Monday, November 7, 2011

Update: WODing

I've been so neglectful of the CrossFit aspect of this blog as I am trying to wrap my mind around the best baby gear and gearing up to tackle the next big steps of baby preparation (finding a doctor and daycare).
While my food consumption is completely haywire and I don't know how often I'll be at the box this week (I am currently battling some bizarre stomach bug/cold), I have had some great WODs in the past couple weeks that I'd love to share!


WOD: November 4
50,40,30,20,10 reps for time:
Kettlebell Swings
Double Unders
We did this WOD on June 22, when I was 8 weeks pregnant. Back then, I finished it in 16:56, Rx. This time, at 27 weeks, I finished it Rx in 18:48. I honestly didn't know if I'd be able to manage the double unders or if I would be able to finish this one, so completing it was such a huge accomplishment!


WOD: November 1
Bench press x 3
15,12,9,6,3 reps for time:
overhead walking lunges with 25 pound plate, reps are for each leg
Burpees

While I did my pregnant "burps" for this WOD (meaning that I land on my thighs, but keep my stomach elevated, almost like a cobra position in yoga), I finished this one in under 9 minutes. I modified the bench press to a regular press, and easily managed 70 pounds and decided to quit while I was ahead.

WOD: October 29
Front Squat x 2 for strength
40s on, 20s off x 4 Rounds for max reps:
Wall Ball with a 14 pound ball
Push-ups
Kettlebell Swings with 1 pood

If there's one thing I can do, it's squat. I have strong, strong legs. I did 145 x 2, the highest of any woman in my class that day, without much effort. I had to remind myself that it was probably a good idea to stop. While I've had to drop the weight on my squat quite a bit, I can still manage a pretty mean squat, which is awesome. I haven't had to modify my push ups yet, and my KBS are still pretty fabulous.  While I definitely didn't have the highest score of the day, finishing this one Rx was really uplifting.

My score for the WOD: 46 WB, 41 PUs, 68 KBS Rx for 155 total.


WOD: October 28
Skill: number of double unders in 2 minutes
3 Rounds for time:
500m row
12 Deadlifts @ bodyweight
21 box jumps @ 20 inches


I enjoy deadlifting, but I'm now nervous about my lower back, which can bother me at times. I was
going to do my pre-pregnancy weight for the WOD, but 130 lbs felt like I was pushing my luck. I
dropped it to a very managable 95, but I still did the box jumps Rx.  Rowing is my mortal enemy, so I just took it slow and steady.  

DU test: 51 in two minutes
WOD: finished in 15:31


Why am I sharing all of this? A few reasons.

First, I'm proud of the work that I'm still able to do at CrossFit, and I want to be able to share my success. Each week, I wonder if I've had my last Rx WOD, and then I surprise myself!  What I think has enabled me to still be successful at CF is my attitude.  I've slowly morphed from the 'I can't handle not having a PR and pushing myself to the brink!' to 'Let's just see what I can do today -- hopefully I'll be able to finish the WOD; I'll just do my best to get a decent workout.'  I think this change has made a huge difference in my WODing.  I pace myself carefully (which, I think, is the reason why I can still do box jumps).  I make sure I can talk while I WOD and I drink lots of water.  And I just see what happens.  And when in doubt, I back off.

At the same time, I've also developed a greater sense of pride and respect for what my body can do.  It's pretty awesome that I can safely and comfortably weight lift and compete metcons.  No, I'm not PRing, and that's okay.  I'm strong, I'm healthy, and this baby is strong and healthy, which is all I can ask for.  And I can still manage an Rx here and there!

I hope I can also be a model for the physical strength that women are more than capable of.  No, I'm not suggested that a newly pregnant woman run out and deadlift 200 pounds after never exercising, but I'm advocating that women of all ages start slowly exploring avenues like CrossFit (or strength training in general) to be as healthy as possible.

I'm also convinced that CF has enabled me to have a relatively easy pregnancy.  Yes, there's about 12 weeks left of it, but so far, I have no real complaints.  Getting in shape before getting pregnant has made a huge difference in my life.  It's given me a community; a place to go so I don't just end up sitting on the couch watching TV every night, and it's given me a huge amount of confidence.  So, here's to the end of my second trimester, and hopefully continued success with CrossFit!


After my WOD on November 4 at 27 weeks!

3 comments:

  1. The "toning for two" shirt is HILARIOUS! You look fantastic and I'm super-impressed with your WOD results.

    I too am 100% convinced that Crossfit and Paleo has made pregnancy healthy and relatively easy on me. I almost feel guilty for not blogging about it and spreading the good news! At least I can be a good example to the other women at my box, some of which are openly watching me like a hawk to see how things are going for me as they consider their own future pregnancies.

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  2. As a Crossfitting lady who hopes to have a bun in the oven sometime soon-ish, I love reading stuff like this. Thanks so much for the update on your progress!

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  3. Alex,
    I hope to hear that you have a bun in the oven soon! Good luck with everything and know that CrossFitting while pregnant is manageable and wonderful!

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