My First Crossfit Total (CFT) and Lack of Fuel

Today I completed my first Crossfit Total (CFT) at home.  I didn't feel the best since it was the afternoon and I still had very little food for the day. There's a reason they call it fuel, and I was running on E.

 

Either way, I mostly happy with my numbers, but know I could've done better on back squat.  For the overhead press, I just need to get stronger!

 

For as strict I am about eating healthy, I admittedly have an unhealthy relationship with food sometimes.  I feel that I must perform some type of exercise before really eating that much.  I know that the body needs food just to function and repair itself from previous workouts, but for some reason I don't allow myself enough.

 

Our bodies need quality macro nutrients to rebuild and refuel for whatever comes next. Without this, you will begin to feel run down, unmotivated, and just irritable. Hmmm, sounds like someone...oh...me!  I'm getting better at this, but it's still an issue at times.

 

Along with my goal of increasing strength, I am working to increase my food intake. These things go hand in hand and you really can't get stronger without providing good food for the body.  So, I'll make sure to mention how I did with food for most days and hopefully it's in the right direction!

 

Crossfit Total WOD:

 

Warmup

Back Squat - 1 x 185, 215, 235, 255, 265 (F), 260 (F)

OH Press - 1 x 95, 105, 115 (F), 115

Deadlift - 1 x 235, 275, 315, 325, 330

 

CFT = 710lbs

 

This would put me between intermediate and advanced with my bodyweight of 160lbs and height of 5'10.  I know I could get a better squat, and will just need to work on the press. Geez, my upper body needs more strength! Hence my need to eat more.  If only I can get over the fear of instantly blowing up into a fatty. No matter how much I read it won't happen, I still worry.

 

I planned on doing the Deck of Cards WOD today, but was seriously lacking the energy.  I did muster out a quick 3 rounds of 3 x 270lb Deadlift and 5 x pullups.  Then I helped Kelley her strength workout of back squat and bench press.

 

It's supposed to be another 70 degree day tomorrow, so we'll try for the Deck of Cards routine then. I have some cooking to do for both of our lunches throughout the week, so hopefully I don't spend forever in the kitchen like I usually do.

 

The menu this week will include organic chicken franks cut up with beans and veggies in a homemade tomato sauce with a lot of garlic. Thinking I'll make something with quinoa and canned tuna as well.  I also have a mix of black and aduki beans soaking right now, so they'll be used in something tomorrow.

 

I'm off to refuel....again.  Have you ever tried exercising on little food intake? Did you like or dislike it?

Hope you have a great rest of the weekend!

Yesterday's Workout and Setting the New Tone for My Blog

As I mentioned in yesterday’s post, I am taking a much needed deload week from heavy lifting to help my body recover and refresh my mind. I can’t remember the last time I took a break longer than a day from some form of exercise. Of course, I’ve been doing CrossFit style MetCon’s every day after lifting sub maximal weights.

I’m really trying to get better at the classic Olympic lifts; Clean and Jerk and Snatch. The Snatch is really hard for me and will take a lot of practice.
I have been trying to gain strength by following a small bulk diet by creating a caloric surplus, but I am so averse to gaining fat that this is hard. Plus, I eat a lot of unprocessed food and cook my own vegetable filled meals which make you feel full on little calories compared to most meals.
Increasing my intake of food is still in order, and I have gained some strength and weight, but not what I could have. I have gone from 140lbs when I first started to 163lbs now. It’s been over a year, but I’d like to see more strength gains. The problem, as I said before, is my need to keep conditioning in my routine so I’m not just out of breath from walking.
Maintaining a good conditioning base while increasing strength is not easy, but I plan on detailing my adventure into trying. I will hopefully still have interesting topics to cover and stories to tell along the way.
Yesterday’s Workout (01/23/13)

Same weight routine I would follow on Wednesday, just with lighter weights. This helps keep your muscles primed for mobility without putting a lot of stress on them.
Warm-up for 5 min

Clean and Jerk – 95lbs x 3 sets x 3 reps

Front Squat – 115lbs x 3 sets x 3 reps

Snatch Deadlift – 5 reps x 115lbs, 145lbs, 165lbs

Deadlift – 5 reps x 185lbs, 205lbs


MetCon (Metabolic Conditioning) found on a CrossFit file located here
1,500 Rep WOD
10 rounds of:
100 jump ropes
10 burpees
10 situps
10 pushups
10 squats
10 pullups

(Source: Crossfit Houston)
Since I suck at pullups, I subbed jumping pullups instead. The rest was as RX’d (prescribed).
Then Kelley came home and I set up a WOD for her (I’m acting as her strength and conditioning coach) which consisted of:

As Many Rounds As Possible (AMRAP) in 15 min of:

5 x Burpees

10 x Pushups

15 x 15lb Kettle Bell Swings

20 x 15lb Kettle Bell Squats

30 x Jump Rope

She was sweating pretty well after this one. Doesn’t help that it’s getting to 70+ degrees here in Texas!
For dinner I had slow-cooker mixed veggies with lentils, steamed spaghetti squash, and a microwave collard green egg white omelet. This was great, and then I had a cool treat of plain 0 % Chobani Greek Yogurt with mixed frozen berries and roasted pistachios. And then more.

Feeling a little sore today and will try to just enjoy the outdoors since it’s in the 70’s again. Maybe some sprinting and messing around with my new 15lb Slam Ball!

Have a great day….so glad it’s Friday tomorrow!

My Slow Return to Blogging and A Small Change in Content

Hello, hello....it's been a while!  My job got the best of me and required my full attention to where I just wasn't able to fit blogging in.  After long days at work, I'd push myself through workouts and try to spend more time with Kelley.

 

It's still pretty busy and I am enjoying my time with Kelley too much to just come back full throttle like before.  Now, I'd like to post more of my thoughts and not stress so much about having healthy recipes with each post.  This will become more of what's on my mind in the health world.

 

I am working on increasing my strength while not losing too much of my conditioning from when I just ran a lot.  I decreased how much I run and do more explosive-type exercises after some heavy lifting.

 

Trying to find a good routine that combines both has proven harder than I expected and I seem to burn myself out a lot.  I'm taking this week as a deload week but find I'm still doing more metcon (Crossfit WOD) kind of work outs. Although I'm not lifting heavy, these met-cons are still pretty intense.

 

I only keep a hand-written log of my workouts, but plan to share here on my blog now.  If you are reading this and ever have any advice or questions, please comment away and I'll be sure to respond.  Starting soon, I will post some of my daily eats and workouts along with anything on my mind.

 

I won't stress to take pictures of everything I do right now, but if I have something to share, I'll share it. To any of my followers or anyone just now stumbling on to this blog, I hope you come back to read more.  Please send any suggestions and let me know what you do/don't like about my proposed changes.

 

Until next time.....have a great day and keep healthy and fit!