Tuesday training - snatch-O-rama

It's Tuesday. It's training day! It's insanely busy at work and I have to run out at the very last possible minute to sprint to the train and take the long way to the subway because they are doing so much construction and there is only one entrance for the entire city of Manhattan to enter and exit and the subway cars are still blasting heat so we're all melting and turning into crotchety old New Yorkers.

Where was I? Oh yes, training day. I managed to make it on time despite the odds, and I forgot I had packed my islanders shirt today of all days. We may have lost, but I think we did a damn good job this season

Aaaanyways, we punched in and Jason promptly handed me the jumprope. Before he could tell me how long to go,I said to just stop me when time's up. And off I jumped, blissfully ignorant of my surroundings. And sure enough eventually he told me to stop and it was the best jump roping stretch I've ever done. It was only three minutes, but I made it the whole time without tripping!

Then onto dynamic walking warmup, and then full on into kettlebells. I had the big fancy bells today. The ones that look huge but are really only 12kg.  We started with a not-so-simple warmup set (grace period is officially over): swings to cleans to press to squats. 10 per arm, no stopping. Three times. With a minute jumprope between sets

Then, we pulled out the Bulgarian bag for spins, and back to the bell for clean and jerks 

Then for our last part of the session we did a 'snatch-o-rama' which was as insane as it sounds. Basically nonstop snatches in varying forms. First power snatch with the bag, then with the bell snatch WITH reverse lunge (ugh!), and ending with a new thing, with one bell you hold the handle pointing straight out with both hands - like you're golfing - then swing it up as you simultaneously squat. For once this was something that looked insane but was actually really easy to catch on.

I'm sure there must have been more stuff in there but my brain is really mushy after a day like today. All I know is that I ended on clean and jerks with TWO bells, and Jason slipped out a secret tip to help fit these massive bells between my stubby little legs during the down swing: as you drop the bells out of the rack, step your  foot wider and the bells fall right through, then on the clean, step back and you're ready to jerk. MAJOR GAME CHANGER people. Huge. It didn't make the jerks any less pathetic and agonizing by the last rep, but at least I can swing the stupid bells now.

Progress!  And overall I'm starting to feel so much better. Less blobby, starting to get leaner. It's all diet (which still could use some improvement), and I'm starting to feel my strength coming back to boot.

We had time for stretching (huzzah), and now I'm off to shower and sleeeeep

Wednesday training - Disney recovery

Last week was awesome. Disney was exhausting. Today was pretty great. Training almost killed me. 

It's amazing how quickly one hour goes by, yet how it seems agonizingly endless at the same time.

Today was full-on fat blasting post vacation recovery mode. It was just barely indistinguishable from what I imagine basic cross fit must be like. I did a total body workout with tons of cardio slipped in there to boot, and sweat my little butt off

We started with jumprope. For five minutes. Ughhhhh. I only tripped twice, but my legs were already ready to quit. And we were just getting started.

Then the regular walking warmup across the floor, followed by swings with the 25 and 35lb bells.

After that, the rest of the workout is kid of a blur. I did some cleans, oh and clean to reverse lunges. Then jerks, forearm plank push-ups (start in forearm plank, push up to full plank then back down to forearm plank, one arm at a time) - really sweaty by now

There were goblet squats in there somewhere too. I ended with snatches, 15 per arm with the 25lb bell. And finished with 10 per arm with the 35pb bell. Killer.

And finally stretching. Glorious

Thursday training - pre-Disney workout

Bonus training day today to get ready for my week away in Disney world! So excited! Just one more day at the office until I'm freeeeeeeee!

And of course it's going to be an insane week so I figured I need my extra workout beforehand (although I'm sure I will need it even more after I get back)

But I'm glad we trained today, it was a super fun session and I got to do a lot of cool things I've never done before

I got there right on time but Jason was actually running late so I had to kill about 20 minutes jogging on the treadmill to warmup. Nothing crazy, I didn't want to exhaust myself before we even got started. There was a show on about Lundqvist doing stuff and it had subtitles so that kept my mind of the running part.

Finally Jason was ready so he beckoned me away from the treadmill and had me roll out my back for a bit since it's still really tight from earlier this week

Then we got started with the real stuff. Free weight room today, we had to wait for the squat rack to open up, so I had to do leg presses on this contraption where you are sitting almost upside down, and then push the weights above you. The problem was, when I got into the contraption, my feet couldn't even reach the platform! Hilarity ensued. By the time he adjusted everything, the squats were open, so I only had to do one set and a quick set of body weight squats. Then onto the real squats

We worked our way up to a set of 5 reps with 155lbs by the end. Huzzah! Making my way back to 225!

Then enough with the big weights, we went over to the TRX for some new stuff. I did a series of reverse lunge to pistol squats, one set standing up between each, on set staying low and bringing the leg straight through to the front, and the last set staying low but with a straight leg and rotating it around to the front. And totally looking badass while doing so. Totally 

Then we went up front and played around with a medicine ball, where I had to throw it up high to where the wall meets the ceiling and try to catch it on its way down. The first few throws are not so bad, but that exercise gets exponentially harder, very quickly

Then with 15lb Dumbbells I did walking lunge with press. That one also is fine at first but by the last lunge my shoulders are screaming to be ripped out of my sockets if only to get some relief.

Then I did a super fun thing. Long jumps across the floor. There are these two black lines that frame the training area floor, I don't even know how wide, but it took about 4 and a half jumps to get to each side. So I was trying to clear the lines in 4 jumps and kept coming a tiny half hop short. Then finally on my second to last pass, I hurled myself across the floor and cleared the lines on my 4th jump!! It was awesome! I felt like I just won the Olympics, hahaha! Of course the very last jump I just barely fell short, my toes cleared the line but not the triumphant pass like the previous one

By that point my body had had enough. Fortunately the only thing I had left to do was V-ups and reverse plank. Then glorious stretching, and now to go home to start packing for my VAYCAY!!! Booyah

Tuesday training - of Bells and Bags

It's Tuesday. And since its been a slow week I hustled my little booty out of the office a little early today and beat the train rush uptown

I think we were supposed to measure today but we jumped right into the workout. Which is fine with me since I was feeling pretty blahhh today

Walking warmup to start and then a quick ladder of kettlebell swings decreasing reps while increasing weights.

Lots of Kettlebell and bulgarian bag work today. I was pretty tired and we did a few fairly similar things so I might not remember the order exactly

First I had two 25lb bells for clean and jerks. Then spins with the bag

Then snatch with one bell, and twist lunge and rack with the bag (this was new, you turn side to side while swinging the bag around and flip it over your forearms while going down into a lunge....yeah)

Then with the 30lb bell, push press (yipes) and overhead squat with the bag.

At this point I am a sweating puddle of exhaustion.

Then glorious stretching. Glorious