Tabata This

That's me vs. wall ball in Fight Gone Bad '09

Today was Tabata Thursday at CrossFit Central, which means four minutes of hell on repeat for the uninitiated. I really love/hate Tabata. Tabata is an interval training regimen created by Dr. Izumi Tabata based on research that is way more complicated than I can summarize for you. Dr. Tabata demonstrated that athletes who used a four minute protocol of 20 seconds hard work, 10 seconds rest on repeat for 8 rounds showed dramatic gains in their anaerobic capacity and VO2Max (ability to consume oxygen). Read more about the protocol and what you can do with it here. Almost 15 years later, CrossFitters and other performance athletes are doing pretty much "Tabata Anything." This can be sprints, pullups, squats, pushups, thrusters, sandbag carries, anything! And if four minutes of work sounds easy to you, try it. Just try it for two minutes.

Today we did 3 sets of Tabata work: 8 rounds of 20 seconds on, 10 seconds off for each exercise. Pull-ups, lunges, wall ball. Oh my god, the wall ball after the lunges nearly killed me. I literally fell on the floor when time was finally called. I was toasted.

Next time I Tabata something, I'm going to play this song on repeat to keep me motivated.

A Date with Fran and Other Crossfit Adventures

For about two years I've kept a log of almost all my workouts, so I can flip back through them and get ideas for new workouts as well as track my progress. I managed this for two entire years, and all of a sudden I can't seem to put pen to paper to keep the log going. So here's the quick and dirty on the past week or two of kick-ass crossfit action.

Last Friday I had the pleasure and pain combo of visiting Coach Crystal Nelson's 8am class at CrossFit Central for my date with Fran. For the uninitiated, Fran is a classic killer WOD comprised of two simple, brutal movements: thrusters and pull-ups. I have a love/hate relationship with both, which means I have a healthy resistance to the lady Fran. But I wasn't about to let on in my class. The prescribed weight for men is 95#, and 65# for women. Being my first time, I went with a respectable 55# and the small blue band for pull-ups (I'm thisclose to getting unassisted kipping pull-ups, but that's another story).

Whoa. Now I know what everyone has been talking about. This was a short but aggressive little workout, and I clocked in at 8:47 with a new rip in my right palm. It was worth it. Here's the deets:

WOD: Fran

21-15-9

Thrusters

Pull-ups

Now watch this woman rip it up and see if that inspires you to take the stairs instead of the elevator today.

In other crossfit news, I also managed to do 150 box jumps yesterday, sprinkled with a few dozen handstand pushups (modified by placing my knees on the box, hands on the ground, torso vertical). And this morning was my farewell Therapy Bootcamp WOD to dedicated gal-pal Sarah, who is departing for greener pastures next week. The ladies happily tackled partner wheelbarrow carries, donkey kicks and a short-but-sweet WOD of box jumps, tricep dips, lunges & situps (21-15-9, just like dear old Fran). It was a fun, sweaty way to say goodbye to a dear friend, and we now have an open spot on our team if anyone wants to meet up Tuesday mornings at 7am for a little crossfit fun!

Wonder Women

So I'm basically surrounded by amazing women.  Everywhere I look, there's another one appearing with words of wisdom, a big hug, a kick-ass attitude, some inspiration and a good, long laugh. I like to think of them all as Wonder Women, and I strive to be like them in friendship, relationships, fitness, talents and energy. My mom is definitely Wonder Woman #1 and I learned all my superpowers from her.

Last night I got an email from the always-fabulous Mel over at theclothesmakethegirl.blogspot.com asking if I would partner with her and the lovely Maggie for the CrossFit Central Women's Challenge in three weeks. Two wonder women if I ever saw them, and I eagerly accepted, putting out of my mind the intimidating unknown that is the Dreaded Double Workout on challenge day. Check out this video from last year's challenge, featuring some of my favorite superheroines:


Women's Challenge from CrossFit Central on Vimeo.

This morning I had the pleasure of putting together a fun workout for my Therapy Bootcamp ladies, and we welcomed a new addition to our little crew (way to go, Stephanie)! Four more Wonder Women who willingly tackle my WODs with grace and only a few grimaces. I'm going out of town next week so I'm leaving the ladies with a workout for them to complete on their own.  They've been at this for awhile, and I know they can do it.  But I am still demanding photographic evidence.  There was a request for an animal WOD again, so I'm thinking bear crawls, donkey kicks, frog jumps and crab walks are in order. Any suggestions?

These same ladies will be true Wonder Women with me in September when we take on the CASA 5K Superhero Run, in full superhero regalia. Now where is my cape...?

Old School Workout Fun

This was a fabulous (fabulously hard) week of WODs (Workout of the Day), including an old school gym free-for-all with Crystal that involved rope climbs, tire flips and wheelbarrows. We got to play like kids, and I felt pretty strong wheelbarrow-ing a big guy across the dirty gym floor.

Rope climbs, while impressive for elite athletes, were more a source of laughter than strength-training for me this time, but I'll keep plugging away at them.  Who knew the stuff we did with ease as kids could be so hard for grown-ups?  Maybe I can even do this some day:



In no particular order, this week's WODs also included 50 deadlifts at 95#, a couple hundred situps, 100 burpees, farmer carries, rowing, kettlebell cleans and running. Whew.  To top it all off, a couple of my Therapy Bootcamp ladies gathered for an impromptu office party with a little Sit and Be Fit action.  In case you're wondering, yes, we really did this. And yes, the rest of our office thinks we're a little bit crazy, which is a relative term when you work in mental health.

Free CrossFit Community Workouts

If you've been wondering what all this crossfit talk is about, this weekend you have an opportunity to come and try it out with the crew from CrossFit Central.  You can sign up online for an indoor workout to throw some weight around, or you can just show up under the Mopac bridge on the Austin High side of Town Lake at 8:30 am this Saturday, July 31 for some bootcamp-style fun.  Personally, I love the UTB workouts.  They always bring out a big crowd with a wide range of abilities, so you can participate even if you've been on your couch for the past year. And despite the scary term "bootcamp," the community workouts are always friendly, welcoming, fun and challenging in a good way.

See you there!

Turkish Getups and Other Forms of Torture

This week was full of cool, sweaty, challenging CrossFitting fun, that left my body *very* aware of each tiny muscle fiber.  Therapy Bootcamp was a jungle sauna that left all of us dripping and, thankfully, laughing through the box jumps, dumbbell cleans, overhead squats and tricep pushups that me and my ladies chugged through despite the 100% humidity.  Wednesday I was back to CrossFit Central for some time with the lovely Crystal McReynolds who reintroduced me to an old nemesis, the Turkish Getup. Ridiculous name, even more ridiculous movement that involves lying supine on a dirty gym floor with a raised kettlebell, inartfully getting to a standing position, and then slowly lowering back down without hitting yourself or anyone else with the kettlebell.



Yesterday's CFC class involved some regulars like running, wall ball and push press, so I wasn't feeling too intimidated.  But during the very first round of 55# push press I wrenched my neck for the hundredth time this year.  Boo!  I lowered the weight and kept going, then rolled out my neck on a TriggerPoint ball to stave off additional pain.  Since I'm less inclined to spend inordinate amounts of money on gym equipment than my coach, I've been known to roll out at home with a sweet potato, a firm lemon and a rolling pin.  The lemon had the added benefit of aromatherapy, and I swear it works almost as well.

So today I'm trying something new in the healing department.  I'm getting tired of having a literal pain in my neck every other week, so I'm taking my first trip to a chiropractor for Airrosti treatment.  This apparently involves some aggressive massage, stretching and then taping the unsuspecting patient up like a mummy.  I'm a little wary of the very standard release you have to sign that warns of the rare but fatal complications that can arise from "cervical spine adjustments," but I'm soldiering on.  One more Lesson of the Day: your cervical spine is no where near your cervix.  Who knew?

Double Duty and the Breakfast of Champions

So a few of my work friends have been crazy enough to let me put together weekly workouts for us, dubbed "Therapy Bootcamp" (we're a bunch of social workers and family therapists).  Each week we brave the bugs & the heat, both of which are plentiful this time of year, and meet up for some early morning CrossFit-style fun. At least they tell me they're having fun, even if it hurts just a little bit.

Since I'm the regular CrossFitter in the group, it's up to me to put together our workouts, which I LOVE!  I get to challenge myself and my friends, and be a little creative as well.  A particularly successful Therapy Bootcamp WOD (Workout of the Day) including an "animal" segment involving bear crawls, donkey kicks, crab walks & frog jumps, and I'm proud to say we all brought out our inner 5-year-old.

So I couldn't very well leave them hanging yesterday, despite having an indoor CrossFit Central class at 8am. A double duty day!

Here's what I looked like afterwards:

Therapy Bootcamp WOD

Warm-up 10 minutes

3 rounds for time:

25 superman

25 mountain climbers

25 situps

10 tricep dips

run approx. 300 meters

My time- 11:20

CrossFit Central WOD

Warm-up (this one included hateful burpee broad jumps)

8 rounds for time:

12 jump squats

8 clapping pushups

12 one-arm snatch (I used 20# db)

My time- 17:38

The 8 rounds really took a force of will to power through.  I was the only girl in class and didn't have my usual fab Coach Crystal, but working out with the guys and Carey kept me motivated to work my butt off and I held my own with them. My clapping pushups consisted of knee pushups with a one-hand slap to the chest between each one, leaving me with one hell of a skinned knee.  Far from feeling depleted after these WODs, I felt energetic and ready for the day.  Then I got home to fix my breakfast of champions!

2 fried farmers market eggs
1/2 cup whipped sweet potatoes
handful of blueberries with a little greek yogurt

Mmmmm. And sweet potatoes are an awesome alternative to boring old white potatoes, which aside from being the nightshade arch-nemesis of my bf are also pretty high up there on the list of foods that skyrocket your blood sugar.  Make the switch to this pretty little tuber and you won't regret it.