Crossfit Day 9 - Jackie

Today is another strength day consisting of squats and deadlifts with the added bonus of yoga (actually a surprise) and an afternoon WOD.

Squats I moved through the weight warm up and executed 3 sets of 5 reps at 255 pounds perfectly. I am really finding new strength in my deep squat and that power coming out the bottom is allowing me to finish each lift with authority. My deadlift is coming along nicely as well and I have no added a set to my maximum to add volume. I threw down 335 for 5 reps and then lightened the load to 305 to perform an extra 5 reps cleanly. I am lifting hard and I can't see myself plateauing anytime soon.

I was heading out after the workout but was then asked to join a yoga class afterwards. Marc and his wife were hosting a new yoga instructor so I thought I would test it out. They are looking to offer a few different classes a week and this class was their first of a power yoga series.

The instructor is a lovely woman named Katie who embodies her practice and has one of those voices that you just want to close your eyes and listen to. From her opening sentence I knew she was going to be a fabulous teacher and that was definitely the case. Her sequences challenged all my weaknesses (hips especially) and by the end of it I had a lot more range of motion and my midsection felt elongated and supple. It was a great yoga session and an no brainer in terms of adding it to my workout regime.

My afternoon WOD went by the name "Jackie" and it consisted of 1000 meter row followed by 50 thrusters with the bar and then 30 pull ups.

All of the workouts don't seem all that intimidating on paper but once you are mid workout, fatigue sets in and the reality of the workout humbles you.

The rowing wasn't that big of a deal but the thrusters hit me hard. Doing a front squat and then pressing into an overhead lift uses in my opinion 100% of your muscle mass which truly increases your oxygen requirements. I wanted to get through 5 sets of 10 for the 50 total but wound up doing sets of 5 and then 4 and then 3. I actually did about 25 strict shoulder press reps with the bar before one of the other athletes yelled at me that I wasn't doing the right movement! Oops, I lost about a minute and fatigued my shoulders; I guess I won't make that mistake again!

The 30 pulls ups were difficult as I am not great at body weight exercises. I broke them down into sets of 5 but once I hit 15 I was limited to 3 and then 2 and then single reps to finish the workout. I am pretty sure I finished in just over 9 minutes but I didn't write my score down so I might be wrong. Regardless of time I did my best to complete it as fast as possible so that is all that matters. I am pushing myself hard and I am not comparing myself to anybody else. It is me vs me and I am going to win!