Starting up...

Today was the first day of CFC's paleo+ challenge. I've been eating as clean as possible for a few years now, but have been following the paleo diet for around two months. That said, I usually do this Monday through Friday, and basically eat whatever doing the weekends. Cutting down on cheat meals will definitely be challenging throughout the next eight weeks, but I'm looking forward to seeing the effects on my training and performance. I'll likely get the Crossfit Total in on Tuesday (combined 1RM for: press, squat, deadlift), and possibly the 2k row as well. My goals for the challenge are to increase my strength numbers and overall performance. I estimate that I've gained about 5 lbs. of muscle mass since starting Crossfit at the end of July, and my weight has been right around 155-160 lbs. for the past few months. Cutting out bread and gluten products has definitely made a noticeable difference, as I've leaned out while at the same time getting stronger.

I didn't sign up for Sectionals this year--I don't think I would chalk it up to wussing out but rather knowing that there are a number of movements I still need to work on and improve before I can really be competitive. These include all of the olympic lift movements and wall balls, among others. I'd also like to get to the point where I don't need to scale the weights on any workout (this usually occurs on movements such as clean & jerks). I think that my cardio is relatively solid, and I am really just working on increasing my strength and maximum work capacity. I'd like to see if I can make a push for a spot on CFC's Affiliate team, though there will definitely be a ton of solid competition at the box. 

I'm going to try to post my workouts and meals daily, so here goes:

Sunday, 11:30 am (CFC)

Shoulders were fatigued from two consecutive two-a-days on Friday and Saturday, so wanted to get in some rowing and cardio-related workouts today:

Workout #1:

Metcon: "Christine"

3rds for time,

500 m row

12 bodyweight deadlifts (used #160)

21 box jumps ("20)

As Rx'd: 9:11

First row was under 2:00, but slipped to around 2:05-2:10 for both the second and third rounds. First two rounds of deadlifts went unbroken, third set was 8-4. Box jumps pretty much all unbroken, though need to keep on working on opening hips at the top of the jump. This was a good workout that I've wanted to try for awhile now. I've watched Pat Barber (8:22) and OPT (7:59) do this, and they basically don't stop the entire time. There's definitely room for improvement on the rows.

Rested for about 30 minutes, and then did Rudy's double under ladder workout:

Workout #2: 

Double unders 5-10-15-20...all the way up to 50, and then back down by 5s to 0. The catch was that if you messed up during the middle of a set you had to start the set back over. I finally learn double unders over Christmas and have been practicing them almost every day, so I thought this one could be "fun." That was until I watched Bryce do it. 

Time: 17:17 (500 double unders total, excluding the ones in sets with a mistake)

I actually got up to 50 without any major issues, but coming back down was rough. I think I failed about 10-15 times on the set of 25. My biceps were numb by the end of the workout and my legs were dead. I did this one on the wood lifting platform and should have done it on the normal floor, but it was definitely a challenge. I had sub-15 set in my sights but the trip ups at the end killed me. Putting in the extra practice on a specific problem movement worked well here, so I'm planning on doing this for the c&js and snatches, as well as wall balls. Had been planning to try one more tw0-a-day but my body feels wrecked from the past few days so will rest up tonight and get back at it tomorrow. 

Food Log:

9:00 am:

4 egg whites, 1 yolk (scrambled)

5 strips of turkey bacon

12:00 pm:

1.5 scoops of whey protein, H20, 5 g creatine monohydrate

1 box of raisins

Went to Trader Joe's and got a bunch of good stuff. I saw Chris had a bag of pre-peeled hard-boiled eggs, which blew my mind, so I picked up a few bags of those as well.

2:30 pm:

1 whole egg, 1 egg white (hard-boiled)

Large handful of nuts (almonds, walnuts, pecans)

5:30 pm:

1 sirloin steak

1/2 bag of broccoli

black olives

7:00 pm:

2 egg whites (hard-boiled)

8:00 pm:

cup of shrimp

small handful of nuts

Starting up another week tomorrow, will be going to workout at 5:30 am before work.