Rippetoe is right. You can’t have your cake and eat it too. I love CF but I've recently reached a point in my training where I think I could really benefit from a break. Up until now, I’ve supplemented CF with powerlifts every 3rd day or so, but my linear progression on the lifts soon came to screeching halt on this program. Obviously, my desire to be both good at metcons and strong was getting me nowhere. I still have trouble doing a good deal of the CF wods with the prescribed women’s weight so, I decided that if I’m ever going to do “Linda” rx’d I had to commit to heavy lifting and quit messing around!

This week I’m entering my 5th week of strength training. I’ve been doing a combination of power lifts (e.g. backsquat, press, bench press), Olympic lifts, and some accessory exercise (weighted dips/pull-up). I’m following the SS novice program pretty loosely and have been strict about taking a rest day every other day. According to Ripp, you don’t get stronger from lifting heavy weights; you get stronger recovering from lifting heavy weights.

Workout Log 11.17.08

Yesterday I learned just how unconditioned I am. My Helen time was 1:26 slower than my last time. I felt totally winded during the runs and I’m pretty sure I was gasping for air as I reached the gym on the final run. As I mentioned above, this is to be expected after a month of only lifting. On the bright side, I did all of the KB swings unbroken for the first time ever.

Backsquat 5x5 @ #118- Mike advised me to widen my stance a bit, which helped in correcting my depth and torso angle.

Bench Press 5x5 @ #98 (wow, I’m almost benching as much as I squat, interesting…)

Here is a great video on Female Olymic Lifters from the Strength Mill forum:
http://strengthmill.net/forum/showthread.php?t=88&highlight=female

Sleep

Sunday- 8hrs

Monday- 9hrs

Catching some Zs

As I mentioned in the last post, sleep has taken a high priority in my life. I just picked up TS Wiley's book LIGHTS OUT, Sleep, Sugar, and Survival, a well-researched look into the long-term health effects that sleep deprivation has on today's society. Wiley does an excellent job of arguing how lack of sleep can be at the root of many modern diseases. In the short time that I've been reading it, I have learned to appreciate the important role sleep has in my health. While we all know that we feel better after a good nights sleep, most of us short ourselves on our daily rest. Now that I’m back at school I really have to learn to manage my time so that I don’t have to sacrifice sleep.

And what a more appropriate time to begin my hibernation than fall? Unless you’ve been living entirely indoors for the past 30 days, you may be fully aware that summer is officially over. This means the hours of sunlight are becoming less and less. Naturally, the body makes its own adjustments to conform to its surrounding environment that is rarely constant. This typically translates into early bedtimes and sleeping in late -the body's attempt to conserve energy for the ensuing winter months. I think it's important to not resist this natural inclination to want to sleep more; it's the body's way of communicating that it NEEDS MORE SLEEP! I've definitely been guilty of guzzling down loads of coffee to ward off the yawns but that simply just won’t do any more, especially since I've sworn off coffee. The point is that adequate sleep is an important component to a healthy lifestyle and I plan on getting in on some!

Sleep Log
Monday 9.25
Tuesday 9
Wednesday 7.25

Yesterday’s Workout
Backsquat 5x5 #118
Benchpress 5x5 #96

Finisher: FGB 224 total score

(this was 5 reps short of my PR, but not bad considering I really haven’t been doing any metcons).

May you have a restful night of sleep!

Friday...Ahh..

I couldn't be happier for the weekend! This week felt exceptionally looong. The combination of school+fieldwork+an election was enough to throw off my sleep and training this week. In anticipation of my hectic schedule, I got in a pretty decent workout on Sunday though. Thank God for that.

Sunday

Backsquat 5x3 #114 (back'd off 10%)

Bench Press 5x3 #94

Pull-up Ladder= 10 rounds+5pull-ups C2B

2 Rounds of:

10 Box Jumps 26" box

10 Kb Swings 44#

4:41

Sprint 8 @Piedmont Track

Monday off.

Tuesday would have been my next training day if I hadn't of been glued to the Television.

Wednesday

Squat Cleans 3x5 #88

Wieghted Dips 5x2 #11 (would have done another set but I was rushed)

WOD: How many rounds in 20 mins of?

10 Thrusters #45

1o Pull-ups C2B

=10 rounds

Thursday off.

Friday

My quads were fried after the thruster workout on Wednesday so I did backsquats instead of front. Unfortunately, it still killed my legs.

Backsquat 5x5 #116

Shoulder Press 5x3 #68 (failed) = 4/3/4

Weighted Dips 5x3 #13 (failed) = 4/4/4

WOD: Helen-ish 3 Rounds of:

50 Double Unders

21 Kb Swings #44

12 Pull-ups C2B

Meals have been pretty good this week. I didn't have much time to plan but managed to get by on leftovers from the weekend. I've been maintaining 10-11 blocks of protein with lots of extra fat. Most carbs have been low GI and I've been pretty careful about not overdoing it, oh except for the vino on Tuesday and Thursday...and the homemade carrot cake on Wednesday. Okay, maybe I'm idealizing a bit. Nevertheless, I am really looking forward to the weekend and spending some quality time at home!

Sleep was a bit scarce this week. Late nights at school followed by early mornings at CrossFit put me in a sleep deficit. I averaged about 7.25 hours a nite. This is totally unacceptable, especially if I want to see any gains from my hard training. But, this was a rough week and sometimes it just works out that way. I'm hopeful that next week I'll be able to clock in a solid 9-10 hours/nite.

Kicking the Habit

As I sit down to sip my hot, organic lemon-ginger tulsi tea (take that Starbucks), I am reminded that today marks my 30th day without coffee and chewing gum. When I first decided to give my two vices the boot I had some serious doubt that I could survive without either one-especially gum. After the initial withdrawal symptoms from the coffee, the transition wasn’t so bad. Don’t get me wrong, there are still times when I am captured by the smell of a fresh pot of coffee and find myself staring longingly into the pot. And I do miss my kiwi-mandarin Trident gum, especially when I’m craving something sweet after lunch. Now that I’ve successfully completed 1 month free of coffee and gum, I feel like I can do anything!

When I started the Holistic Nutrition Education program at Bauman College, I quickly became aware of the potentially harmful effects of all sorts of junk that we put in our bodies. In my case, it was the sorbitol and other synthetic chemicals in chewing gum coupled with the absorbent amounts of caffeine, in the form of coffee, that were the main culprits.

The Good News: For the first time in a LONG time, I did not have menstrual cramps this month. This makes it all worth it! I remember the pain last month all too well and am thrilled to not have to re-live it. And, lucky for my friends and family, not chewing gum all the time has resulted in no more burps! OK, maybe a few tiny ones here and there.

Today's Meals:

Breakfast 8:45AM

3 Eggs scrambled w/ Kale and Tomato

1 piece of Bacon

5 Macadamia Nuts

3.5 protein/1 carb/ 8 fat (?)

Lunch 11:45PM

3oz Turkey breast

Fresh Tomato w/ Hummus

1 Peach

Peanut Butter

3 protein/1.5 carb/7 fat

Gettin' on track

On Friday nite I had myself a cheat meal. I had just completed the first week of my strength cycle and was feeling the need to splurge. Besides, I really couldn't resist my sister's homemade chocolate chip cookies. They were tasty, but I regreted it the next morning when I woke up with a huge tummy ache. It's been awhile since I've had a reaction that bad- my body's way of telling me that it doesn't want sugar and flour, regardless of how good it tastes. Needless to say, I spent the first part of my morning in agony. A few trips to the toilet and I was feeling well enough to hit the track for some sprints...

For the next few weeks, I will be focusing on strength as I mentioned in the previous post. Here's what it will look like:

Monday & Friday
5x5 Backsquat or Front Squat (alternating)
5x5 Press or Bench (alternating)
5x5 Weighted Pull-up or Weighted Ring Dips (alternating)
Finisher: 5-10min of a heavy metcon like Fat Cindy, or 1 round of FGB @ men's weight.

Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday off

Wednesday
5x3 Squat Cleans or Squat Snatch (alternating)
OR, Deadlifts
Finisher: 10min metcon at normal weight focusing on intensity.

Saturday
8 Sprints: 30 seconds on followed by 90 seconds of rest.

Last week went pretty well. However, I must admit that refraining from the long(er) CF wods is a lot harder than I thought it would be. But, I know that in order to get adequate recovery between lifting days I have to do this.

Diet: No major changes here, except that I am eating unlimited fat blocks and keeping carbs low except for post workout meals. Paleo foods 10 blocks with lots of extra fat for now, but I may bump up myself up to 11 blocks if I can't make my weight increases.

Back to Basics

About a year ago I attended the Mark Rippetoes's Basic Barbell Certification seminar. Ripp along with Lon Kilgore, lead a 2 day seminar where they taught the power lifts (backsquat, deadlift, bench press, shoulder press, power clean) and discussed the value of incorporating these lifts into one's exercise program to further improve overall strength. Rippetoe made it very clear that the squat in particular is especially critical in developing strength, stating that, "few things are graven in stone, except that you have to squat or you're a pussy."

Moving along, I have decided to really focus on my lifts again. After a period of linear progression, I've finally come to a standstill on my lifts. Rather than whine about it, and deliberately go out of my way to avoid backsquats, I am going after it with everything I got! There is simply too much to lose to just give up that easily. I discovered this excerpt on women and training on the strengthmill blog:

"It has been my experience that women progress exactly as men do, but at a slower rate. Adaptation is a trans-sex phenomenon, and we all progress in a linear fashion, testosterone or not. But in realizing the different rate of adaptation said hormones allow, you also realize that the small plates cannot wait even one more workout. These little jewels allow your progress to behave the same as a man's in terms of its linearity, instead of being stuck for 2-3 workouts as a matter of course. You can use 2" flat washers glued together to make up the plates you need inexpensively, so do this tomorrow." Here is another article he wrote on this topic.

Monday

Backsquat 5X5 @ 124 pounds 5-5-3 - I am going to attempt this same weight today.

Shoulder Press 5X5 @ 69 pounds 4-3-4

Today's Food

7:30AM

3 eggs scrambled w/ carrot, yellow squash and spinach

6 Almonds

1/2 Tbs Peanut Butter

= 3P/1.5C/4F

11:30AM

Salmon, canned

Raw sea Sauerkraut

Cabbage Salad w/ walnut oil & vinegar

1/4 cup Grapes

9 Almonds

= 3P/2C/6F

3 Days On!

I just finished the final day of my 3 day workout cycle and boy am I pooped!

Thursday
4 Rounds of:
10 Power Snatches #48
15 Pull-ups
20 Thrusters #48
25:52

Friday
AM workout
"Cindy"
6 rounds+9 push-ups
w/ 20lb weight vest

PM workout
Deadlifts
worked up to a set of 5 at 160

Saturday
Angela's Snatch Clinic
Lots of good healthy practice.

"Filthy 50"
35:39

I felt really good to get back into the gym after being sick for bit. I think it actually may have helped my recovery. Well, I am off to have a humongous cheat meal! I'll be taking a rest day tomorrow as I will be in Milpitas for the BGDC show down. Lets wish our fellow CFOers well!