This week I feel like I’m getting stronger. Not near as strong as I used to be, but stronger than last month. And in all honesty, I don’t want to get stronger. I have no interest in getting personal records or beating other people’s scores. I’ve been there and I was super unhappy with my figure and how I felt in my skin. I was strong, but I wasn’t happy. So, even though I love to feel strong and have muscle, I don’t have any actual goals when doing my workouts, other than feeling good naked. Or in a swimsuit. That would do, as well. Oh, duh, and to live a long, healthy life. For sure.
So I’m wondering this week, what are your goals when you head to the gym? Do you have an actual short term goal? Half marathon? CrossFit comp? Post baby? Or is yours long term? Getting yo sexy on.
Now let’s look at what I did this week!
Sunday – I do not like working out on Sundays. I’m not inspired at all. Parks & Rec is just way more fun than the gym on Sundays. So most of the time, it takes me until 4 or 5pm to actually get there. And then I end up doing a work out by myself while the boyfriend lifts by himself. It’s really thrilling. So I half ass almost every workout. Including this one.
18-15-12-9-6-3 Reps Of:
Hang Power Cleans – I used 95#
Burpees Over Bar
I finished in 10:40
Monday – REST DAY! I cooked and ate instead of working out. It was fantastic.
Tuesday – I’ve been going a little heavier in workouts than I want to. My coach seems to be quite persuasive. Or I’m just a p*ssy when it comes to saying no. I need to put my foot down. I don’t want to go heavier. Been there, done that, hate it.
Every 2 mins For 8 sets:
3 Position Squat Clean (high hang, hang, floor) into Split Jerk. Start at 70% of 1 rep Max C&J. Add as you go.
I finished at 120#
THEN
3 x Max Effort Sets Of Strict Handstand Push Ups / HS Holds. 90 sec rest between sets (score is total reps)
I did strict handstand push ups to 1 ab mat. I got 9 reps, then 8 reps, then 7 reps – 22 reps total
THEN
For Time:
400m Run
15 Power Cleans (185/125) – I used 115#
300m Run
12 Power Cleans
200m Run
9 Power Cleans
I finished in 10:34 at 115#
Wednesday – This workout was AWESOME and pretty stupid hard. You should absolutely try this one.
5 Rounds For Time Of:
7 Deadlift (275/195) – I used 165# and 50 Double Unders
5 min REST THEN
4 Rounds For Time Of:
18 KB Swings (70/55) – I used 45# and 10 Burpee Box Jumps (24/20)
5 min REST THEN
For Time:
60/50 calorie row and 30 push press (135/95) – I used 75#
I finished with a total time of 28:31
Thursday – Rest day. I usually workout on Thursdays and take Fridays off, but I got a chemical peel and my face was frightening looking. And felt even worse. So I stayed indoors in order to not frighten children.
Friday – I’ve been digging morning workouts lately. Morning meaning 9am. I see why people like working out early and having the whole day free afterwards. But I can definitely say that I don’t feel near as strong or awake when I workout in the morning. But I’m still in to it, especially since I have no interest in getting stronger.
Back Squats: 6 x 3. All sets at 82% – I did mine at 145#
Between Sets: Max Effort Deficit Push Ups.
THEN
3 min Clock:
200m Run
Max Effort Muscle Ups – I got 6 muscle ups
1 min Rest Then
3 min Clock:
200m Run
Max Effort Alternating Dumbbell Snatch – I used 45# and got 16 snatches
1 min Rest Then
3 min Clock:
200m Run
Max Effort Burpees – I got 32 burpees
1 min Rest Then
3 min Clock:
200m Run
Max Effort Dumbbell Goblet Squat – I got 36 goblet squats
Score is Total Reps – I got 90 reps total
Saturday – Another early morning workout, this time at 8am, but it was a good little sprinter with some other coaches before the classes.
15 Minutes to find a 3 rep max power clean (can drop with quick reset) – I got 145#
THEN
3 min AMRAP:
3 power cleans (185,105)
6 box overs (30,24) I used 20″ box
1 min Rest
3 min AMRAP:
2 power cleans (205,115)
6 box overs (30,24) I used 20″ box
1 min Rest Then
3 min AMRAP:
2 power cleans (205,115)
6 box overs (30,24) I used 20″ box
Juli, love your blog and the addition of Fashion Fridays. Fitness goals? Somewhat the same – feel good naked but also be strong enough to enjoy the mountain biking that we do here. To snap out of a rut my husband and I are training to ride off road from our house in northern WI to the Michigan border (about 81 miles). I am terrified! He is an amazing athlete and I am just trying to keep up….Anyway, thanks for bringing some fun into my life with your fantastic blog.
Great workouts! But I agree.. eating & cooking > working out. Especially on mondays!
I always wonder (in a good way) if it feels strange to not be as strong as you used to be, by choice, and be happier. You’re still stronger than me and a lot of other cf girls! I tried cf over 1.5 yrs ago and went too hard as a beginner and got rhabdo in my arms (it sucked hard). For 9 months, my arms ached just from life, no weight lifting or anything but jogs and power walks. I went back to cf in Jan. 2014 and I am competition bound in October! For fun…I’m 30 and have an office job and no time or money to be a serious competitor. I struggle with pushing myself to get stronger because I know I have different limits than others who have never had rhabdo. Since I started in Jan., I decided to focus on long-term progress and before I knew it, I was hitting PRs every other week without obsessing over it! Then, when I put my clothes on, they were increasingly looser at the waist and I felt lean and fit-YAY. Love your blog and candid and honest personality!!
WHOA! Some serious work this week! Keep hitting hard girl, you’re an inspiration!
I can relate to this. I love crossfit but right now I really just do it because it makes me feel g-o-o-d. It makes me happy and energetic and it makes me appreciate my body in what it can do. I’m 33 now and I know better than to only do things that I enjoy – not what other people say or feel that I should be doing.
I love feeling strong but I agree: if I work out too much / hard or just get too (seriously) into working out I kinda lose my balance. I start feeling a little hmmmm.. masculine and yes, it seems to affect my hormonal balance too. So I pretty much just work out three days a week. The rest of the time I deliberately do something different: walks and playing with my dog, art, reading, cooking, SUP boarding, pilates, dancing, whatever.
I have this theory – and I understand that not everyone will agree – that women are more like gatherers as oppose to hunters. Working hard in the gym or career wise, always pushing really hard towards new goals, eating loads of meat (I feel like too much meat contributes to this too and you only catch meat if you hunt – if you know what I mean ;)) and being super driven (wired) all the time seems to put me into a situation where I don’t feel comfortable in my skin. I naturally start looking for more feminine ways to be and do things.
Today I was at the box working on my snatch and it was so liberating to think that it really doesn’t matter when I’ll finally get it perfectly or how much I lift. I told my coach this and he agreed. I liked that.
I do CrossFit so I can eat yummy things and not feel bad about it. I used to be all about the scale, how much I weighed, how many calories I was taking in…it was exhausting and I never got stronger or more in shape. I was just frustrated all the time. After starting CrossFit two years ago I feel great and I look better too. My husband and I are both in the Air Force and now fitness tests are kind of a joke instead of being a major stressor. We left our box after we outfitted our garage with Rogue equipment. Working out at home is nice because honestly, there are some things I don’t care about and don’t care if I never do them: double unders and muscle-ups specifically. We just follow Outlaw programming and if there’s something I don’t want to do I substitute it with something else. Love it!!!
Love this blog! But what’s a girl to do with the additional muscle? I am there, have too much and not feeling good about it. I am lucky to be able to have additional muscle but how can I get rid of some of it?
Your prescribed workouts are so heavy! I think I would end up scaling frequently also. Always love that no matter what, you’re honest and it makes people feel human.
I am trying to get stronger – and I have a real fear of losing the confidence crossfit has given me with my body. Do I take the high calorie protein powder or will it make me put on a ton of fat, etc, etc. But we chatted about that already. I totally hear ya :). Xo
Love your blog and love how you now have Fashion Fridays!! I did crossfit for a little over a year and for the first 7 months or so I felt awesome and happy with the way my body was changing, but as time went on and everyone kept going heavier I felt the pressure, from the coach especially, to go heavier and be stronger. At one point I looked in the mirror and didn’t recognize myself anymore. I got way to “big” for my liking so I quit and haven’t been back since. I do some crossfit workouts on my own and go to a regular gym now and I have tested out a few other boxes, but haven’t found the right fit yet. I’d like to start doing crossfit again with the mindset that I lift the weights I want and I determine what workouts I do and do not want to do. Thanks for showing that you don’t keep having to go heavier!!!
Current goal is a nov marathon but longer term goal is to keep up with running but also add in more “official” strength training a few days a week.
How often do you do a chemical peel? Good results overall?
i haven’t done one in probably 2 years because i had such bad acne for a while then i was on accutane and you can’t get one for at least a year after your medication. i’ll probably do them twice a year since they suck so bad but then are toooootally worth it!