Week 1 of Crossfit

I just completed my third workout of the week at Crossfit. It's been great, although the workouts are definitely harder than in the On-Ramp classes, but that's to be expected.

Today, Saturday's workout was a group WOD with 4 people per team. We had to do 5 rounds for reps of:

rowing for calories (45s)

15s off

14lb wall balls (45s) * I used 10lb and they still killed me!!!

15s off

pull-ups (45s) *I used ring rows as I'm still not there with the pull-ups

15s off

push-ups (45s)

15s off

My total reps for the 5 rounds were 220 and our team managed 930 reps altogether, which was great work!

My struggle this week was with the power snatch and overhead squat we were working on in Friday's workout. I'm finding that I am leaning forward too much with the added weight of the real bar (previously we only used 6lb bar, and now I'm working with a 15lb bar and trying to add weight to it.

This is how the Power Snatch should look...

And the Overhead Squat should be like this (this chick is seriously badass, btw!!)

Day 1 in the Real Crossfit World

One of our greatest worries/concerns in the On-Ramp Crossfit group was advancing to the main Crossfit classes. Instead of our intimate 4-person group through the on-ramp class, the main classes can have around 20 people of all kinds of levels, so it's kinda intimidating.

However, we needn't have worried. Yesterday, Monday August 16, I signed up for a 3-month contract with Windy City and did my first class. It went something like this:

Warm-Up:

400m run followed by:

2 rounds of:

Burgener Warm Up (As shown in following video)

25s hold in rings

Ankle warm-up in ladder on floor

5 Box Hurdles

Then, we started to add more weight to our snatch, aiming to find our ORM (One Rep Max), but I'm not happy with my form yet, so I stayed with a 15lb bar plus 10 lb, as I really want to master the form first. This is how the snatch should look:

WOD:

Recorded for Time:

800m run

50 ring dips

50 sit ups

Since I haven't done ring-dips, I changed here and did push-ups.

My time was 10.45 and 800m is the furthest I have run in years, which was awesome.

Month 1 Results

So, I just finished the on-ramp last Thursday and did my first "big-boy" class yesterday, so it was time to take measurements, photos, etc. I still don't have a scale (my bad), but will weigh soon.

First of all, the emotional/physical difference I feel after 1 month is amazing. I am noticeably stronger and feel way better about myself. Even if there is not that much difference in the mirror/on the scale, MY body already feels better to me and that translates to improved body confidence. I feel good.

As for the measurements:

On August 17th, these are my measurements

Middle of Bicep: 12.5 inches (no change)

Top of Thigh: 24 inches (no change)

Belly (measured to belly button): 36 inches (-1 inch)

Calf (Widest Point): 14 inches (no change)

Chest (Under Bra Line): 34 inches (-1 inch)

Hips: 38 inches (-1 inch)

I should mention that while my biceps are no smaller, they are way firmer, and I can notice a little definition. Whoop Whoop. The adventure continues!

Class 11 - Double Unders, Kipping Pull-Ups and Fran

This was our second-to-last class in the on-ramp program and it was a great one. We learned a couple of new skills and it seemed something had clicked and our overall form was improved.

For our warm up, we did 15-12-9 of wall balls (10lb) and kettle bells (10lb). For the first time, the wall ball felt good and I felt my squat was greatly improved, which was awesome.

Double Under

This is with a jump rope, where instead of doing a single turn of the rope per jump, the rope goes around your feet twice for each jump. They're pretty hard to get the hang of and the lighter the rope the better. I was starting to get the hang of it, but it's definitely something I'll want to practice more of.

Kipping Pull-Up

We couldn't really do this properly, since none of us can do a full pull-up yet, but we practiced the technique of thrusting your weight from your toes to your chest by popping your hips really quickly. The way to practice this at home is to lay on the floor with legs at a right angle and knees also at a right angle. Then, in one quick movement thrust your body into a diagonal plank position with your feet flat on the floor. Doing reps of this will improve your hip flexibility.

WOD - Fran

Fran is apparently a way that Crossfitters compare their scores. It is a high-intensity workout that consists:

21-15-9

Thrusters

Pull-Ups

The prescribed WOD calls for 65lb Thrusters and full pull-ups, but I did 9lb Thrusters and jumping pull-ups. My time was 5,10 minutes.

Class 8 - Little Kelly, Handstand Pushups and Box Jumps

After Monday's gruelling WOD of Push-Ups, Sit-Ups and Lunges, we were all hurting like mad for today's class. This would make today's challenges even more difficult. We started off with a warm-up that consisted of boxsteps, sit-ups and push-ups which got the abs stretched out again. Then we moved on to today's skill, which was intended to be handstand push-ups. Because these are so hard, we did a modification with the box, putting our knees up on the box and our hands on the floor as close to the box as possible. The idea is to get your body as vertical as possible, then do the push-up, lowering your head down to the floor and pushing back up off your shoulders. It's tough, and the blood rushing down to your head makes it feel weird, but pretty awesome at the same time.

Then came our WOD, Little Kelly. This was BY FAR the most devastatingly difficult workout we have done so far. It consists 3 rounds for time of:

• 30 wall balls (I used 10lb)
• 30 box jumps (20" box)
• 400m run

This is a really hard workout and it took me 27.06 to finish it. I can't remember a time in my life when I worked out that hard. It made me realize how horribly unfit I still am, but I was proud to complete it. I look forward to trying it again in a few months and seeing how I improve!

"Before" Photos

With the hope that my body is going to change by doing Crossfit - and I can actually already feel changes - it seems only fair to take some before pics and then compare with the after pics. I was a little slow taking these shots - it would have been better to take them at day 1. These are dated July 29, 2010. I really hope nobody is looking at this blog!!!

My Crossfit Goals

For the On-Ramp course, I have set myself the following goals:

To be able to do 1 full pull-up
To be able to do 5 real push-ups

And, to notice a difference when looking in the mirror or when I take my measurements again.
It's not really fair to do a weight comparison, because I will be gaining a lot of muscle in this month, which is heavier than fat, and also, I don't have a scale :-p

I also still have to take my before photos, which I will upload tomorrow.

So, I have to achieve these goals by the end of the On-Ramp course, which will be on August 12th, 2010.

Lesson 5 - Wednesday July 28

From now on I will post after each lesson.

Today we warmed up with a 1000m row at resistance level 5.

Then we did a short workout that consisted of 3 rounds of each:
5 sit-ups
5 push-ups (I'm still doing girlie push-ups)
50m farmer's walk with 2 15lb kettlebell weights

Then we did some squat therapy because a good squat is the foundation of good crossfit. After this, we learned the "Thruster", a combination of the front squat and the push press.

For the WOD (Workout of the Day), we did Jackie, which consists of:

1000 Meter Row
50 Thrusters, 45lbs men (30 lbs women)
30 pullups

(for time)

As we are still learning, we adjusted this to using 6 lb bars for the Thrusters and instead of pull-ups, we did ring rows, and it was still pretty insane!!! I cannot imagine being able to do this with 30lb!!! My time was 12.11.

Getting Started in Crossfit

I first heard of Crossfit when some friends of mine in Panama started planning their Crossfit gym, Top Level Gym, which will be a Mixed Martial Arts and Crossfit gym. Intrigued, when I moved to Chicago, I looked for a Crossfit gym and did some research. It's a very no-nonsense kind of fitness plan, and because it's very team-oriented, there's really no way for you to back out once you get started. Not like going for a run and after five minutes calling your buddy and heading to the nearest bar. That happens to me, you see.

So, after I decided Crossfit was a good idea for me, I found Windy City Crossfit here in Chicago and instantly signed up for their On-Ramp course, a 4-week intro to Crossfit. I say instantly, because that's the only way it was going to happen. You sometimes have to throw yourself into these new hobbies/lifestyles.

The On-Ramp course lasts 4 weeks and comprises of 3 one-hour workouts a week. I am in a group of 4 people - that's me, Anthony, Diane and Doreen and our instructor is Vince. They're a great bunch of people and all super-enthusiastic and ready to get in killer shape, which is awesome.

What is Crossfit?

According to Crossfit.com, CrossFit is the principal strength and conditioning program for many police academies and tactical operations teams, military special operations units, champion martial artists, and hundreds of other elite and professional athletes worldwide.

The Crossfit program delivers a fitness that is, by design, broad, general, and inclusive. Crossfit's specialty is not specializing. Combat, survival, many sports, and life reward this kind of fitness and, on average, punish the specialist.

The CrossFit program is designed for universal scalability making it the perfect application for any committed individual regardless of experience. The program has been used, with the same routines, for elderly individuals with heart disease and cage fighters one month out from televised bouts. Crossfit scales load and intensity; we don’t change programs.

The needs of Olympic athletes and our grandparents differ by degree not kind. Our terrorist hunters, skiers, mountain bike riders and housewives have found their best fitness from the same regimen.

Thousands of athletes worldwide have followed the Crossfit workouts posted daily on this site and distinguished themselves in combat, the streets, the ring, stadiums, gyms and homes.

Starting Measurements

I am a little slow off the mark with the measurements. Should have taken them at the beginning of Week 1, but I forgot. These are the measurements after 3 Crossfit classes, taken on July 23, 2010.

Middle of Bicep: 12.5 inches
Top of Thigh: 24 inches
Belly (measured to belly button): 37 inches
Calf (Widest Point): 14 inches
Chest (Under Bra Line): 35 inches

Hips: 39 inches

Weight: I currently don't have a scale in my house, and haven't been anywhere with one for a while, but I will add this in later!

Height: 5ft 9in

I am still missing the "before" photos which will then be compared to the "after" photos to see how my body changes.