Day 2 of Crossfit

I am pooched.

My muscles hasn't been this sore since I was training full time in Brazil about a year and a half ago but that isn't stopping me. I woke up and had to use a few different objects to get to my feet. My quads were completely spent and I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to perform my strength workout. I wasn't about to bow out after my first session and I knew it was important for me to push through, so I did.

Mark and I planned on doing strength in the morning and taking the afternoon off. I got to the strength workout at 10:30 and I did a thorough 5 minutes on the rowing erg to break a healthy sweat. I was warm and my legs felt a more viscous jello than the night before. Heavy lifting time!

We worked through 5 rep progressions in squats, overhead presses and deadlifts. Each one started with the bar only and then we packed on plates until I found a challenging weight were 5 reps didn't come easily. From there we determined how my strength progression will go as each time I do strength I will have to lift that weight with 3 sets of 5 reps successfully to add 5 pounds onto the bar in the next one. It sounds like a fantastic way to increase weight slowly and I know this challenge is going to push me further than I have ever gone before in both strength and power.

With strength over and done with I went home and ate as much carbs and protein as possible. Cooking up 2 massive chicken breasts and a bucket of quinoa I feasted then went to my mother's school to teach the grade 6 and 7's in a volleyball clinic. They are progressing to the point where they are consistently getting 3 hits a side and I am very pleased with how much they have improved. Such an amazing gift seeing them rejoice after a good hit or serve!!!

The afternoon workout at 5 was a spontaneous one. I thought I would go and check it out but that plan crumbled the second I walked in the door as upon seeing the weights, bars and Medballs I knew I wanted everything to do with today's WOD. I applied heaps of KINeSYS sport stick to my quads as they weren't feeling spectacular then hit up the warm up of double under skips, burpees, quats and a shoulder mobility exercise. Once lubricated and mentally prepared to get after Crossfit again, I commenced the workout with the other two people in the gym.

The WOD consisted of two exercises performed in a diminishing sequence of reps. We started with 55 pound Kettlebell swings and then turned to a wall where we did 10 foot wall throws with a deep squat. The sequence of reps went 21-18-15-12-9-6-3 which doesn't look all that bad but it definitely hit me hard!!!

I powered through the first 21 reps in both exercises and it felt like my heart was going to beat out of my chest. I ripped off 9 Kettlebell swings before I had to take a rest due to my right shoulder getting super sore and my cardio just not being strong enough to recuperate. I wound up having to take breaks in all the double digit sets because of my shoulder and inability to work through the fatigue but I went hard on 9-6-3 to finish at 9 minutes and 6 seconds. A burly firefighter guy by the name of John crushed it off in 6 minutes with no rest; I am jealous and humbled by the die hard Crossfit community!

I hung around after the workout to do some volley reps while I was super fatigued and boy was it difficult to get 20 rapid bumps in a row against a wall! I did 100 bumps and 100 sets and called it a day; tomorrow will be hell but my body will adapt.

Whatever I am doing, somewhere else in the world someone is working harder than me. I will strive forward; I am as strong as my drive.