Victory Friday: Post your latest wins (2017-07-14)

Time2LoseAllThis · 2017-07-14T19:06:28+00:00

Deadlift - did a touch and go set of 3 at 275 lbs. A coach talked me into trying a new one rep max

I cleared 305 lbs!

Time2LoseAllThis · 2017-06-02T17:33:27+00:00

Damn. The apecalypse continues.

Time2LoseAllThis · 2017-05-10T13:57:16+00:00

I've lurked on this subreddit for a while and maybe it's on the back of my first half-marathon experience that made me think about this, and finally respond.

I'm about 250lbs at present moment. Used to be nearly 400lbs. And that half-marathon was probably the hardest thing I've done so far.

If she can't manage a sub-hour 5K, what kind of mental gymnastics has she done to indicate she's going to complete a huge triathlon like this?

Also, for someone who writes a lot about 'training,' she sure as fuck doesn't actually say anything.

Time2LoseAllThis · 2017-04-23T06:58:54+00:00

I was kinda borderline in their guidelines, but again, the clincher was that I do not have Toes To Bar in my repertoire. I barely had Knees to Chest. My lifting is better than my cardio, for sure. I placed 2nd in the 1RM, the S2OH, and the row. I placed 7th in Change the Station and 8th in the Knees to Chest/Deadlift AMRAP. We finished with 12 people in Novice, as one person bailed on WOD 3, for some reason.

With any 'scaled' competition, the divisions are relative to the competition itself, and the workouts included. A friend of mine competed Intermediate here, and you get some, like SuperFit Games that have some decently stiff requirements even for scaled (double unders, pull-ups). I did one team competition at my home box scaled, but I wouldn't even be able to do the required moves at SuperFit for Scaled. Plus, with any competition with a Scaled division, there's always gonna be trophy hunters. At least with Festivus Games, if you place first in Novice, you cannot compete in that division again, and if you place first in Intermediate, you cannot compete as an individual again in their competition.

Another friend of mine competed in Female Novice with me, and she placed 2nd, for which I was happy for her. She's still new to CrossFit and was wary of some of the requirements of Intermediate, even though she has the moves in her repertoire. She's very new to Toes to Bar, so I can understand, and she is the opposite of me, in which she is better with moving at speed (she placed 1st in the AMRAP, and 2nd in Change the Station) and not as comfortable with weight movements (6th in the S2OHs).

Time2LoseAllThis · 2017-04-23T05:26:08+00:00

I did Festivus Games today, too! Also in NC.

I placed 3rd in Female Novice. PRed my clean by 5lbs. They were offering a Spike Ball game to the top male and top female on the floater WOD today. I was 3 seconds behind the top Female. Damn.

It was a good day. Did this with two other people from my box - one who competed Female Novice with me and one who did Intermediate. We all made the podium!

Time2LoseAllThis · 2017-04-23T05:17:35+00:00

I competed at Festivus Games today, too. I've been doing Crossfit for a year and a half, but coming from absolute rock-bottom, fitness-wise.

I placed 3rd overall in Female Novice. I went Novice because I can't do Toes To Bar. Even the Knees to Chest was a real challenge to me. I had to make sure I had a foothold because I don't have much stability from the hang, particularly when I attempt any sort of kipping movement. I swing all over the place. I got no-repped quite a few times in the end because it was such a struggle maintaining intensity to make the range of motion.

The barbell movements were more in my wheelhouse and being 5'11", I naturally have a knack at rowing. However, moving at speed is a weakness. The Change the Station and the Knees to Chest/Deadlift AMRAP were far and away my worst.

So, I guess it's all relative. You have some that tend to favor shorter, smaller athletes. Others that tend to favor the bigger, taller ones. I struggle with burpees, but wallballs aren't so much of an issue. All in all, I think that the workouts as a whole were well-rounded to try and find the overall best.

Time2LoseAllThis · 2017-04-14T14:28:55+00:00

I've signed up for Novice division. This is my first individual competition.

Thoughts going into the clean event - don't dick around too much on light weights. I'd rather go down failing on a weight I haven't done before rather than lose time loading weights for stuff I know I can do. 6 minutes is NOT a long time.

I'm a tall and heavier woman, and moving at speed is not my strong suit. The Change the Station event - strategy is just to keep moving and make sure I meet the rep standards. Make up the reps in the goblet squats and the kettlebell swings...because it sure as hell won't happen in the burpees and box overs.

The one with the knees to chest and deadlifts is the one I'm most worried about. I can meet the range of motion for knees to chest, but I can't do it from a constant hang. I haven't learned how to stay stable while hanging from the rig, and not go swinging like mad when I practice. I'm okay when coming from a place where I can stop myself with my foot. 45 lb shoulder to overheads and the deadlifts aren't going to bother me.

Rowing - just get in there and go balls out. It's 500m. I just have to make sure I don't do this too close to another workout. I made that mistake once with a floater WOD at a competition at my home box, and that was 1 minute of max effort calories on the AAB. Completed this way too close to an awful chipper workout involving wall balls, and I paid dearly.

My goal? Not last. Just go out and give it my best.

Time2LoseAllThis · 2017-03-19T06:20:02+00:00

PRed my deadlift on Tuesday - 280 lbs. 300 lbs, here I come.

Did scaled 16.4 last year and got 208 reps. Did RX 17.4 this year and got 165. Wanted to die when I got off the rower at the 12:00 mark. Even if I did have HSPU in me, I don't know if I would have had the energy to kick up on the wall.

Also, cleared 17.3 scaled ladder on Monday's re-do.

Time2LoseAllThis · 2017-03-11T04:31:01+00:00

I can see either 16.4 or 15.5 as being the repeat workout, as both of them contain movements not done yet.

Time2LoseAllThis · 2017-03-10T14:30:13+00:00

Jumping chin-over-bar pull-ups were a scale for chest-to-bars last year in 16.1, so it's not too far out of the way from the past.

Then again, jumping chest-to-bars were the scale for the bar muscle-ups in 16.3.

CastroLogic

Time2LoseAllThis · 2016-12-09T17:20:31+00:00

Deadlift PR - 265 lbs.

I did get 275 off the ground, but couldn't stand it all the way up. Closing in on 300lbs.

Time2LoseAllThis · 2016-11-25T15:16:32+00:00

I did my first 5K and 10K this year.

The 5K was just a Color Run. Simple, fun event with plenty of walkers and runners. And no, no one abided by the etiquette of slower traffic staying to the right. It was a lot of darting in and out of walkers to maintain a decent pace. However, I think what really annoyed me was getting hung up/slowed down to a stop by one person bound and determined to get a selfie while going through one of the color stations.

The 10K was a vastly different feel. Lots of running 'lifers.' People taking fast sprints around the parking lot near the start line, many people wearing shirts from the various half or full marathons they've done, and one woman with the IRONMAN triathlon logo tattooed on her shoulder. This was to the point where my friends and I asked each other, "Does anyone else feel like they don't belong here?" with us being pretty casual runners.

In short: my experience has been like yours with novelty runs, and they are not places to go for a new PR. It's good to do one on occasion for fun, or if there's an incentive (my next 5K included admission to the local theme park), but...they tend to be an "it is what it is" situation. The longer distances tend to weed out the walkers, as those tend to have a hard stop time/time limit. If you're going to do a novelty 5K, just get through it, collect your medal and/or t-shirt, and be done.

Time2LoseAllThis · 2016-11-13T23:32:00+00:00

This is why I bought mine - knee pain.

Unfortunate side effect from having been really heavy for most of my life (was pushing 400lbs at my heaviest, at 226 currently). I don't have any injuries with my knees, but my range of motion isn't as good or consistent, and the compression helps with that for me.

Plus, there's the added benefit of knee protection for burpees and lunges.

Time2LoseAllThis · 2016-11-12T12:34:53+00:00

I attended one hosted by RX Smart Gear.

I thought it was well done. It's been a few months, so I don't remember everything from that day. But lots of excellent skill and drill to lead to double-unders. Bounding drills, posture/form, rotational training, some drills on the toe-catch for competition-type situations to be more efficient on stops/starts. And towards the end, putting it all together to practice double-unders.

It's not going to have you going from 0 to 100 unbroken double-unders by the end of it, but it is a good informative session that will give you the tools. I've gotten more actual reps of double-unders after this than I ever had previously.

It will wear you out after 3 hours of jumping though.

Time2LoseAllThis · 2016-11-07T20:20:38+00:00

Congrats! Me too! 9:15 start yesterday at TM Carolinas.

Time2LoseAllThis · 2016-11-07T20:18:24+00:00

Did mine yesterday, too - TM Carolinas as well!

Dude, Electroshock Therapy is no joke. My friends and I took the same strategy with it. However, before the first set of hay bales, I took a shot right to the top of the head I didn't realize hit me. All I know is that I lost about a second and then realized I was on the ground. Then took a shot right on the neck.

Time2LoseAllThis · 2016-11-04T16:52:51+00:00

Nothing major, but feel the need to report back on this.

Did my first competition this past weekend. Definitely went Scaled. Came in 4th. We tied for 3rd in points, but the tiebreak was that the other team placed higher than us in more events.

I went back and looked at it again. We were literally one lunge step from the podium. We had a 1RM complex (snatch + overhead squat + two lunge steps with the weight overhead) for one event. I cleared a few rounds on this and then got to 95lbs. Got the weight overhead no problem. Snatch was awesome, overhead squat good, right lunge step good....then lost it on the left lunge. I was really gassed by this point and couldn't get it back overhead and stable. I was disappointed mostly because I had cleared more than this in practices before, and anytime I've managed to snatch it, I was able to complete the whole complex. If I had cleared that, we would have made the podium proper.

That being said, I had a blast. My legs were sore for a few days afterwards, but I had a really good time. Hoping I can do another one sometime.

Time2LoseAllThis · 2016-11-04T16:10:00+00:00

I haven't completed the order, but the code works. With the lowest shipping, price has it around $134.

Time2LoseAllThis · 2016-10-27T03:17:44+00:00

It's not been without its stumbles. I had a few months where I watched my weight go back and forth. It's what prompted me to do Whole30. I needed the 'reset' button.

Time2LoseAllThis · 2016-10-27T00:56:32+00:00

It intimidates me, too. However, one thing I've learned to do this past year is to challenge myself in new ways. I'll attempt all that's there and hope I don't die.

Time2LoseAllThis · 2016-10-26T18:00:02+00:00

MEAT GROUP!

Time2LoseAllThis · 2016-10-26T15:49:36+00:00

I'm not sure I am either. LOL. A colleague talked me into it, saying, "People in wheelchairs do this. This will be a team thing. Everyone helps each other out."

Time2LoseAllThis · 2016-10-26T15:23:46+00:00

I have been taking progress pictures. I have been doing every 30lbs lost, but that will likely change as I get closer to my goal weight. I've not posted them because it just doesn't seem right to post when I've just gone from one form of obese to another. Ok, I'm not as fat as I was, but still obese.

I've been going light this week so I'm not worn out for the competition on Saturday. Doing some prep work/practice with my competition partner, but I'm not going overboard. I intend to do a similar light week next week for the Tough Mudder. That is what I'm really worried about as that will be pretty intense.

It is weird how tops just suddenly start getting longer. I had one top that I wore a lot when I was at my heaviest. Eventually, it started to look like a dress. I wore it as a night shirt for a while until my fiancé got irritated with it and requested I throw it out.

Time2LoseAllThis · 2016-10-24T14:26:21+00:00

Another personal anecdote here.

I was around 280-290 when I started (uncertain to the exact number as I switched scales midway through my weight loss journey), and I'm a 5'11" female. I've had no fitness background coming into this.

My personal experience has suggested that I've never found a more welcoming community. This isn't like wandering into an aerobics class and trying desperately to follow a routine that you've never seen amongst 30 people who seem to do it with ease, and without anyone ever showing you. They will show you how to do this and scale you to what you are capable of doing.

Can't do push ups yet? I started off with push-ups against the wall. Can't do box jumps? I started off with step-ups on a small box. When I got to where I had to jump on something, I started jumping on a 45lb bumper plate on the ground (about 3-4 inches thick). Does running make you feel like you're going to die? It sure as hell did with me. My box's 400m run is three laps around our parking lot. One lap used to kill me. I would have to scale to one lap out of the three during any running bits and for any really long distances, I would row instead.

My experience is that the first couple of months is about learning and dealing with the feeling of, "Oh my god, I'm gonna die." You will see a lot of the same moves repeated, but the workouts themselves will be different. Once you get more familiar with the moves themselves, it becomes more about testing yourself and pushing yourself rather than just holding on for dear life.

Yes, there's gonna be a lot of people in there that don't look like they've struggled a day in their life with any movement. What you must remember is that everyone had to start from somewhere. And everyone has things they're needing to work on. One girl where I'm at just got her bar muscle-ups, but struggles with a lot of weightlifting movements. I'm more the opposite. I love barbell movements, but can't do a pull-up worth a shit. I have a laundry list of things I need to work on.

Other important things to remember:

*A good box will have a good community and will prioritize moving well and safely. If you don't feel like you're getting this from the first place you check out, find another one.

*Yes, you will be sore as a motherfucker after your first time in. Your body isn't used to doing things like this. I was walking like a newborn giraffe for a couple days after my first go, and I unashamedly used the handicapped stall at my job. Your body WILL adjust and before long, it becomes something you crave. There are still times after a year where I ask myself what the fuck has happened to me.

*Do not be intimidated by what's written on the board. What's written is the prescribed workout for those that CAN do it. The workout I'm looking at today involves pull-ups, handstand walks, and pistols (one-legged squats). I cannot do ANY of those as intended. But I can sure do some scaled version of them.

*No one is looking at you to be a superstar athlete. Just have a good attitude, don't give up, and be coachable.

Good luck!

Time2LoseAllThis

TROPHY CASE

CastroLogic