Hullo ladies

I have been to the gym nearly every day for the past 2 weeks 'cause my hubby got me a gym membership with a great daycare It's really awesome, I love having the time to myself (I'm not sure if I mentioned but I ended up with some postpartum depression so that's why I've been MIA but things are great now). They even have a "nanny cam" which I can view from the ladies section (but I don't work out there, they dont even have a barbell!!)

Can't be posting ALL those workouts here (that's a lot of typing!!) but today I was busting out some 100lb barbell squats and it felt great. Threw in some lunges, calf raises, and even did a bit of HIIT (and by a bit, I mean 10 minutes, hah!!!)

Would have liked Crossfit but there is no local one that can even offer sharing childcare (there is one in Vancouver itself but I'm 1.5hr away in a suburb).

Sacha, bummer about the childcare. At our gym we have babies, and everybody just covers for the moms as needed. It's not like they come in, plop the kid down and ignore them, but just that somebody is always willing to take over so they can do the wod. I haven't been to any other CF gyms, though, so maybe our gym is odd that way. The owners just have fostered a really positive, family type atmosphere. I've heard some folks say that other local CFs are not quite as supportive, though.

Nelie, those are really good numbers, WTG! My 5 rep and 1 rep maxes are all pretty close to one another, too, but I think that's normal.

I finally remembered to talk to my trainer today about what to do, since I've been leveling off a bit on the strength gains, and also because my metcon times have just gotten ridiculously slow. He said I should do just the normal max effort days, then for metcons I should scale the weights I use back until I am matching times with the firebreather men (the fastest guys in our gym that always go rx or better with the weights). He said, once I find that range, to stick the weights and just work on intensity until my times just get ridiculous, like I am beating the best guys by several minutes or whatever, depending on the workout. Then, he says, I will know I'm ready to start upping the metcon weights, and/or doing another strength cycle.

Has anybody here tried wrist wraps for kipping pull-ups? My grip is my limiting factor there, which keeps me from doing more than 2 or 3 in a row before I have to step on a box and reset my grip. I'm sure they would be easier if I dropped 30 lbs, but since that's not where I'm at right now, I'm thinking they might be a better solution than bands, since I'd have to use a blue band to really make much of a difference to my grip, and then I can't really do the full ROM kipping swing. I'm thinking, if my focus is intensity and faster metcon times, wrist wraps might be a good temporary solution. I've seen people get winded from doing pull-ups, but it's never happened to me, simply because my grip has always been so comparatively weak. Thoughts, experience, opinions?

^^ Thanks yes unfortunately the one near me only can do childcare sharing in evening classes, but my baby is so young still, he goes to bed at *6pm(!!!) so it doesn't work out. That's okay, I'm fine with my new gym, it's not as good but it's better than nothing

Yours sounds great but Tacoma's a bit far for me :P

Nelie, here's what I have to say about 200 plus pounds Good for you!

I could hardly move on Tuesday so I postponed seeing the new trainer until today when I could actually walk into the gym. I really enjoyed the session. I threw medicine balls around and onto the ground and into the side walls of the squash court. I jumped over things, did pushups, swung kettle balls around, tripped over my own feet, you know the drill. It was fun and funny. The trainer has a good spirit and a good sense of humor, this is going to work fine.

I foolishly thought that I would be able to do some lifting after the session. Obviously, I will have to do that on different days, and/or it will take a while to work up to it.

Tejas - Good for you!! When I started doing Crossfit, it was rough, I could barely eek out the 3 days/week. Last week I did 5 days although 4 is my normal. I think you'll adjust and I think it help diversify your workouts.

Nelie, I'm very happy with this addition. The trainer is also very good at explaining exactly what muscles are engaged, why the exercise is a good one, etc. He says that after a while, when he gets to know what I can do, etc he will email me an individualized plan, with variations. He seems very engaged, and that is motivating.

Well, my trainer shot the wrist strap idea down in flames. He is a grip guy, and has a bias against using straps and such. So, I'll put my focus on grip strengthening exercises and leaning out. Maybe between the two, I can get to where my puny grip can do the job. The good part about being out of a strength focus for a while is that I can cut calories to drop some weight, which is harder to do when I'm doing a lot of heavy lifting.

Ran for an hour last night, well, running and walking, as I wanted to try out the seemingly popular "run 5 mins, walk 1" recommendation for ultra training. The 1 minute didn't seem like enough of a recovery time to do anything for me, so I will try some other combinations to see what works for me. It usually takes me at least a mile to settle into a good distance pace, because I get so used to the sprints we do in CF, so I might do better running longer and then taking a longer walk interval, maybe run 20 mins, walk 5, or something along those lines. At least I have 11 months to figure all this stuff out.

Cheryl, I was going to shoot down the strap idea too although grip is my #1 problem with pull ups also. It is so painful for me to do knees to elbow or toes to bars, also.

Have you tried "pose" running? It made a huge difference in my running...which is now running instead of slogging!

I'm peeved because the train was running 40 minutes late tonight and I missed cross fit. I did my own workout at home, but it never feels the same. Maybe I need to play heavy metal or rap

Mel, I know what you mean. I'm spoiled for the comraderie at the box. When I do the wod at home, it's just not as much fun. I've been working on my running form, and it has improved, but I don't think I've quite masted the POSE form. I'm sure it would be easier to understand if I took an actual seminar, instead of just watching/reading articles in the journal.

My sister says we're doing a 5K on Thanksgiving day. I thought I'd told her after the last one that I didn't want to do any more road races, but if I'm remembering that right, apparently I wasn't clear...ugh! I like to run, I just hate the crowds, running on asphalt, choking on fumes downtown. That's why I'm looking at skipping the popular half and marathon distances (unless I find a trail run or two, no luck there yet) and looking at ultras...trails, long slow miles, digging deep to find out what I'm made of...that sounds more interesting to me. I'll do this one with her, since she seems to think I agreed to it, then will make a point of being clear that it's my last one. She has friends that like to run that distance and like the road races and the crowds, so she can bond with them. That sounds awful, doesn't it? I just like to keep exercise in the "fun" category. Maybe I can take my dog, to make it more interesting, if dogs are allowed.

Cheryl, that does not sound awful at all. You deserve to run as you want. Perhaps on Thanksgiving Day there won't be too many fumes downtown.

I read something about the POSE form on-line and noticed that there was one article that did not recommend in for the long term. Perhaps you read it?

I worked out with my trainer yesterday and will meet again on Monday. We're still in the getting acquainted stage but I'm working up to having an hour session with him soon. That will do me in.

I'm pretty good at swinging the 12.2 kg kettlebell around and am up to 35 pounds on bent-over rows. I did bench press with 65 pound barbell. My right arm just wants to quit after the 7th or 8th rep on that. He asked if I had rotator cuff problems, but I don't that I know of. I think it's the nerve problem from the neck.

He also pointed out that on the bench press I'm lifting my scapulae from the bench. NO NO he says, keep them down. It made a difference. And, he says, get up after the reps before the next set. Do not continue to lie on the bench while resting. He says the blood will begin to pool quickly while resting so get up and move around. I didn't know that.

Well I'm here to gripe

Yesterday, I went to a Crossfit wedding with plans to do the workout planned. I started feeling a stomach pain but it wasn't like normal stomach pain and thought I just needed to eat something, so I ate some fruit at the reception before the workout. Pain got worse, I ended up feeling horrible, nauseous and apparently looking horrible.

I get home, lay down, take pain reliever and I'm 90% better. I realize last night what happened. I passed a gallstone. It hasn't happened in such a long time though that I almost forgot about it. I ended up eating a fair amount of nuts the day before and then we had ethiopian for dinner which tends to be a bit oil heavy.

When I gave up meat/dairy 3 years ago, I haven't had another reoccurence despite eating nuts, avocados, etc. So it was quite upsetting to me that it put me out of commission

Gripe away, Nelie. I have not had one of those but I know that they are painful and miserable. Is it the fat in the food that aggravates them? I don't know much about them, and you obviously know TOO MUCH!

I hope you stay on the mend.

Rhonda

Nelie: Oh my! That sounds miserable. I'm so glad your feeling better though. Bummer about missing the workout. I know you must have been looking forward to it. A CrossFit wedding? That's sounds kind of fun and interesting. Fill us in!

Cheryl: Comraderie is certainly something I'm missing in my workouts. I may as well workout alone at home, the people at my gym are either exceptionally aloof or neanderthals. Even if I have a decent workout for myself I usually walk out of there feeling like my soul has been sucked out of me. I'm usually grumbling about the fact that the equipment is out of order, someone has left their equipment on top of a bench (is it being used is someone super setting? or a magazine left on cardio equipment (again, is someone saving this or using it?) no towel service and the freakin' paper towel machines are either empty or broken with empty water bottles. Who needs this?

I'm also trying to heal an injury. I think its my left quad tendon. I totally can't squat. I know I did it back in June and it's gets better but flares up after a yoga class or something silly.

I've taken the approach to totally eliminate squats and all variations of full knee flexion and extension from my workokuts for the last three weeks. Joy, as you can imagine.

It seems to be improving. I've read it takes anywhere from four to six weeks for a minor strain to heal and months for something more serious. Most common is that people experience a reoccurance because they jump back into their program before it's really healed well. That would be me.

I'm on the fence with making an appointment with my doc. It's a path I don't really want to go down: xray, MRI, physical therapy, follow up doc appointments for the next three months. GRRRR. I think if i just rest it, I should be able to heal it on my own...any thoughts?

Silly question I know. I know what I would tell any of you if you posted this, "Get thee to a doc, like yesterday!" But I REALLY don't want to do this...Anyone have experience with this?

Lydia, can you find a doc who will listen to your story and simply say "you're right about what it is and you're doing the right thing. Call me if it's not better in 3 more months of rest.???

I know, I know...that would be way too sensible.

You know, that's a good idea. I am currently having my thyroid meds adjusted. He's a D.O. who also specializes as a sports doc (not an accident, it's why I chose him). He also gets bonus points for playing classic rock music throughout his office instead of the sleepy elevator music. :

I will see him in four weeks. If I seriously don't see an improvement by then, I will then have this discussion with him. I didn't say anything during my previous two visits because I don't want to be a "just one more thing" kind of patient, AND, I know that he requires a separate appointment for orthopedic evaluations. He's a good guy though. He'll listen and then tell me to make an appointment.