Hang Power Cleans w/ Pictures

The best thing about having a home gym is getting to wear whatever I want! We worked out at 5pm so it wasn't super hot or anything, but it wasn't cool. I opted for just a sports bra. We did 7 rounds of 1 rep hang power cleans. Here's how I did-
75
80
95
95
100
105
110f

I got the 110 up but I'm not counting it because it was U-G-L-Y. It was 100% mental and I knew it at the time but I wasn't able to do anything about it. Next time, I'll get it! Even without the 110, the 105 is a 15# PR! Woot! My highest weight before today was 90#...no wonder they were too easy two weeks ago when I did 75% of my 1-rep max based off 90#.

Michael took some pictures of me during the workout.  Enjoy!

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Back in business

For starters, I had the PERFECT weekend in Philadelphia! I'm waiting for the girls to post the pictures, but here's one of them at least-

I'm not totally sure what's going on with my buggy eyes in this picture, but everyone else looks great! It was a laid back weekend and I kept telling everyone "I'm not going to Philly to see sights... I'm going to see my chicas." And see my girls I did!

But boy oh boy was I ever tiiiiirrrrred when I got home to AZ. The 3-hour time difference really threw me for a loop. I ended up going in late on Tuesday after a late flight back on Monday evening then went to bed early as well. Tonight was my first workout since Saturday when Lexi (above left) put us through a Body Combat workout which was awesome by the way!

Tonight I did 4 rounds of the following-
Max rep Ring push-ups
Max rep pull-ups
15 knees to elbow
250 meter row

Time = 17:35 or something around there

I was able to do 4 ring push-ups each round, which surprised me because I didn't think I'd be able to do even one. The pull-ups were tough- they were the first I've done in quite some time b/c of the home gym transition. We finally received our new pull-up bar and Michael was able to install it this weekend while I was away. It's been a few weeks since I've done a pull-up so tonight's workout really showed that. I did 4 pull-ups the first round, then 3 each round after that.

I've started using Google Reader for reading all of my blogs. I actually love it and probably read your blogs more than I did before. The only problem is that I don't comment as frequently but I can assure you- I'm still following along!

Until tomorrow,

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Going on a road trip

I'm still here and yes, I'm feeling much better. I pretty much felt like crap all week with a cold but thankfully, as of yesterday I was feeling almost 100% recovered. But I haven't worked out all week... in fact, I haven't done a whole lot of anything this week besides work and sleep so you can see why I didn't blog.

But the week is behind me and today I'm flying to Philadelphia to see my friends Lexi and Amy. I cannot even tell you how pumped I am! I'm giddy with excitement! I've been dancing around the house all morning and acting like the total dork that I am, making my husband wonder what he got himself into.

I don't plan to take any pictures because I'm sure Amy will take enough for me and hers will turn out so much better anyway. But I'll make her share and I'll post some on here when I get back in 4 days.

On another positive note, I got an email yesterday from one of the jobs I applied for and it said I meet their qualifications and I will be contacted shortly for an interview! Jam! It's the first response I've received so I feel less discouraged now.

Talk to ya'll next week!

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Bummed

Two nights ago my throat started hurting. I had taken a nap and I thought maybe I slept with my mouth hanging wide open and it just dried it out. I woke up yesterday feeling a little crummy but not too bad. But as the day continued, I felt worse. By last night, I took Nyquil and if you know me at all, you know that for me to take Nyquil must mean that I'm really feeling sick. I hate that stuff. I hate how nauseous I feel after taking it and how "drunk" I feel. But, taking it was going to be better than how I was feeling so I took some.

I slept on the couch. I still feel like crap but I'll just take some tylenol. I'm not taking any dayquil. Today I have interviews all morning then my team is going bowling this afternoon. It sucks that our first fun work event in quite some time and I'm sick. Boo.

Last night Michael had 3 guys come over and do the WOD in our gym. I was so bummed that I couldn't join them. And they're coming over again tonight but considering how I feel right now, I won't be working out tonight either. I could hear them encouraging and coaching each other and I'm so disappointed that I wasn't out there with them.

As long as I'm better by this weekend I will be happy. This Friday I'm flying to Philadelphia to hang out with my girls and I can't wait! I'm sure I'll be better by then but I plan to relax and take it easy all week just in case.

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WOD

AMRAP12:
220 feet run
10 push-ups (modified)
30 double unders

Completed 4 full rounds + the run, the 10 push-ups, and 20 double unders so almost 5 full rounds

What's awesome is that I reached a new year's resolution tonight by doing 10 consecutive double unders without little hop in between or anything. Not only that, but about 2 seconds after I did 10 in a row, I stopped to celebrate. Then I started the double unders back up again and did 15 in a row! Wahoo!

I'm still incredibly inefficient at them but considering how far I've come, I'm pretty happy.

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Pictures

This past week, we essentially created 2 new spaces at our house- a sanctuary out of our patio and a home gym out of our garage. The patio was done last year but I've udpated it and I love it even more. The garage gym is all new baby and I love it too! I picture having a good workout in the gym, then heading to the patio to relax. You decide which one you like better-

Tonight's WOD was a good one.

First up was 5-5-5-3-3-3 hang power clean. It was supposed to be at 75% of your 1 rep max which I show as 90 lbs. I ended up using 65# but it wasn't all that difficult. I'm not sure if it was supposed to be or what. Next time, we'll see what happens but I'm thinking moving up in weight is necessary.

Then I did the following WOD-
Dumbbell split jerks (15# each) 20-18-16-14-12-10-8-6-4-2
Rollouts                                     1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10
Time = 14:44

Michael took some pictures of me doing the rollouts:

Then I finished up with 3 sets of 8 reps of bridges w/ my feet on a ball.

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Of snatches and burpees

That was an awesome workout-
21-15-9 (15# dumbbell)
Right handed dumbbell snatch
Left handed dumbbell snatch
Burpees

Time = 19:35

I'm really proud of my snatch form- michael said it was impeccable and honestly, it felt like it. They were really hard but I felt like I was really using my hips and I felt strong and in control.

Michael and I pulled the trigger and ended up ordering a bunch of equipment for a home gym. I could not be more thrilled about our decision now that it's been made. I was really uncertain at first and kept humming and hawing over the decision. Now that the equipment is on its wa, I think we made the right call. On Friday, we'll have a squat rack, bar, bumper plates, 2- 4x6 rubber mats to lay down, and a pull up bar. We already have dumbbells, kettlebells, a rower, and a medicine ball.

This week so far we've had a couple of guys from Michael's work come over and workout with us. It's been such a big motivator! When we workout at a globo gym, most people just give us funny looks so this is a nice change of pace!

Until tomorrow,

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How you know

Just a few ways you know you had a kick ass workout:

1. You assume this position afterwards-

2. Your sweat towel is full of sweat before you finish the workout.

3. You say at some point during the workout, "I can't do it." Your husband replies, "'Can't' isn't in your vocabulary." And then you respond, "Fuck that."

4. You think even drinking some water afterwards is probably a bad idea.

5. You try to walk it off then realize you can't yet walk your muscles are so fatigued. So you continue to assume the positions in #1.

6. You drop lots of F-bombs.

7. When someone says, "You're halfway done" you realize hearing that does not help.

8. You stop caring about what insane facial expressions you're making that everyone else can see.

Most of these happened tonight during the WOD. Boy oh boy was it a doozy.

We did the 5 different tabatas with a 1 minute rest in between each set.
Tabata 1 = Row = (calories) = 4, 5, 4, 3, 4, 4, 4, 4
Tabata 2 = KB Swings (35# kb) = 9, 9, 8, 8, 8, 8, 7, 7
Tabata 3 = Push-Ups (modified) = 10, 10, 10, 9, 6, 6, 5, 6
Tabata 4 = Sit-Ups = 13, 14, 14, 13, 13, 12, 13, 14
Tabata 5 = 15, 15, 11, 11, 11, 10, 11, 13

You total up the lowest score of each tabata and that becomes your total score so mine is 27. I'm stoked though because Michael had 2 male co-workers come over and we all did the WOD "together." They all used the 35# kettlebell and so did I! Wahoo! One of the guys didn't even finish the WOD. Not that I'm happy about that because I'm definitely not but I know he'll do better next time. We tried to warn him to pace himself but he went all out guns a blazin' and he couldn't hold later. I'm super pumped about the sit-ups too...they're definitely my strength out of all the exercises above whereas Michael kicks butt with the squats.

It was a lot of fun working out at home. We've decided to purchase some equipment to make our own home gym especially with the issues we've had recently with our memberships. We've talked about doing this for some time and now it's simply convenient. We're getting a squat rack, bumper plates, pull-up bar, collars, and floor mats. We already have kettlebells and dumbbells. It won't be the perfect gym but we'll add to it as we go. We'll need to own this equipment some day when we start our business so why not get it now and start using it. At least that's what we're thinking so we plan to use some of our dream fund.

Until tomorrow,
Kelsalynn

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Impromptu

Hey ya'll... I'm here, just been busy... in fact, I should be upstairs getting ready to go to our friend's Oktoberfest party tonight but instead I'm sitting here blogging. A girl's gotta have priorities right?

Today's WOD called for 100 meters of walking on your hands. I've been wanting to practice my handstand for quite a while so today I figured was a good day. I cannot walk on my hands so I subbed it for some "technical" work AKA falling on my face repeatedly until I got frustrated enough to quit.

Actually, that's a lie, I did better than I thought I would. At first, it was pathetic- I wouldn't say I did a handstand at all. It was more like a shortened version of a cartwheel. Then I decided to try "walking" instead of just holding a handstand in one spot, which was obviously not working. I'd say I was able to take a few steps with my hands before falling but I was in more control.

I still suck but it was great practice and I can see the progress I made in just one short trial run. Michael would count and I was trying to stay up for 5 seconds but my max was 3.5 (he says). I think I was doing better before he started counting and then all I could concentrate on was the "1-1 thousand, 2-1 thousand, etc".

Michael took some pictures so here you go---

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Ugh- Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!

Sooooo annoyed right now.

So we go to the gym tonight and there's a sign saying we need to sign a new contract- all members do. I almost walk right by it because we have a 1-year paid-in-full contract so I figure that sign wasn't referring to us.

Remember how I blogged a month ago or so about how the owners of the gym just up and left? Well, the gym stayed open because a new gym came in and kept it going and took over. Before they took over, however, the original owners signed all of our contracts to a different gym.

So now are options are-
1. Drive an extra 5 miles to workout at the gym who bought our contract.
2. Cancel the old contract and kiss our money good bye, sign a new contract at the new-current gym.

To make matters worse, our old gym charged our credit card IN ERROR 2 months in a row. We complained but they said they could not process refunds. WTF? They extended our contract for 2 months to make up for it but obviously that did us very little since they no longer own the contract that they extended.

I feel so angry. And because of the issues we had with them charging our card, I'm worried that the new gym is going to start charging our card again and I'll have to deal w/ those issues from square one. I've disputed the 2 "accidental" charges with our credit card company but since the company is no longer in business, I'm not sure it will do any good. I'm probably going to call my credit card company tomorrow too and see if I should cancel my account and open a new one so they can't keep charging it.

I also filed a complaint with the Attorney General which is what most people are doing from what I've read online because I'm not the only one who's out money. By my calculations (prorating what we've used of our annual membership), we're out $279!

We're actually considering a 3rd option and I'm curious what you think of it --- we're thinking about buying the equipment to have our own gym in our garage- like most CrossFitters do anyway. We've wanted the equipment for some time and we have the money to buy it. We'd take it out of our "Dream Fund" because the purpose of that money is to open our own gym in a few years and part of that is upfront equipment costs. We'd just buy them now rather than later and use them ourselves.

Anyway, here's my workout tonight (it was difficult to concentrate after being told all this when we walked in)--

Bench Press 2 reps each round for 10 rounds-
45-55-65-75-75-75-80-85-90-90

So what do you think we should do?
Until tomorrow,

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Whew- fantastic workout

Let me first say that I did NOT want to workout tonight. It's rainy here and for the first time in a while, nice and cool. For the first time in MONTHS our windows are open and there's a breeze. Just two days ago it was 107 degrees which ties the all time record for this time of year. It's just been ridiculously hot here and unusually late into the year.

That's why I came straight home and put workout clothes on. I knew if I didn't, I wouldn't go.  Michael worked later than normal and I dozed off on the couch for 5-10 minutes.

But now that I'm home from the gym, I'm so glad we went. First I did 3-3-3 sets of strict pull-ups. I did most of them totally strict- no LITTLE kip or anything! That's super exciting! For the last rep in each set, Michael had his hand under my knees and gave me a slight assistance but then I did negatives down, trying to go as slow and controlled as possible. I'm excited that I was able to do 2 on my own each round though.

Then I did 1-1-1 reps with the first being simply strict (no weight), the 2nd with a 2.5lb weight between my legs and the 3rd with a 5lb weight. I was able to do the 2.5lb weight by myself but again, Michael gave me a slight boost on the 5 pounder.

Then I did 3 tabatas (20 seconds on, 10 seconds off for 8 rounds)
1- Muscle snatch 30# - 8, 8, 7, 8, 7, 7, 9, 8 = 62
2- Back squat/push press 30# - 9, 8, 5, 5, 5, 6, 7, 7 = 52
3- Deadlift/push-up 95#- 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2 = 16

It was a tough WOD but I loved it... probably because I love tabatas. The deadlift round kind of pissed me off because the collars kept getting stuck on the ground and I'd have to straighten the bar before being able to do a push-up on it. It definitely delayed my reps. If only we had bumper plates...

Until tomorrow,

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schweaty

Holy sweat balls. I'd take a picture, but I'm not as photogenic as Jess is when she's all sweaty. Some girls can make sweaty look good and I am not one of them.

You'll just have to take my word for it.

I was going to model the new clothes I bought today, but there's no way I'm putting them on now. I did take a few pics of my new boots earlier today so I will simply share those. You'll have to take my word again that my new skinny jeans and white shirt look smokin' hot!

My friend Lexi showed me this website called POLYVORE that is awesome! You can essentially create a "look" that you like. Originally, I thought it was just "cool" and "fun" to play around and design an outfit. I also thought it was yet another way for me to waste time on the internet. But today I discovered the practical and useful side of polyvore. As I was shopping, I felt like I had a game plan and could imagine how certain pieces would tie together. It made shopping so much more fun!

Here's what I designed on polyvore and what I used today while shopping-

myeverday by kelsalynn featuring paige denim jeans

I already have the black leggings, cuff bracelet, long necklace, and white boyfriend tee. This weekend I purchased black boots (above), a pair of skinny jeans, and a white tank/top that's similar to the one in the picture. I still need to get a scarf and a pair of chuck taylors.

We've done a good job sticking to a Paleo diet this weekend. After shopping most of the day, I was really in need of a snack so I purchased a small bottle of milk. I realize this isn't paleo since it's dairy but I don't consider it absolutely terrible. I was starving and had to finish running a few errands before heading home and eating.

After shopping and running errands, I did the following workout-
Run 1 mile
Row 2 K
Run 1 mile

Note to self- PACING is important! I started out way too fast and hard and it killed me in the end. I ran the first mile in 8:48 which is pretty quick for me. The first 1K of the row was quick- I even "sprinted" or went "all out" for 500 meters but boy was that foolish. The 2nd 1K was shit-tastic. I kept stopping to drink water and take a break. The full 2K ended up taking just under 13 minutes, which is not good. The 2nd mile was a sweaty mess. I told myself I had to just keep running but I'm not sure my feet were coming off the ground. It took me just under 11 minutes.

Total time = 33:22

Until tomorrow,

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Back in action

After being sick earlier in the week, today was my first trip back to the gym in 5 days.

First I did a one rep max of a snatch. I don't think I've ever done this before. I ended up doing 60#. I think that's pretty poopy but the snatch is still a very new move to me. I attempted 65# and almost got it. For me, it's more mental than anything- throwing that much weight over my head and catching it low in a snatch is scary. So I can officially add a new one rep max to my side bar- 60# snatch.

Then I did a clean & jerk, which was supposed to be a one rep max as well. On my side bar I have that my one rep max is 95# but today I only did 80#. I'm not sure what the deal was today. The jerk was easy- it was the clean that was giving me issues. I probably should have kept trying- next time I will.

Then the WOD is AMRAP10:
6 squat cleans (65#)
12 pull-ups
24 double unders

I did 2 rounds + 8 reps (6 cleans & 2 pull-ups). Pretty poopy but I had to run pretty far to get from the barbell to the pull up bar and then back to my jump rope.

I have to say that today my kipping pullups were awesome. I'm not sure why some days they're shit-tastic and other times they seem easy. Today was the latter. My kip was perfect and I could really feel myself pushing from the bar at the top. I had a great rhythm going and for the most part, they were effortless.

I can't believe I didn't realize that my one rep max for the clean & jerk was 95# before we went to the gym. Now I really want a do-over!

Now Michael and I are having a snack then we're going to get ready for our anniversary date night. We're going to go shopping, go see a movie, and go to a Brazilian steakhouse for dinner.

Until tomorrow,

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Paleo

I sort of kind of blogged about this briefly- how Michael and I adjusted our diet from Zone to Paleo. We still measure our blocks so we're still doing zone, but we're only eating those foods that Paleo will allow.

The Paleo "diet" is also called the caveman's diet. The idea is that you eat only things the cavemen could eat- meat, vegetables, fruit, and nuts. I'm not an expert on what's allowed and what's not (that's my husband's job) but I do know that you can't eat dairy or cheese or anything processed at all.

This essentially started b/c Michael has this throat condition (Eosinophilic Esophagitis-EE) and he read that gluten could be a cause if not the only cause of EE. So he wanted to give up gluten. And dairy allergies could also cause it even if you don't realize you're having an allergic reaction. So he wanted to give up dairy.

We've known about the Paleo diet for a while because of all the CrossFit blogs and forums we read but never tried it. As soon as Michael read that it could be a cure-all for his throat condition, he was 100% paleo, no questions asked, do not pass go, do not collect $200.

That's how he's always been- uber disciplined. He makes up his mind on something and it's done.

I'm a little more difficult to convince. When we first started, I was having some serious carb cravings. And even now, I'd say I'm more like 70-80% paleo and the other 20-30% I'm a cheater :) Yesterday for example I was good the entire day except for a mocha frappe that my coworker surprised me with around 3PM. The rest of the day I didn't eat gluten, dairy, etc- only meat, veggies, fruit, and some nuts.

And for a little while at the beginning, I was eating dairy too. We had just gone grocery shopping so we had yogurt and cottage cheese in the fridge. Well, I didn't want all of that to go to waste but Michael was 100% Paleo and was not going to touch it so I kept eating it.

But now, that's gone and we've even been buying grass-fed meat only from the store. Michael is even taking all of the supplements recommended (fish oil, Vitamin D, etc).

So why am I blogging about all of this???  Because I have to say- I feel GREAT!  I feel AMAZING! I am now a firm believer in the Paleo diet. In my opinion, it's exactly what my body was meant to have and I can tell that by how I feel.

I've lost weight and I wasn't even trying. I feel healthy and lighter. My digestive system is healthier.

Just wanted to share,

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