat quasi-vegetarian and of course there is that Paleo mindset that is prevalent with the crossfit community. It has made me wonder if I am not seeing the strength gains that I might if I incorporated more animal proteins.
Have a good weekend!
heather welsh is our new trainer! i haven’t really changed my diet at all. i’m definitely not paleo. i do try to focus on making sure i eat after a workout- something with protein and whole grains…but i don’t eat meat so it’s usually eggs or beans with some veggies and whole wheat toast.
Look at those abs girl! Hard work definitely pays off!
You look awesome, Lindsay! Congrats on getting 3rd place in the competition. That’s awesome 🙂
I LOVE hearing about your WODs! CONGRATS on third!! Thats fabulous!! Those look like some brutal WODs – deadlifts to box jump would be super hard!! Keep getting after it chica!!
so. hard! but i love box jumps so i’ll probably do it again 🙂
Holy crap you are rockin’ those WODs!! Congrats on getting 3rd in the competition! CrossFit looks super intense but it’s great that you’re loving it and improving! I would try it one day 🙂
By the way, I used a lot of your workouts over Christmas break since I was away from home and didn’t have much equipment. They kicked my butt! Especially the Legs on Fire Tabata. woo!
yay!!! so glad to hear it! i haven’t done legs on fire in forever. love that one!
Okay…WOW! You are hardcore and that is super impressive. Congrats on all your progress and that hard work paying off.
Wow! What a way to begin the new year!! I’ve never actually tried CrossFit and I worry that I don’t have enough upper body strength to pull it off…that’s why I stick to running. Congrats and keep it up!
you could do it! you get stronger…i had no upper body strength when i started but i’m already getting stronger!!
69 Burpees? OMG I want to barf! You look AMAZING in those last pictures. Your core is ROCKING! High-Fives!
i know, right?! who can do that?! not me!
Hi! Congrats on the handstand! This is probably not the right place to post thing (I’m new!) but I would LOVE to get into Cross Fit (I tried a year ago, but I was just kind of fumbling along!) – any resources or earlier posts you can point me to about getting started?
i would definitely google to find some boxes in your area and try out a couple. they all have different feels to them so find one where you’re comfortable with the trainers and the people there. most boxes should have some fundamentals classes that you can go to before you really start doing the workouts so you can learn how to do the lifts and make sure you’re using proper form!
thx! yea starting somewhere w/lots of guidance would prob be best – i’m going to keep me eye out for somewhere! 🙂
Girl you are AMAZING!! Way to go on that crossfit competition!!!!!
3rd place – damn girl! Also, I love my Avias for cross-training type stuff too – not quite daring enough to try Cross Fit yet but they’re great for any sort of circuit workouts!
Damn girl, that’s some intense crossfit. Congrats on placing 3rd in your competition. Baller status. I know what you mean about competitive crossfit boxes. I stopped going to one because it was too hardcore for me. Congrats on the new pant size. You are inspiring!
thank you!!! yeah i guess it’s good that there are so many boxes out there 🙂 somewhere for everyone!
That is some hardcore WOD! Congrats on your handstand!
You are so hardcore!! 🙂 Congrats on the 3rd place…I still have yet to try Crossfit, but I want to this year! What a great way to start the year for ya!!
go for it girl! it’s a lot of fun!