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Clean, not jerky
May. 15th, 2012 09:31 amI'm the last person to point to a single study and say "Oh look, this says doing X will make you Insert Something Good or Bad! I'll totally start/stop doing that." But when I read about a study that suggests blueberries might help alleviate sore muscles after a particularly hard workout, I figure what've I got to lose. ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
mckitterick already eats a lot of blueberries (probably a serving every other day or so), but since I'm limiting my fruit these days, they're more of a once- or twice-a-month treat for me. In light of this article, though, I might try a Study of One next time I go through a particularly brutal WOD and eat a handful of blueberries as soon as I get home from CrossFit.
Which, speaking of, last night's CrossFit: Run 1/2 mile (JFC, why did I buy those cigarettes over the weekend), one minute each of push-ups, medicine ball sit-ups, and jumping lunges. Then we did a skill set test of the following: vertical jump, medicine ball toss, and broad jump. Then thirty clean & jerks.
My modifications: Obviously I did not run the whole 1/2 mile, but I jogged more than I walked, which is a huge improvement over where I started at our Intro Workout back in March. I got about twenty seconds worth of military push-ups before I dropped to my knees (which was fine--the point was to keep the movement going for the full minute), and I only managed about three jumping lunges before I had to go to step lunges--and even the step lunges were shaky by the end of the minute. I owned those med ball sit-ups, though. Next time I'll try the twelve-pound ball instead of the eight.
During the warm-up, I figured out how to use the AbMat without making myself motion-sick, too! This is kind of a big deal since I bruised up my tailbone last time when we did 100 sit-ups and I didn't use the AbMat because it made me so dizzy. I figured with my tail still a little tender, and with the extra weight of the med ball, I needed to use the AbMat. So what I did was I didn't let my head fall back. I kept my chin a bit tucked, and I picked a spot on the wall that I watched the entire time I was doing my sit-ups. Success! No dizziness or nausea with the AbMat.
Of course, I came in last during every item the skill set test. It's really a good thing that I have no ego when it comes to this stuff, nor any sense of competitiveness. We did each test five times, and took the best measurement out of the five. Personally, I thought it would be more accurate to average them, but I was wearing my National Mathematics Society tee shirt, so perhaps I was absorbing something via the screen-printed design.
The vertical jumps weren't measured from the ground, like a box jump. It was how high we could reach on the wall. First we measured the height of the top of our fingertips just standing there, and then measured how much higher we could reach with a standing jump (no running jump). I managed a ten-inch difference after several tries--which, really, is kind of awesome, considering my fitness level.
The medicine ball tosses were silly-looking and hard. We all did a granny-style throw, which is sort of like what this guy is doing here, only our medicine balls are larger and don't have handles. So, you know, more awkward. I threw the sixteen-pound ball almost 90 inches. Made a big difference once I figured out to do the hip snap at the top, right before releasing the ball. Without the hip snap, I made it 80 inches.
The broad jump was just, you know, a broad jump. No running lead-up. Again: Hip Snaps Are Important. My longest jump was 47 inches, although I only hit that once. Most of mine were between 44 and 46 inches. I think I can get better at this if I can get my body to pull my legs up more. Watching the others do it, I could see them tucking their legs up and then extending them on the descent. Even though I broke through my mental block with the box jumps, I still have issues with my feet leaving the ground. I was doing more of a big hop with very little knee-tuck. But still, hey! I jumped nearly four feet. Not bad for something I have never done before in my entire life.
And then, the Clean & Jerks. This was the first time I've done a "Dessert." Dessert is sort of like the extra bit of pain for the serious masochists after a WOD. Since we hadn't really had a WOD, just the skill set training, I stuck around for it. My form needs work on those, anyway. I started with the ten-pound PVC pipe and had Kyle check my form. Not shabby, but I was still having issues with my toes turning out on the second dip drive (when you jump to get momentum to lift the bar overhead). After about ten practice lifts with the PVC, I moved to the baby bar, which is fifteen or twenty pounds (two five-pound plates, but I'm not sure how much the bar weighs). Twenty lifts with that, but my feet were still turning out. Everyone else was nearly done with their thirty lifts (I wasn't counting mine, really, just working on form), and I thought hell, I might as well try it with the Real Bar (unweighted: 45 pounds). Bend, up, hip snap, shrug, dip, elbows up, stand, dip again, jump, and elbows-up-to-overhead, head through! Movement complete. Before I put the bar down, I looked at my feet and they were only angled out a teensy little bit. Success! Adding more weight was apparently the key.
I think I like the Clean & Jerk movement. It feels powerful and strong, and (now that my body understands the physics and the timing of the movements) it feels graceful, too. Maybe not graceful like dancing, but fluid and coordinated. I like how it involves my whole body, from the bottom up. It's a movement that utilizes every muscle group in some way. I like it.
Note toredheadfae: Now that I've stuck with this CrossFit business for six weeks, I think I can now call it A Thing In My Life. I'm re-tagging relevant entries as crossfit so you can bookmark that tag if you like.
mckitterick already eats a lot of blueberries (probably a serving every other day or so), but since I'm limiting my fruit these days, they're more of a once- or twice-a-month treat for me. In light of this article, though, I might try a Study of One next time I go through a particularly brutal WOD and eat a handful of blueberries as soon as I get home from CrossFit. Which, speaking of, last night's CrossFit: Run 1/2 mile (JFC, why did I buy those cigarettes over the weekend), one minute each of push-ups, medicine ball sit-ups, and jumping lunges. Then we did a skill set test of the following: vertical jump, medicine ball toss, and broad jump. Then thirty clean & jerks.
My modifications: Obviously I did not run the whole 1/2 mile, but I jogged more than I walked, which is a huge improvement over where I started at our Intro Workout back in March. I got about twenty seconds worth of military push-ups before I dropped to my knees (which was fine--the point was to keep the movement going for the full minute), and I only managed about three jumping lunges before I had to go to step lunges--and even the step lunges were shaky by the end of the minute. I owned those med ball sit-ups, though. Next time I'll try the twelve-pound ball instead of the eight.
During the warm-up, I figured out how to use the AbMat without making myself motion-sick, too! This is kind of a big deal since I bruised up my tailbone last time when we did 100 sit-ups and I didn't use the AbMat because it made me so dizzy. I figured with my tail still a little tender, and with the extra weight of the med ball, I needed to use the AbMat. So what I did was I didn't let my head fall back. I kept my chin a bit tucked, and I picked a spot on the wall that I watched the entire time I was doing my sit-ups. Success! No dizziness or nausea with the AbMat.
Of course, I came in last during every item the skill set test. It's really a good thing that I have no ego when it comes to this stuff, nor any sense of competitiveness. We did each test five times, and took the best measurement out of the five. Personally, I thought it would be more accurate to average them, but I was wearing my National Mathematics Society tee shirt, so perhaps I was absorbing something via the screen-printed design.
The vertical jumps weren't measured from the ground, like a box jump. It was how high we could reach on the wall. First we measured the height of the top of our fingertips just standing there, and then measured how much higher we could reach with a standing jump (no running jump). I managed a ten-inch difference after several tries--which, really, is kind of awesome, considering my fitness level.
The medicine ball tosses were silly-looking and hard. We all did a granny-style throw, which is sort of like what this guy is doing here, only our medicine balls are larger and don't have handles. So, you know, more awkward. I threw the sixteen-pound ball almost 90 inches. Made a big difference once I figured out to do the hip snap at the top, right before releasing the ball. Without the hip snap, I made it 80 inches.
The broad jump was just, you know, a broad jump. No running lead-up. Again: Hip Snaps Are Important. My longest jump was 47 inches, although I only hit that once. Most of mine were between 44 and 46 inches. I think I can get better at this if I can get my body to pull my legs up more. Watching the others do it, I could see them tucking their legs up and then extending them on the descent. Even though I broke through my mental block with the box jumps, I still have issues with my feet leaving the ground. I was doing more of a big hop with very little knee-tuck. But still, hey! I jumped nearly four feet. Not bad for something I have never done before in my entire life.
And then, the Clean & Jerks. This was the first time I've done a "Dessert." Dessert is sort of like the extra bit of pain for the serious masochists after a WOD. Since we hadn't really had a WOD, just the skill set training, I stuck around for it. My form needs work on those, anyway. I started with the ten-pound PVC pipe and had Kyle check my form. Not shabby, but I was still having issues with my toes turning out on the second dip drive (when you jump to get momentum to lift the bar overhead). After about ten practice lifts with the PVC, I moved to the baby bar, which is fifteen or twenty pounds (two five-pound plates, but I'm not sure how much the bar weighs). Twenty lifts with that, but my feet were still turning out. Everyone else was nearly done with their thirty lifts (I wasn't counting mine, really, just working on form), and I thought hell, I might as well try it with the Real Bar (unweighted: 45 pounds). Bend, up, hip snap, shrug, dip, elbows up, stand, dip again, jump, and elbows-up-to-overhead, head through! Movement complete. Before I put the bar down, I looked at my feet and they were only angled out a teensy little bit. Success! Adding more weight was apparently the key.
I think I like the Clean & Jerk movement. It feels powerful and strong, and (now that my body understands the physics and the timing of the movements) it feels graceful, too. Maybe not graceful like dancing, but fluid and coordinated. I like how it involves my whole body, from the bottom up. It's a movement that utilizes every muscle group in some way. I like it.
Note to
redheadfae: Now that I've stuck with this CrossFit business for six weeks, I think I can now call it A Thing In My Life. I'm re-tagging relevant entries as crossfit so you can bookmark that tag if you like.