June 5 - Grace

I've been frazzled all day. My mind can't seem to stay focused.

That's not the best way to start a WOD.

Today's WOD is "Grace." Grace is a single round of 30 clean and jerks, as fast as you can knock them out.

The clean & jerk is one of my favorite exercises. I know. I have issues. But despite being one of my favorites, I've struggled to get this one up to the prescribed level. When we did this WOD back in February, I was 10 lbs below the prescribed weight. So today I decided to just go for it. I knew my time would suffer, but I was determined to do at least ONE WOD as prescribed.

So I loaded up my bar to 95# (this is the women's prescribed weight - guys have to suffer with an additional 40 lbs) and had Wonder Dad start the timer.

I got ONE REP done, ONE, when I realized I my flighty brain had made a HUGE mistake. I was wearing the wrong shoes. I had put on a pair of running shoes to pick up Wonder Boy shortly before we started this evening and I never even thought about changing them while getting ready.

Wonder Dad, being the incredible workout buddy that he is, ran to the closet to get my super shoes (my Innov-8 F-Lite 185s). And there's another advantage to working out in the garage! If we had been at the gym I would have just had to bite the bullet and finish as-is.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, I'm sure (so get used to it), but these shoes have made such a HUGE difference in my workouts. In the running shoes, I had trouble pushing the weight through my heels. In fact, I kept rocking forward onto my toes, especially during the Jerk portion of the exercise. And in the the 4 or 5 reps I did while Wonder Dad ran to get my shoes, my feet already started to ache. I had kicked off the shoes and was just in my bare feet after the 2nd rep, but even that doesn't feel quite like wearing the shoes. They offer just the right amount of support without throwing my balance off.

So ... with all of that said, I managed to do the full 30 reps at the prescribed weight of 95# in just over 7 minutes (7:06.9, to be exact). And once I got the right shoes, I felt fairly good doing it. It was hot (Texas in June, what more can I say?). And I was totally spent at the end, as usual. But at least I had enough gas left in my tank to finish out with 30 Knees to Elbows and 5 pistols on each leg (band assisted again, but felt better than the last time).

So I guess I am going to call this WOD a success. :+)

May 12 - Clean & Jerk

Not everyone would believe this, but this clean & jerk ladder wasn't a bad way to top off my Mother's Day.

Set 1: 1 * 85#
Set 2: 1 * 95#
Set 3: 1 * 105# (pr)
Set 4: 1 * 95#
Set 5: 1 * 100#
Set 6: 1 * 105#
Set 7: 1 * 110#

20 - Knees to Elbows

I like to do cleans. I don't like to do clean and jerks nearly as much. Sue me.

Seriously, the press part is much harder than the clean part for me. But the Mother's Day fairies (you knew about those, right?) must have been smiling on me because I hit a new PR on set #3 and then topped it on set #7! How much does THAT rock?!

OK. I don't hate clean and jerks as much as I let on in the last paragraph. And I'm not just saying that because I hit those new PRs. I'm a fan of big, power movements like this. There's something about being able to get them just right that makes you (or at least me) feel good about yourself. If I ever manage to get the form of the snatch right, I'll bet I'll feel the same way. For now, I'll just have to be happy with this one WOD.

May 5 - Elizabeth

"Elizabeth" 21 - Cleans (85#)
21 - Ring Dips
15 - Cleans (85#)
15 - Ring Dips
9 - Cleans (85#)
9 - Ring Dips

My time today was 9 minutes and 27 seconds. However, my dips were all negatives. I can manage a few good form dips with the regular dip stands, but on the rings I am just not stable enough to press back up from the bottom. My shoulder is getting stronger though. I feel it in my push ups and pull ups. Hopefully soon I will see it on the ring dips too.

We finished up with 20 Knees to Elbows. Now I'm tired and ready to sit on the couch for a very LONG time.