Serious Rings

GB WOD-

Perform:
3 sets of Muscle Up - Bulgarian Dip - roll backward to Back Lever - pull out to Front Lever - Muscle Up - Bulgarian Dip - roll backward to Back Lever - pull out to Front Lever.
3x5 Body Levers

Finish the workout with 2x10 Wall Extensions

HOLY CRAP. That was a hard ring series. I was able to go through each move continuously with a spotter. The only move that I didn't need the spot for was the bulgarian dip, all the rest I needed a little support getting from one to the next and going to the right spot in the levers. It was interesting doing the whole series. This was the first time that I haven't broken up the series into each separate exercise and it was super hard, even with a spotter. The backward roll into back lever (tucked for me) was sort of scary to do while I felt my grip getting weaker. Plus I didn't quite "get" the bending of the elbows to slowly lower myself back. Check out set #2:



I also did 3x10 GHD Sit-ups, I've never really done these and now I'm in love with them. We are saving up to get a GHD for the garage, want it so bad!! Also up high on the wish list are: Concept II Rower, Barbell, Medicine Balls, Sandbags, oh and a video camera. This is where our clients' money is going to go, so come on people!

Muscle Up Update: Still don't have it. Did a total of 6 spotted in the ring series today, and then 3 attempts after the WOD. I am so sore and tired that my attempts left a lot to be desired, um, like getting it..? Yeah. Tomorrow is gymnastics class and I am determined to put some good work in without tearing my wrists open.

I'm feeling super good so far this week. My diet has been great and I haven't written a lick of down:) The question is, when should I rest? At this point I may not take a rest day until Friday, unless my body tells me otherwise. We'll see. I need to be careful to not wait until my body starts freaking out to take a rest day. I've done something for 5 days in a row, although I am not really counting Sunday since it was just my basketball game and it wasn't all that strenuous.

Off to make some chicken and black bean chili!

Daily Double- Yikes!

This is one of my favorite pics from a frisbee tournament a couple of years ago. Yes, I caught it.

Holy Painstorm!

Rip City WOD:
7 rounds for time-
Run 200 meters
15 Jump Squats
10 L-Pullups
10 Divebomber Pushups

34:38

*For my pullups I did 2 real L-Pullups in the first round then switched to Leglift-Pullup (basically just doing a leglift and then a pullup each rep) for rounds 1, 3 & 5. Rounds 2,4,6 & 7 were regular kipping pullups.

Later in the day: (maybe it wasn't such a good idea to do that first WOD)

GB WOD-
Complete four rounds:
1 minute Wall HS
15 Swinging Dips (these were super hard and ugly)
20' L-sit Walk (even though Coach Sommer said not to substitute anything for these, they are not physically possible at this point for me so I did 20 seconds of L-Sit Hold each round)

Finish with 2x10 Wrist Pushups

I don't really know what I was thinking this morning when I woke up and decided to do two WODS today. I like to do this a couple days a week ONLY if the GB WOD isn't super intense- but today it was and I went ahead and totally pre-fatigued myself for it. Both WODS were super hard and I'm tired. I was planning on doing some muscle up work today too, but it might have to wait until tomorrow. The last thing I need is for overtraining to rear it's ugly head. I will eat plenty of food and drink lots of water today, STRETCH and ROLL.

On another note: Ramman and I are applying for the reality show "The Amazing Race". While I am not a t.v. watcher at all, I have gotten hooked on watching this show online. We have to fill out this super long application and make a 3 minute long video. The video can be anything- however we think we can get the casting peoples attention. So we are going to put together a highlight reel of as many of our workouts, tricks, and impressive athletic moves that we can. Plus we have to talk a little about why we would be good on the show and why we are a strong team, etc. Are you kidding me?! If we get on this show, we're winning that shiz. I'm super excited for this possibility. We're going all out to get on.. what an awesome adventure that would be! Plus, I've travelled so little that I don't even have a freakin' passport. I NEED something like this in my life. Super stoked..

Competition & Aspirations

Semi-rest(ish) Day:
Going to do a bit of bouldering (it's been a WHILE!)
Then I have a basketball game tonight.
TOMORROW: muscle ups and GB WOD

There are a couple of things I'm striving to achieve right now: getting my muscle up and making it to Coach Sommer's Gymnastic Bodies Seminar for free. There are of course numerous other goals in the hopper simultaneously, but these two are the focus right now.

Muscle Up: This is extremely frustrating. I have been trying to get it for like a YEAR. I haven't been seriously training it for the entire year, but I have had a few periods of time where I trained it a lot and came very close and then just sort of fell off the muscle up training wagon for a little while. This time I'm going to get it. I am painfully close. What's frustrating about it is that I know I am strong enough to do it, and I haven't gotten it. Is it a mental block? I'm afraid that I might be obsessing over it so much that I am blocking myself from actually achieving it. I've had plenty of experience with this when I was playing college basketball. I used to TRY SO FREAKIN' HARD that I would continuously fail. I realize that I just need to trust my training. Once I let go of TRYING and TRYING and TRYING so hard, I will get it. I am strong and I can get it, I just have to completely believe in that. It's just like shooting a jumper.

Gymnastic Bodies Seminar: Check out Gymnastic Bodies, these are the workouts I have been following since January. Ramman decided to register for the seminar and I had been loosely following the GB WODS for a couple of months while he was more serious about doing them. I still love my CrossFit metcons, so I was having a hard time choosing which WOD to do. But then Coach Sommer announced a competition, and being the competitor that I am, I joined- naturally. The winner of the competition wins free tuition to the GB Seminar in May down in Cali. It's going to be at this crazy state of the art facility that appears to be a heavenly dream-land for anyone interested in gymnastics. The contest entails following the GB WODS which are posted every Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday. These WODS consist of some CRAZY HARD strength exercises on rings, in handstands, on the bar, mostly with your own body weight with the exception of using a weight vest for some things. These workouts are pretty much meant for men and boys trying to become good at the things male gymnasts do, like rings. Did I mention that it is CRAZY HARD?! So I figure even if I don't win the contest, I will be a lot stronger from doing these workouts. And I will get my muscle up. With these WODS being prescribed 4 days a week, I am still able to mix in some regular CrossFit and kettlebell WODS to satisfy my craving to make myself want to throw up from exercise (I'm a rare breed). Along with doing the GB WODS, I have to post everything I do on the GB website under "workout logs". This is where everyone who is trying to win the competition posts workouts, pictures, and videos. In mid-April, Coach Sommer will ask for everyone on the forum to vote for who they think should win, then he will announce the winner. I'm one of two girls doing these workouts, as far as I know at least. It seems like there aren't too many people trying to win, but you never know! I have been diligent with following the WODS and posting on the forum, so we'll see what happens:)

So those are the big two right now. Along with getting Rip City Fitness up and running, these goals are keeping me pretty busy. The garage gym is coming along nicely and we've got a handful of people in there so far. Big marketing push is coming up, making it happen. 6 months ago I didn't think we would have our own gym already.. Dreams becoming realities.

A Fresh Start

Somehow I ended up with 3 blogs. It started with "Laney's Blog", a somewhat pathetic attempt at letting out some frustrations that had built up inside over a few months of dealing with some communication issues with my mom. After about 10 posts of unsatisfying, poorly written, sentimental crap, I gave up on it. Then I started keeping track of all of my training on a new blog "Laney's Gymnastic Training" (I know, very clever names). Then, after being a little "off" with my diet over the winter, I decided to Zone up again and hold myself accountable by tracking all of my food intake on yet another creatively named blog: "Laney's Food Blog" (sheesh! booooring..). Finally, after some inspiration from my new favorite pseudo-friend (basically, a girl I came across online, she has no idea that I exist, but I wish we were friends) Melissa Byers and her blog Byers Gets Diesel, I am combining all of my blogs into one (hopefully, eventually cool) blog.

I read this article by Melissa about CrossFitting and Zoning as a woman and it struck a chord with me. I have never had any sort of eating disorder or disordered eating to speak of, but I have struggled (and still do) with my fair share of body image issues. Entering into CrossFit was easy and enjoyable for me. I seriously lacked upper body strength (just like everyone who doen't train it that much) and I was tiring of the same old training for myself and for my clients. CrossFit lit a fire under my ass to change the focus and philosophy of training. I ate it up. Then I started The Zone diet and immediately saw changes in my strength, workout performances, and physique. It took a while to figure out the amount of food I should eat, and in the meantime I was starving and wanted to punch everyone in the face. Finally I settled in on a good block prescription (10-12 blocks per day, triple fat blocks) and I was cruising in The Zone. But soon enough, it started to consume me. While Melissa's article is full of her confessions of being a control freak and deprivation of proper nutrients for the sake of getting leaner, my experience is not as intense. None the less I still experienced (and continue to experience) the guilt associated with "cheat meals" or days when I'm a little high on the carb side. What she writes about is a way to remove yourself from that. The Zone gives us great structure for our diet, but if you have ever had any sort of weird emotions attached to food and eating, it can become a not-so-healthy-obsession.

Currently I am trying to switch to a more Paleo type of diet (Paleo with a few high quality, nutrient dense grains like wild rice and quinoa here and there, plus some yogurt once in a while). I have been back in The Zone (strict- read: measuring and weighing) for about 3 weeks and I feel a little bit of the obsession coming on. I don't really want to keep track of everything I eat every day. Because the reason I am doing it is so that if I "mess up" one day I can make myself feel bad for it. I'm pretty sure that's not the point of tracking your food. So, I'm doing away with my food blog. It's monotonous to say the least and it's self-depricating. Food should not make a person feel this way. I know what the portions I should eat look like and I know which carbs are "favorable" and which aren't, I don't need to look at the block sheet every time I cook. Furthermore, if I want to make a batch of gluten-free, sugar-free, dairy-free cookies, I should feel good about it- after all they are the closest thing to a Paleo treat that I can think of.

The one thing I will continue to track meticulously is my training. This, when it's all said and done, is where I see the fruits of my labor. This is what I am passionate about. So expect this blog to contain a wide array of topics from gymnastics to CrossFit to recipes to family drama to exciting news about Rip City Fitness because this is The Good Life.

3.28.09

My WOD:
(Stairs were done on Stepmill)

For Time: 19:46
10 Burpees
25 Floors
15 Burpees
20 Floors
20 Burpees
15 Floors
25 Burpees
10 Floors

Abs:
20 V-Ups
20 Lemon Squeezes
20 Side Arches (each side)
40 Russian Twists
40 Arch-Ups

Stretching and Rolling

3.27.09

GB WOD:

10 minutes of HS Wall Runs
(40, 42, 32, 30, 23, 20, 25 seconds)

rest 3-5 minutes

2x6 Wall Pike Press HS
(1x6 Pike Negatives, 1x6 Straddle Negatives)

Finish with 2x10 Wrist Pushups

Jumping Muscle Ups x3
Muscle Up Attempts x3

"Dip Cindy"
5 Ring Dips
10 Pullups
15 Squats
20 minutes for rounds: 5 rounds+ 7 pullups

Stretching & Rolling

Today I felt super weak and heavy.. Very frustrating. I was going to do Cindy but then when my muscle up attempts were so bad (due in part to the rips on my wrists) I got mad and decided I needed to do a "Dip Cindy", going all the way down to the sticky spot EVERY time. And it sucked. Hopefully I put some good stuff in my strength bank.

3.25.09

Gymnastics Class:

30 minute warm up and stretching
HS Rolls x10
Cartwheels x16
Round Offs x10
Front HS x5 (not so good)
5 Pullovers
3x15 V-Ups
3x15 Arch-Ups
80 Bucket Circles (40 each direction)
Muscle Up Training:
I lost track of how may attempts I made at getting my muscle up today, but if my wrists are any indication, it was A LOT. At least 15. I got videos of 9 of them, here are 2 from somewhere in the middle of them all. The first is me trying to not kip too much, then I said screw it in the second video and decided to kip and got a lot closer. Not there yet, but painfully close!

This was attempt 8 or 9:


This was attempt 12 or 13:

3.24.09

GB WOD:

Complete four rounds:
10 depth jumps- about 2.5 feet
30 seconds weighted jumping deck squats- 15# weightvest
30m sled/tire sprints- partner drag using a band

Finish with 2x60 seconds seated toe point stretch.

20 minutes of stretching and rolling.


Picture of me and Ramman doing our depth jumps:

3.23.09

Woah. What a weekend. I played 7 games of ultimate in 2 days and my legs are FRIED. I figured I would be alright with an upper body workout, but it was still pretty hard! My diet was really off this weekend at the tournament, which definitely plays a big part in how trashed my body feels today..

GB WOD:

Complete 3 sets each:

1 Embedded BL + 3 Back Lever Curls

(tucked) + (3 spotted Back Lever Curls)

1 Embedded PL + 5 Korean Dips

(frogstand) + (5 Korean Dips)

1 Embedded FL + 5 Weighted HLL

(tucked) + (5 knees to elbows- hip flexors were not functioning enough to do straight leg lifts!)

Finish with 10 Bridge Wall Walks

(5 Wall Walks & 5 Backbend Kickovers- kicking off of wall)

Korean Dips

3.19.09

Took a rest day yesterday after I realized that I had trained 5 days in a row and done 7 workouts. When I started feeling irritable I thought I'd better take the day off. Today I did a metcon, tomorrow will be another rest day so that my legs are fresh for tons of running on Saturday and Sunday at the PLU BBQ! Should be fun :) Will stretch a lot and get back on the GB WOD track on Monday next week. Muscle up, here I come!

MetCon WOD (mine):

4 Rounds for time:
20 KB Swings (16k)
15 KB Thrusters (12k) these were especially hard two days after doing the XR handstands!
10 Box Jumps (24 inches)
15:45- Killer

Foam rolling & stretching

3.17.09

GB WOD:

Complete the following:

10 minutes in XR Strap HS

I ended up doing 10 sets as long as I could in the XR Strap HS:
1-37 sec
2-40 sec
3-38 sec
4-45 sec
5-41 sec
6-45 sec
7-45 sec
8-45 sec
9-37 sec
10-41 sec

Finish with 2x10 Wrist Pushups

Later- "Burpee Fran"
21-15-9
Burpees
Pullups
Time: 9:50

3.16.09

GB WOD:

3 sets of each (rest 2-3 minutes between sets)
3x5 Weighted Jumping Deck Squats- 20# weightvest
3x5 Natural GHR
3x10 Hip Circles (these are hard!)

Also:
Lots of lacrosse ball rolling and stretching
3xMax Pullups:
8,7,6

3.15.09

GB WOD from Thursday 3.12.09

Complete 3 sets each:
1 Embedded BL + 4 Front Lever Circle Pulls
(spotted BL) + (Pullovers: set1=1 on my own & 2 spotted/set2=2 spotted/set3= 2 on my own & 1 spotted)
1 Embedded PL + 5 Chest Roll HeSPUs
(spotted PL) + (10 modified chest roll to HeSPU using an octogon- see video)
1 Embedded FL + 4 Windshield Wipers
(spotted FL) + (4 Half Windshield Wipers, last set knees bent)

Finish with 10 Bridge Wall Walks
(forgot these! But did 60 Bucket circles- 30 each direction)

Modified Chest Roll to HeSPU video will not load:(

3.13.09

GB WOD-

4 Rounds:

10 Cast Wall Walks

(I couldn't do 10 in good form so I did 7/7/6/6)

30 Sec. Wheels

(I couldn't do wheels on my feet so I tried the first set on my knees, and then the other sets I did Wallabys)

30 Wall Runs

(I couldn't do these close to the wall, so I set my hands out further and straddled my legs, did 20 instead of 30)

These workouts are definitely humbling!

Later:Ran 5 sets of stairs (202 stairs per set)= 1,010 steps

2 Rounds-

10 V-Ups

10 Lemon Squeezes

10 Side Arches each side

20 Arch-Ups

60% of 60% of pullup max: 3/3/2

3.14.09

Half "Angie"

For Time: 15:05

50 Pullups

50 Pushups

50 Situps

50 Squats

Lots of foam rolling and stretching.

3.11.09

Gymnastics Class:

Lots of warming up and stretching
Roundoffs x10
Front Handsprings x15
Monkey Vault x10 (much better this week!)
60% of max pullups: 5/5/4
Obstacle Course: have video, will post tomorrow..

Me doing a monkey vault:

3.10.09

GB WOD:

Perform the following:
3 sets: 1-3 XR Strap HSPU to 1-3 Bulgarian Dips to 1-3 MU Transitions to 1-3 Bulgarian L-sit Pull-ups to BL to FL
3x5 Tick Tocks

Finish with 2x10 Wall Extensions

Since I can't exactly do anything consecutively on the rings, I broke it up into modified movements, one after another.
Here's what I did:

3 Rounds-
R1=HSPU on parallettes w/ band assistance and a bit of a spot 3x/R2=on rings w/ band assistance and spot 3x/R3= same as R2 2x
Bulgarian Dips 2/2/2 (this was my first time doing these so they weren't that great..)
MU Transition w/ band assistance 2/1/2
Bulgarian L-sit Pullup R1=1 on my own, 2 spotted/R2=1 on my own/R3=3 spotted
Tucked BL 1/1/1
Tucked FL 1/1/1

Seeing as how this workout completely fried my upper body (and was also extremely humbling and frustrating) I didn't do the tick tocks after my 3 rounds. The "ring series" was plenty of strength work for me today, I would have needed a spotter and I'm guessing that the tick tocks would have been hideously poor form.

2x10 Wall Extensions

3.9.09

GB WOD:

Complete four rounds: (what I did in parentheses)
10 Hopping HeSPUs
(Single rep Handstand Hops- see video)
30 seconds under-grip HLL
(7,9,8,8)
40' Senders*****I twisted my ankle playing basketball yesterday so I didn't do senders, instead I did-
(20 calf raises, 20 squats)

Finish with 2x60 seconds seated toe point stretch
(Did not do this because of my swollen and sore ankle..)

20 Kipping Pullups
Max Reps Strict Pullups x3
set 1= 9
set 2= 8 (see video, tiny kick at the top of #8, call it 7 if you must)
set 3= 6



oops, i meant to post me doing HS Hops, but that's Ramman!

Here's me:

3.7.09 & 3.8.09

Saturday:

4 Rounds-
Row 500m
10 Pushups
Stair Climb 10 floors
20 Squats

Sunday:
1 Hour Basketball Game

**** MONDAY: GETTING BACK ON THE GB TRACK (missed some of the wods last week)****

3.5.09 & 3.6.09

3.5.09- Rest day, put my back out pretty good.. in pain..

3.6.09- Back feels a little better but still resting.. need it to feel better tomorrow so I can catch up on my missed GB WODS!

3.4.09

Went to gymnastics class:

Long warmup with lots of stretching
Cartwheels x10
Roundoffs x18
Front Handsprings (into port-a-pit) x8
Monkey Vault (more like attempts- these were so incredibly bad today, very frustrated) x10
20' Rope Climb x1
2 Muscle Up Attempts
3x3 Spotted Muscle Ups (felt weak today)
3x5 Spotted Handstand Pike Press
3x5 Spotted Full Range HS Pushup on Parallettes

3.3.09

Kettlebell WOD:

5 Rounds for time-
10 Swings- 16kg
10 Clean and Press (5 each arm)- 16kg first set, dropped to 12kg for the rest
10 Wall Ball Substitute

17:32

3.2.09

GB WOD:

3 Rounds- (what I did is in parentheses)
1 Planche + 5 Muscle Ups
(frogstand) + (set 1=5 band assisted, set 2=2 attempts & 5 assisted, set 3=3 attempts & 5 assisted)
1 BL + 5 HLL
(tucked BL) + (5 HLL)
1 FL + 5 L-sit Lifts
(tucked FL) + (5 not-very-good L-sit Lifts)

Later:
Ran Broadway Stairs (202 steps)
4 sets in 17:57

*Ab Routine
Here's one of my muscle up attempts for the day: