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Chest to Bar Pull Ups

On April 5, 2013

I was going to hold off on posting about CrossFit until the Open was over. N took some photos of the WOD on Sunday and I’m trying not to come off as too CrossFit obsessed (although I am, I know).

Open workout 13.5 was announced last night though and I did it tonight. One of the movements is Chest to Bar Pull Ups. I’ve never attempted a Chest to Bar Pull Up. I currently can do strict pull ups, but I haven’t figured out kipping and I definitely haven’t figured out Butterflies. Since I didn’t have time to learn either of these things tonight before attempting 13.5, I did whatever I could to get my chest up to the bar, as many times as possible. This mostly involved a lot of leg swing, hip drive, and sheer determination.

We all had a pretty good laugh about my “technique” (or lack-there-of) afterwards. So now there are kipping pull ups, butterfly pull ups, and my method: Alanna pull ups. I got one of the coaches to video an example of what this looks like so I could share.

Enjoy, have a laugh, and, if you’re doing 13.5, GOOD LUCK!

March in Instagram

By whoalansi

On April 3, 2013

In Uncategorized

Spring seems to finally arrived in Calgary and I couldn’t be more excited. Of course, it’s supposed to snow tomorrow, but until then I will enjoy every last ounce of sunshine that I can! H & I went for a gorgeous run at lunch and N and I plan on meeting up at the delicious Village Ice Cream after work.

April is here and I hope she doesn’t have many showers for us! March was filled with CrossFit Open Work Outs (I bet you didn’t see that one coming), delicious Big Taste meals, fun nights with friends, and lots of Fitness! I’m trying out a different way of sharing this month’s photos, so we’ll see how I like this. Here’s what we got up to in March.

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1. We started off the month with a pretty big snowstorm. Luckily it was on a Sunday so it didn’t bring the city to a grinding halt and I went out frolicking thanks to my AWD!

2. Fitness Fridays have continued. We’ve recruited a few more and have been keeping things interesting every week. I love seeing new faces come out!

3. D and I at Wurst for Z’s birthday. As always, it was a great time. Who doesn’t like 1L beers and beer hall style tables.

4. Big Taste is one of the best weeks for dining in Calgary. $35 set menu at 70 different restaurants in Calgary? Mom, Dad, N, and I went to Charcut this year. By far one of my favourite restaurants!

5. The girls at CrossFit Airdrie talked me into doing the Open and I’m so glad that they did. It’s been such a great experience. I’ve seen such improvement in my lifts and confidence and am so humbled by the amazing CrossFit athletes all around the world.

6. H, N, and I headed out to Lake Louise for once last day of skiing this season. Gorgeous snow and great company!

7. Saturday Coffee Dates are just the best!

8. It’s been warm enough for bare legs lately. I’ve been busting out the dresses and booties at every opportunity. I’m so ready for Spring!

9. Stars put on another great show last weekend. I’ve seen them four times and this was by far my favourite show. Thanks for the amazing night, Stars!

Tomorrow they announce the last CrossFit Open WOD. I’m both excited and sad for these weekly workouts to end. N very kindly came out to Airdrie with me on Sunday to take some photos, so I’ll hopefully be posting those soon. I make some pretty awesome faces when I work out!

We’re planning on cutting back on a few things this month, so cross your fingers for beautiful weather so we can spend out time outside and maintain some type of social life!

What did you get up to this month? Anything exciting planned for April?

13.2

By whoalansi

On March 19, 2013

In Uncategorized

I tried to take a little break from the fitness talk, but with the 13.3 announcement coming up tomorrow at 5 pm PST I figured it was time for a little update.

We didn’t go skiing the Sunday of 13.1 so I redid the workout. I’m so happy I did because the snatches that had been nearly impossible that Thursday were suddenly so much easier. I went from 107 reps to 120 reps, which was a goal I didn’t expect to attain.

My ranking after 13.1
Canada West vs The World

My first thoughts when they announced 13.2 on Wednesday night were, “It looks simple. That definitely means it’s going to hurt a lot.”. That was a pretty accurate assessment.

Workout 13.2
AMRAP 10 min
5 shoulder to overhead (115#/75#)
10 deadlifts (115#/75#)
15 box jumps (24″/20″)

This was one of those workouts that forces you to question any thoughts you may have had about how strong your cardio is. I’ve always done well at cardio-based CrossFit WODs and this one destroyed me. After ten minutes, I was literally sprawled on the floor wondering why I’d put myself through that. One of the coaches came over to high five me and said something about how he guessed I’d be re-doing it Sunday. I didn’t understand what he meant at first since I had no idea about the number of reps that I’d done.

It turns out that I’d done 197 reps. Obviously I was going to have a hard time accepting that as my final score.

We went skiing on Saturday at Lake Louise, so I wasn’t sure how I was going to feel on Sunday. I put on my compression socks though and hoped my legs wouldn’t be too sore. N and I both knew I was going to try for 200 reps.

I went in the second heat this time and watching the others do this WOD again made me wonder what was wrong with me. The look of pain of their faces had me second guessing my decision to do it over. What if I didn’t get a better score? What if I did the whole WOD over again and nothing changed? I had to try anyway. At least I’d know I’d be getting a good work out in.

I beat my score by 12 reps. It hurt just as much and I ended the workout flat on my back again, but at least I got over that 200 mark. I know I would have been really disappointed if I hadn’t redone it.

The best part of this whole story is probably the fact that I almost didn’t end up submitting my score. I watched one of my coaches do it (297 reps! Insane!) and then had to run home to shower and get ready to head to N’s parents’ for dinner. It was only once I got there and was showing him the video of my coach doing part of it that I realized I hadn’t actually submitted my new score.

I added my score to the website from my iPhone with 38 minutes to spare. Fewf!

Tomorrow they announce 13.3 and I’m excited to watch the showdown and see what’s in store for me this week. I’m betting on pull ups. There’s got to be some pull ups coming up somewhere.

Until then, I’ve been having some fun on the Reebok and CrossFit websites. You can customize your own CrossFit shoe! I was bored the other day so this is what I came up with.

Again Faster

By whoalansi

On March 8, 2013

In Uncategorized

I’ve been on a CrossFit posting kick lately. I apologize. This blog really isn’t going to be only about Fitness and CrossFit. It’s just a really exciting time for CrossFit right now! Don’t worry, I’ve got some recipes and photos and non fitness things coming.

The first CrossFit Open WOD (13.1) was announced on Wednesday and my first reaction was “Holy #$%*!”. Everyone had been dreading another rendition of last years 7 min of burpees or a snatch ladder. Those were the first two work outs of the Open last year: 12.1 and 12.2. Well, CrossFit did us one better and combined those two WODs to create a beast of a workout.

Workout 13.1

17 minute AMRAP of:
Round 1 – 40 Burpees
30 Snatch, 75 / 45 lbs
Round 2 – 30 Burpees
30 Snatch, 135 / 75 lbs
Round 3 – 20 Burpees
30 Snatch, 165 / 100 lbs
Round 4 – 10 burpees
Max rep Snatch, 210 / 120 lbs

I tuned in right at 6 pm to watch Scott Panchik and Dan Bailey go head to head in this workout right after it was announced. It was intense. If you missed it, this is the only video I can currently find.

Julie Foucher (the second fittest female in the games last year) also did a great demo of the workout. She is a pretty incredible lady. She’s toned down her training this year to focus on Med School and she still managed to score 195 reps. That’s nuts.

I did the Workout last night. I was pretty nervous and excited before it. I haven’t really done many snatches since last July so I’d practiced a few on Wednesday night, but I still wasn’t super confident about that 75 lb snatch.

I scored 107 reps. I’m pretty proud of myself. I did really well on the first Round. A 45 lb snatch isn’t that heavy, but after 40 burpees it was significantly harder than usual. I finished that round in 6:27 and moved on to 30 burpees. That also went pretty well so I had plenty of time for the next set of snatches. I failed my first 3 snatches at 75 lbs. It was a bit discouraging. The best thing about CrossFit is that you always have a cheering section to get you going. All I could hear was “You can do it. You’re doing amazing! You’re so close, just get under that bar!”. On my fourth try, I finally got a successful rep. The next 5 or so minutes was a mixture of successful reps and failed reps. I got down to the last minute and got 2 reps in. With 10 seconds left, I tried for another, but just couldn’t lock out my arms at the top so I ended with 7 snatches. I got high fives all around and took my turn to cheer on the next heat. It was a pretty cool experience.

Once I was able to breath again, I knew I wanted to try the workout again. They’re doing it on Sunday, so if we don’t go skiing I may just have to try again. I know I can get those snatches now!

My score is officially up on the website, which is pretty cool. I will definitely move down in the standings, but for a time I was in the top 100 in Western Canada, so I’ll just focus on that for now.

I obviously am not going to qualify for Regionals or the Games, but it was great to participate. I’m looking forward to the next WOD and hoping it doesn’t include things I can’t manage yet! Fingers crossed!

Forging Elite Fitness

By whoalansi

On March 1, 2013

In Uncategorized

I’ve been doing CrossFit workouts sporadically for the last year and half. I used to just go to the website, write down the Workout of the Day (WOD), and do it at the YMCA after work. Sometimes I’d do it with friends, but it was never really more than once a week.

This summer I started going to a friend’s gym in his garage. I still was mostly running and only going about once a week, but I really loved it. Sadly, CrossFit is really expensive, so I went back to running for most of the fall.

You might be asking yourself what is CrossFit ?

“CrossFit is an effective way to get fit. Anyone can do it. It is a fitness program that combines a wide variety of functional movements into a timed or scored workout. We do pull-ups, squats, push-ups, weightlifting, gymnastics, running, rowing, and a host of other movements. Always varied, always changing, and always producing results. Kids, cops, firefighters, soccer moms, Navy SEALS, and grandmas all do CrossFit.” (CrossFit.com)

Last month, I got the opportunity to try out Airdrie CrossFit Edge for six months. I’ve been trying to go three times a week and so far it’s been great. I love the competitive nature of it and the fact that I always feel like I’ve worked hard. I used to waste a lot of time at the gym. I’d spend longer working out, but wasn’t as effective so I wasn’t getting anywhere.

Anyway, the CrossFit games are coming up. I watched a lot of the Games last year and they’re so inspiring. These athletes are incredible! I just love Camile Leblanc-Bazinet. Seriously, check her out. She just blows through that WOD after three days of intense work outs; it’s so beautiful! (Plus she’s French Canadian, adorable, and gorgeous – love her!)

In order to get to the games, you have to qualify. The process starts with the CrossFit Games Open, which anyone can enter. A lot of people at my box are doing it and they tried to convince me to sign up yesterday. If I go next Thursday, I’ll be doing the WOD anyway. Their argument is that if I register for the open, I’ll get to see how I compare to everyone else who does it. It costs $20 to register. I’m sure I won’t make it very far, but it might be interesting to see where I stand. I’m still undecided, however.

What do you think, blogger world? Should I register?

WHOA lansi

francophile, oenophile, logophile, turophile

Tag: fitness

Chest to Bar Pull Ups

13.2

Again Faster

Workout 13.1

Forging Elite Fitness

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