Showing posts with label weightlifting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label weightlifting. Show all posts

Monday, June 6, 2011

Crossfit Central aka PR Central!

After many, many false alarms and cancelled trips, I finally made my way back to Austin, TX on a work assignment. The last time I was out there was in August 2010 and I had the pleasure of dropping into Crossfit Central. Since that trip 10 months ago, I've met a dozen people on twitter who either are affiliated with Crossfit Central or work out in boxes around the Austin area. So needless to say, I was pretty stoked for this trip!

Last week was Crossfit Total at Central, and due to the class size and limited 45 minute duration, we ended up breaking up the movements per day. It had been roughly 6 months since I had done my last Crossfit Total back in December 2010, so I was ready and excited to max out.

On Wednesday 6/1, we started with back squats. Previous 1 RM in December was 185lb and in February, 189lb. With much joy, I was able to bust out a 200lb back squat for my 1 RM! It felt pretty good too and I am pretty sure if I had time for one more rep, I could have tried for 205-210. Nevertheless, I was ecstatic to finally be part of the 200lb back squat club!

Side of humor: During warm ups, Coach Big Mike introduced me to the class by saying, "Everyone say hi to Jaimie, she is visiting us from Crossfit Invictus; they are kind of a big deal...." Funny, as that is what CJ and I said about Crossfit Central as well.

Me & Holly before our back squat attempts:



With such great results on Wednesday, I decided to drop in the next day so that I could test out my Deadlift. Previous Deadlift 1RM back in December was a disappointing 215lbs, so this time around I was only expecting to maybe get to 225-230lb, if I was lucky.

Coach Jefe was also my coach the day before, so when he saw me warming up my deadlifts, he pulled me aside and asked me what the previous 1RM was. I told him it was 6 months ago at 215lbs and since he saw my back squat the day before, he instantly made me throw alot of weight on the bar and start my first of the 1-1-1 reps at my previous max. The 215lb was easy peesey and I started getting that mixed feeling of excitement but nervousness of the unknown, like I knew something great was about to happen.

With the amazing motivation and instruction from both Coach Jefe and Coach Zach, my rep/weight set ended up being 1-1-1-1, 215-235-245-255. Yep, that's right - I ended with a 255lb deadlift. It was one of the most amazing feelings of accomplishment I've had during Crossfit, ever.

I didn't get a chance to test out my shoulder press (previous in Dec 10 was 95lbs) but my two new PRs were satisifying enough. My next goals, of course, would be a 225lb back squat and a 300lb deadlift. I know that if I work hard and keep at it, I'll see those goals met before I know it.

And, of course, to top off a fantastic week, I finally got to meet Diego! I usually shoot the shit with Diego on twitter on an almost daily basis, he's an awesome member of the SICFit crew and a fellow Progenex rep. I can't wait to party with his crew at the Games in July.

Friday, November 5, 2010

OLY Meet and Homemade Shakes

I've been doing CrossFit religiously for just over 6 months now and as the result of this dedication, I've met a lot of small goals and have seen myself progress rapidly in some areas. (Remember when you ladies couldn't do even one push up or pull up?!)

As much as I love and appreciate all of these little victories, I am now super excited to have a big goal to work towards - the 2nd Annual WCCF Winter Weightlifting Meet! This OLY Meet is here in Chicago, exactly 5 weeks from tomorrow, and consists of a snatch and then a clean & jerk. This will be my first competition as a CrossFitter and I'm excited that its an OLY competition since that's my favorite part of CrossFit. I am on Day 5 of strict Paleo/no alcohol and plan on keeping that up until the competition.

As of today, my numbers are as follows:

Cleans: 3 Rep Max at 105# on 11/5/2010
Jerks: 1 Rep Max Split Jerk at 115# on 9/15/2010
Snatch: 1 Rep Max at 80# on 8/31/2010

One of my coaches told me last week that I have a pretty solid split jerk, which makes me happy, but as you can see I haven't worked on snatches in months! I'm hoping to drop into a 2 hour OLY class at CrossFit Coastal next Saturday and get in some more practice.

One of my dietary goals for this month is to try to get in more protein. I'm not a big meat eater and tend to only eat meat with lunch and dinner, so it can be hard for me to get in the recommended 120-160g of protein a WOD day that my body needs. If I were to guess, I would say that I am around 80-90g a day, so I am constantly trying to find ways to sneak in more protein when I can.

Even before CrossFit, one of my favorite post workout meals has always been the protein shake. I've always tried to stay away from sugar and processed products so I've always made them homemade, and find them delicious! I'm always looking for ways to switch up my shakes so let me know any suggestions you have.

My shake today:



1 Scoop Chocolate Whey Protein
1 Medium Frozen Banana
1 Raw Egg
1 Cup Unsweetened Almond Milk
4 Fresh Strawberries

I have two canisters of Beverly Protein Powder; Chocolate and Vanilla. I like to switch off between the above recipe and a Vanilla Powder/Frozen Banana/Frozen Blueberries version. I use to love to put peanut butter in my chocolate shakes for the added fat/protein/taste but I'm trying to kick my peanut butter habit so that is forbidden right now. I find that the frozen banana gives the shake the condensity of a milkshake - such a treat after a hard WOD!