Solcana blog

Hi Friends!

Welcome back to episode two of Days of Jenn’s CrossFit Life. Big news this week. I SURVIVED! I’d like to thank Beyonce, Kelly, and Michelle for always having my back, but especially this week. Let us pray:

But seriously, you guys. I’m really proud of myself. I managed to make it to my first Wednesday 5:30 am class (I KNOW, RIGHT?!) despite being terrified. I walked in to a really friendly group of people: Jeff, Jeremy, Sara, and Katie (with Hannah and Morgen coaching). I wasn’t sure what to expect, I mean, I had read the WOD (workout of the day) posted on the Solcana Crossfit Facebook page the night before, and didn’t even attempt to decipher what I was going to have to accomplish. Yet I live to tell the story.

We started the work out with a no measure warmup (meaning, it wasn’t done for time/distance) of:

• Superman, Hollow body log rolls
• Plank walk
• Bear walk

The superman is something I have done before – but mostly in front of a green screen on the Vegas Strip (long story). This was sort of similar in the sense that we laid on our stomach while holding our arms and legs in the air. From there, we had to log roll across the box (LOOK I AM LEARNING LINGO! Oh, man, I hope I used that right. I think it means “gym”.) keeping our legs and arms in the air. Then I learned that plank walks are not just for pirates. For this, we got into a plank, and then had to remain in the position while we sidestepped across using our hands and feet. Lastly, we did bear walks. Also new to me. For this, we were bent at the waist, with hands on the floor and butt in the air. Then we walked. It was kind of weird to have my balance thrown off but I somehow managed to do it with out falling on my face so I’m going to go ahead and call it a win. I was the last person to finish, but I didn’t even care. I did it. 

Next came weightlifting. I’ve lifted in the past, but not this way. You see, I’ve always been a weight machine kind of person. Before we started the shoulder press (we did 5 sets of 5 reps at 55-65%), Morgen showed us proper lifting technique and had us all demonstrate for her that we understood. I started with the bar only (35lbs) and made it up to 45lbs for the final 3 sets. I really struggled on the very last rep and just couldn’t land it. I have to say, it was pretty awesome to have everyone shouting in support of me as they watched me struggle. I really wanted to do it and hope that this week, I’ll be able to.

We ended with Metcon, which I’ve since learned is short for metabolic conditioning. In other words, CARDI-O-M-G! In this workout we did Tabata, which means that for twenty seconds, we did as many reps of the assigned exercise as we could, followed by 10 rest seconds. Repeat for 8 intervals of each exercise. This rotated from pull ups (ring rows), to box jumps (Box step ups for me, honeys. Hey. It was my first time!), and burpees. Did I mention burpees are my worst enemy? Burpees, to me, are like that girl who stole my boyfriend in 5th grade reading group. I will never forget my disdain. But I digress. After the 8 intervals, your score is the least number of reps you completed in each exercise. I managed to do 5 pullups/20 sec, 4 box jumps/20 sec, 2 burpees/20 seconds. I’m not gonna lie. It was killer. But it also felt really good. I felt tough. And, after completion I even had a little less hate toward burpees. I blame endorphins.

I took a couple of rest days in between because I was doing shows at the Joke Joint (hey, come to a show sometime!) and it was over this time that I came to the realization that I actually have arm muscles (!). I know this because I could barely move them. Well, I could move them as long as I didn’t straighten my arms. They hurt, but again, in a good way. I still felt tough.

Originally, I had signed up to join the 5:30am Friday class, but after I was still at the comedy club Thursday night at midnight, I thought I better catch some z’s instead. So I cancelled. I didn’t want to, however, I also knew I’d be at the women’s only 9am CrossFit class on Saturday so I didn’t beat myself up too much. Working out is really good, but so is my sleep, peeps. I woke up early Saturday – about 7:30am or so – to eat a banana with proper digestion and drink some water before heading out to Solcana for my 9a class. It was a rainy day and I was looking forward to the women only class….there’s just something about gettin’ all fitnessy and sassified with your fellow gal pals, you know? I wasn’t sure if anyone else would be there besides me since I had been the only person to reserve for the class. As I walked in, I was greeted by the smiling faces of my NYC pal Madde Gibba AND Coach Hannah. BEST DAY EVER! We girl talked for 5 before we convinced Gibba to fitness with us. I’m not one to start rumors, but I think she was hoping to join us considering she showed up in a adorable exercise ensemble. The three of us together looked a little like this:

This workout was exceptionally fun because we laughed a lot. But I know we worked really hard too. I know this because my derriere is still sore. 2 days later. It was cool to be more 1:1 with Coach Hannah too because we had all of her attention which helped us master the new exercises and lifts we were trying and completing successfully. I mean, you guys. I ACTUALLY TOUCHED A KETTLE BELL. And did 5 sets of 3 push jerks at 65lbs! Push jerks. Yes, a good motto for middle school and ALSO a weight lifting technique. Who knew?!

WAIT. Did I mention everything we did on Saturday was completely new to me? I was intimidated. Working with Hannah and having her walk me through every step of the WOD was awesome because watching her do it helped me do it, too. Also, when you’re a member of CrossFit, you gain access to your box’s (there’s that lingo again) Wodify – a web tool that helps you keep track of everything from class reservations, workouts, and even a video library so you can look up exercises you might be unfamiliar with. It’s brilliant and easy and THERE IS EVEN A MOBILE APP. I’ve linked to some of the videos in this post so you can get a better idea of all of the exercises I’m referring to, as well. Watch them! And then picture me doing them! I KNOW, RIGHT?!

So, our WOD (workout of the day)for  Saturday Women’s Only CrossFit consisted of:

Warm up:

• Kettle bell windmill 3 x 5 each side 
• Kettle bell waiter walks, 2 min

Weightlifting

• Push Jerk (3-3-3-3-3 (75%)) – I did 65 lbs! 

Metcon (Time)

• 150 Russian swings (1.5/1) – I don’t even know how much I did here but Hannah said I would do more next time because I was stronger than I thought. I’ll take it. 🙂 
• Every minute on the minute, 2 burpees

I walked out of there hot and sweaty:

But also empowered:

I can’t wait to go back Wednesday at 5:30 am. See you crazy kids then! *Cue the Child of Destiny music*

-Jenn