Upping My Game

How often should I CrossFit?

That's the question I'd been asking myself lately.  I made a commitment at the beginning of July to go three times each week, and by the end of the third week, I'd lost 1% body fat.  I was pumped!  Then I started thinking about what new goals I wanted to set this year...and what I would need to do in order to achieve them.

This spring, I participated in the CrossFit Open for the first time. I honestly surprised myself with how I did...but at the same time was a little sad that I hadn't been CrossFitting long enough to RX many of the workouts.


Me doing WOD 12.1: 7 minutes of burpees!

When I started CrossFit in November of last year, my goal was really to continue getting in better shape, and to be able to finally nail my first "real" unassisted, dead-hang pullup (which I finally did on 6/12/12).  But now I feel like I want something a little more challenging. 
I decided I want to actually make a good showing representing our box at the next Open in 2013.  Which means I would need to be able to RX...everything.

I know enough to realize that my current regimen of coming three times a week and refusing to try Paleo will not get me to a competitive level in seven months.  I will need to make some changes.

I went to (where else?) The Google and searched the great wise web for an answer to my question.  The first result was a total winner: How Often Should I CrossFit, from the CrossFit Impulse site.

Here was the main point that really stuck out to me: "Train 4 or 5 days per week. Generally, don’t train more than 3 days consecutively or less than 2 days consecutively. Above all, listen to your body, but be aware that you must work through soreness and fatigue. However, never work through pain, especially acute pain." (Emphasis mine.)

Currently I have one day on, followed by one or two days off.  My new plan? One of the following:

Option 1:
Monday - CF
Tuesday - CF
Wednedsay - Rest (possibly active rest with mobility work and/or yoga)
Thursday - CF
Friday - CF
Saturday - CF
Sunday - Rest (see Wednesday)

Option 2:
Monday - CF
Tuesday - CF
Wednedsay - CF
Thursday - Rest (possibly active rest with mobility work and/or yoga)
Friday - CF
Saturday - CF
Sunday - Rest (see Thursday)

And...I am taking the Paleo plunge.  This, as you may remember, did not go so well for me when I tried it the first time in January.  But I now eat substantially more vegetables and less grains in general, so making swaps is a lot easier and less of a shock to my system.  Plus, it's amazing how non-freaked out I can be if I don't psych myself up about how horrible something will be (go figure).

Paleo-ish snacks: carrots and hummus,
Raw Revolution bar,
banana w/peanut butter & chopped almonds

I did a trial run on Sunday (if you're hard core, I ate hummus which I know does not officially count).  I had no dairy and no grains...and I lived.  And I didn't even cry in any grocery stores.  So this week I am Paleo-ish, with a cheat meal of tacos (I LOVE tortilla chips) on Tuesday night. 

Here's my workouts so far this week:

Monday: Tabata Something Else with my new CrossFit buddy

My mom liked her first week of CrossFit (even after a 45 minute Saturday team WOD!) and was back on Monday night to start her second week!

I STINK at wall balls.  This may be in part due to the fact that I hate them and I kinda (sorry, Coach!) have been skipping WODs that involve wall balls.  I was glad to see them as the skill and put some work into them!

The kettlebell swings are usually a strong point for me.  We were supposed to pick a weight for this skill that was heavier than what we'd generally use in a WOD.  I usually have the #35, so I took a deep breath and went for the #44, which I'd never swung before.

I got 20 unbroken reps both rounds!  The wall balls were another story...I started with the #16 and eventually had to move down to the #10.  I don't know if I even linked 10 reps with the #10.  Boy do I need work on those!

Our WOD was all body-weight.  It sounds so easy until you get going...I started out with the red band for pullups and had to switch to blue later.

Our Monday scores:

Our quads were still sore from Saturday, so my mom and I spent some time stretching post-WOD.  Here's a great one...the couch stretch!

Tuesday: Meet Three of "The Girls"

For strength, we worked front squats. 

I got through the last three reps at #95, which I think is a PR?  Love using WODHub now - wish I'd started earlier!

Then, on to the WOD, which included three CrossFit benchmark workouts rolled into one:

For Fran, I scaled to #45 with the red band.  I was able to link the first 20 pullups!  I scaled Grace to #65 and was gonna do Isabel that way, too...but ended up having to scale to #55.

Wednesday: Active Rest

I read a magazine on the elliptical (haven't done that in AGES) and did some mobility work and yoga. 

Extra cool?  I was IN the magazine.

I'm reading away at breakfast, and I thought, "aw, this girl sounds like me. WAIT THIS GIRL IS ME." And then I squealed and had to explain myself to Jared.

Follow me on Twitter @meghamixer since clearly I'm famous now.

Tonight: WOD time at Mercer Island CrossFit

Have a great Thursday everyone!