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“The Wobble” Ultimate Leg Burner Workout

To me, one of the best feelings a workout can leave you with is that “I can’t walk” feeling. The one where you finish your workout and start walking, only to have your legs wobble like jello. The one where your mind realizes “if it’s this bad right after my workout, the next couple of days will be a struggle”. The afterburn is a great reminder of how hard I worked and it feels like a badge of honor.

This workout is guaranteed to give you that feeling if you choose the right weights and move through each set without a lot of rest.

What you need: 1 dumbbell (I used 35 lb) + 1 bench/box/elevated surface

Format: 10 reps of each move using your right leg, then 10 reps of each move using your left leg. Rest 1 minute. Repeat 2 more times.

Move #1: Elevated, weighted, single leg hip thrust

Lay on the ground perpendicular to a bench with the dumbbell resting on your hips. Put your right heel on top of the bench and lift left leg straight up in the air. Drive down through your right heel and push hips toward ceiling, driving your left leg straight up into the air. Lower back down to the ground. That’s one rep – repeat for a total of 10 reps on the same leg then switch right into move #2.

Move #2: Weighted Bulgarian split squat

Stand a foot or two away from the bench with your back to it. Rest your left foot on the bench and step your right foot out in front of you. Hold the dumbbell in front of your chest or on top of your hips. Lower your hips toward the floor so that your back knee comes close to the floor – almost like a lunge. Drive through the heel of your right foot to get back to the starting position. That’s one rep. Repeat for a total of 10 reps on the same leg then switch right into move #3.

Move #3: Single Leg Deadlift

Stand with feet hip distance apart, holding the dumbbell at your hips using both hands. Pick your left leg up off of the floor and lift it behind you as you lower the dumbbell to the floor in front of you. Return to standing, using only your right leg. That’s one rep. Repeat for a total of 10 reps then rest for 1 minute, before going back to move 1 on the opposite leg. *Be sure to keep your back flat during this movement – if you start to round out, lower your weight*

Give it a try and let me know your thoughts in the comments below!

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Race Recap: Eart Day Half Marathon

As the weather here in ‘cuse is getting more enjoyable, I’ve picked up my mileage and made running a priority again. I started running when I was 11, and since then it’s never something that’s fully out of my life (the longest I’ve gone without it was one month due to injury). I do fluctuate on how much I prioritize it though, and it’s been taking a backseat to crossfit since I did the marathon in October. Marathon training takes a lot out of my body (and tends to make me love running less) so I needed a little break from high mileage training runs. Six-ish months later, I’m back at it and lacing up more often!

For the month of April, I’m actually doing a run streak: getting outside for at least one mile a day (most days range from 2-4). On day 23 of the streak, I headed out to Baldwinsville for my first half marathon since September.

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Since I’ve never really “stopped” running, I’m not very concerned about training for races. Aggressive training is what can make running feel like a chore instead of my mental break. Because of this, I don’t enter many races with the goal of winning or breaking my PR (of course there are exceptions to this). But today, I went in with the goal of enjoying the ride. For me, this means getting outside for a longer distance than usual and pushing slightly faster than my comfortable pace.

I also chose to run this race because I love the Earth Day Half Marathon and 5k. This event is in its 3rd year, and I’ve been there for all 3. Year 1 as a 5k participant, Year 2 as an event promoter, and Year 3 as a half marathon participant. Every year they’ve upped the bar, and this was the best year yet. A nice challenging course (country roads with a few hills) followed by BBQ, brews, and the best chia pudding in town.

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And as far as the actual running, I ran with one of my fellow Urban Lifers, and it made for a really fun race! My music wasn’t working, but having a fellow athlete to chat with and push me was great. We conquered every hill and picked up our pace for the last 5k, finishing at 1:44:52 (8:01 pace). I took third place for my age group and he took first for his, so we each won a six-pack of Southern Tier beer! Now I know I JUST said I don’t enter with the goal of breaking a PR or winning, but both happened today and I have to say, it did make the experience even sweeter. They say things happen when you least expect it, and this was a perfect example! Guess we’ll see where my next race takes me.

What’s the best race experience you’ve had? What races are you running this year?

 

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Thoughts On Crossfit and Working Hard

About a month ago, I posted recaps of the Crossfit Open workouts I participated in. A few things happened during my first open journey – one of them being that I learned a lot about myself. Now that I’ve had some time to digest what I’ve learned, I’m ready to document it and use it moving forward.

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Here’s what happened when I did the Crossfit Open:

  1. I fell more in love with the sport. I don’t have games ambitions (or even regionals ambitions for that matter) – but I do have more goals I want to explore when it comes to Crossfit. I’ve stopped viewing it as just my morning sweat session – I’d like it to be more than that, and I think it is now. It’s not just a workout: it’s a sport; where I will be competing with myself every time I do it.
  2. I learned the difference between doing something just to get it over with, and doing something that I’m trying my best at and pushing myself through. I think this hit me truly in 17.4 – I knew I could do each move, but that the workout would require an ambitious mindset for me to perform well. I pushed through large sets of wall ball shots and didn’t give up on the rower (a large mental task in itself). I knew I had pushed my limits when the workout was over and I couldn’t get off the floor/almost threw up. This gave me some perspective – am I really pushing myself hard enough throughout the week? I know I shouldn’t always go 110% or be on the verge of throwing up every day (I need at least a little bit of recovery to be at my best) but was I ever pushing as hard as I should? Since then, I know I’ve improved my mental toughness and stamina. I push beyond what’s comfortable in a workout, even if the moves aren’t my strengths. I perform more reps per set and I move at a faster pace. I go all-out for at least 2 workouts per week. It’s that push that will make me better.
  3. I nailed a move I’d been struggling with previously: the bar muscle-up! Call it open magic (even though it didn’t happen during a workout) or call it focus. Either way, I’m pleased to have accomplished it, and it’s made me less scared of my weaknesses.

What does hard work mean to you in a workout?

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Talking Goals with the Fiance: Grit

Hey, y’all! Christine has FINALLY asked me to make my first celebrity contribution to A Healthy Dose Of Life. My topic of choice for today’s blog post is Grit. What exactly is grit and how do you know if you are a gritty individual? How can you apply grit to all of your goals and ambition? That’s what I’m here to help you find out!

Let me start by saying: while Christine and I both share a passion for healthy fitness and nutrition, we go about achieving our goals in very different ways. We also have very different goals. Which brings me to my first point: never compare your goals, desires and results to someone else’s. As human beings we’re all similar in the fundamental fact that we’re all different people. Confusing? Possibly. However, understanding that you are a unique person can help you determine what the best approach and execution method is for achieving goals, in fitness and in life.

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Back to grit. Grit is such a great word. My high level of grittiness is an aspect that is a true part of my personality. It’s my badge of honor. Trust me when I say that you want to be as gritty a person as possible because you can’t spell “Integrity” without the aforementioned “Grit”.

I get my definition of grit from Angela Duckworth; a psychologist and professor at the University of Pennsylvania. She wrote an excellent book (which has subsequently become one of my staples), titled, simply, “Grit”. Grit, as defined by Angela, is the tendency to sustain interest in and effort toward very long-term goals. As a result of Angela’s definition, it is my belief that whether you have long-term goals or short-term goals, in fitness, health, or in life, it is important to have a certain level of grit in your repertoire if you want to be consistently successful.

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A few months ago I went to visit Angela’s website to do additional research and I stumbled upon her test. The “Grit Scale” (her words) is a ten question test that upon completion gives you a number that compares your grittiness to all others that have participated. Simply knowing the number that you receive – I scored 4.8 (out of 5), which is higher than 99% of American adults in a recent study – is certainly not going to help you fully understand what grit is and how you can apply it to your goals. However, it is a great starting point because answering the ten questions on the test will make you think about yourself and how you approach all different types of situations. Maybe more importantly, the test will also make you think about you react in all different types of situations.

Take a minute right now and think about a time in your life where you were challenged but ultimately found a way to succeed. If you can give an example to that scenario then you can probably also think of a time where you really wanted something great, whatever it was, but ultimately gave up at some point before accomplishing the goal.

What was different about your approach to your success versus your failure? What was different about your reaction towards your success versus your failure? Answering the questions related to approach and reaction can help us begin to better understand exactly how our mind works in given situations and how the answers can be applied to your grittiness.

When I was twelve years old I ran into one of my first memorable crossroads. I had played baseball since I was five and I was entering my final season of Little League. I loved baseball and I wanted badly to succeed at a more dominant level — something I hadn’t been able to consistently do in the past.

At that time I was one of the shortest kids I knew, standing a towering 5’0” if I was lucky. This had bothered me in the past as I would get bullied and teased by my classmates. It was also apparent that not everyone believed I could be successful in sports because of my height.

Luckily, I had a strong support system back home. My parents taught me that having a strong work ethic mattered more to my ultimate success than my perceived (and actual) height. That year I personally decided not to let my lack of height have a negative impact on me. I also took it upon myself to use my developing work ethic and do some research into fitness for the first time while also deciding to actually listen to the advice my Dad had when it came to hitting.

In the cold of Syracuse’s winter when most people are content with cozying up on the couch I made two key decisions that positively altered my performance and my confidence as a baseball player.

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The first move I made was to incorporate push-ups, sit-ups and bicep curls into my nightly TV routine. It’s crazy for me to think had I grown up in 2017 and without commercials that I might not have gotten the idea to be productive during that time. But in 2000-01 during every commercial break, there I was: working through one of the variations and building my first fitness foundation.

The second move I made was to commit to hitting off the tee in my parent’s garage every single night. Not only did I commit to hitting off a tee (such an easy thing to do you can pay “tee-ball” when you are as young as five), I was also committing myself to doing drills off the tee and tuning my mechanics like I never had before. One drill, in particular, holding my right hand on my left wrist and pushing my dominant arm through my swing zone, helped my with my bat speed and was probably the single most important drill that I ever learned.

When winter finally broke and the season began I got off to a notoriously slow start that season, but eventually the preparation I had obtained from my daily grit all off-season finally paid off. I hit my first home run in May and I never looked back. I ended up leading my league in home runs that season even though I was easily one of the shortest kids on the field. My newfound fitness strength and my vastly improved bat speed contributed to me crushing everything that came my way. More importantly, I was helping my team win and we began the season 16-0 before losing in the Tournament of Champions (a game in which I also homered on the very first pitch).

To some people, this example of grit may seem silly because it happened so long ago. But I don’t see it that way. I see it as the example that laid the foundation for all my future and continued successes.I gained a great deal of confidence because my preparation and grit allowed me to reach new heights. Long before I knew about Grit I had proved to myself the value of commitment when working towards a goal.

Successful people set long-term goals, and they know that these aims will only be achieved through short-term habits that need to be observed and maintained every day. I wanted to be a superstar (long-term goal) so I committed two hours every day in the off-season to fitness and hitting (short-term habits).

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Now take a minute again to think about yourself. How do you approach situations and how do you react to them. Does your approach and reaction allow you to stay gritty and on track, or do you find yourself giving up and quitting too easily and too often? If your approach is working then that is great; stay on track but continue to challenge yourself! If your approach is not working then you might want to do some homework on yourself so you can stop wasting your time and ultimately find results in the successes you aspire to achieve.
As I leave you I think it is important to note that not everyone has to be a 4.8 on the “Grit Scale” to incorporate gritty habits into their lifestyle. My definition of grit is encompasses a lot of Angela’s findings; but I think the key aspects to grit are patience, discipline, commitment, and sometimes even sacrifice. It’s also important to remember that healthy habits shouldn’t be something you do; they should be something you are. Whether you are trying to apply grit to your life goals or your fitness goals take the time to learn about your approach and your reaction to situations. What you learn about yourself will help you unlock what makes you a gritty person and can help you define your definition of grit.

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March Goals Update + April Goals

Last month I set some ambitious goals (read about them here) and now it’s time to check in on that progress while outlining my April goals.

March Goals:

  1. Grow my @healthydoseoflife Instagram to 450 followers. Check! I’ve been hovering just over the 450 mark. A more consistent posting schedule, following and commenting on other profiles, and some professional photos were a big help.
  2. Break my record for “most viewed post” on the blog. No dice. I fell out of rhythm with posting. I’m still trying to strike a better balance among my priorities, so this goal will likely pop up again later on when I have a better plan in place.
  3. Run 75 miles. This goal I actually decided to ditch about two weeks into the month because I realized it was a bad goal. I usually set mileage goals when I’m training for a race or looking to get outside more. Since I hadn’t registered for any races and the weather was not great, neither of these applied. I also found it counterintuitive to my larger priority of performing well in the open. This is another goal that I will likely mix into another month (maybe one where the sun shines?).
  4. Perform a muscle up. Check! This was without a doubt one of the most exciting moments of my life so far (below getting engaged, above completing a marathon). Now I work on them a few days a week after class so I can get more consistent. Once I’m more comfortable with the movement, I’ll try my hand at ring muscle ups.
  5. Read 1 book for purpose rather than pleasure. Check! I absolutely loved The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. I’ve taken a lot of her advice to heart and intend on starting my own happiness project! As far as books go, I’m back to reading for pleasure for now, but will be dabbling in reading for purpose more often.

April Goals

April Goals:

  1. Go Streaking: A run streak, that is! I’m going to run outside every day in April (minimum 1 mile) since the open is over and the weather’s getting warmer. I’m also doing a half marathon later this month. It’s nice to mix it up and prioritize running every once in awhile!
  2. Grow my @healthydoseoflife Instagram to 550 followers. Same plan as before, just need to keep it up!
  3. Self Care Sundays. This one is more of a resolution than a goal. I intend on making self-care Sundays a regular habit (right now I’m a bit sporadic with them). Reading, running for enjoyment, Epsom salt baths, foam rolling, yoga, and relaxing with a cup of herbal tea are all going to be part of my Sundays. I push my body and mind pretty hard throughout the week and should give myself more time to recharge.

I’m keeping it pretty light this month since it’s my birthday month and a lot of my focus will be on fun + enjoyment, but I’m excited for new challenges and habits!

What goals are you working toward?

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Crossfit Open: 17.3 Recap + Tips

So this post is a little later than usual, meaning the tips won’t really help anyone trying that’s in the open this year. BUT if your gym is like mine, you’ll have this workout thrown into your programming at some point anyway! Might as well know what to expect, right?

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I like to watch the live announcements for the open workouts. I’m the type of person who needs to know ASAP what to expect. So as I sat with my glass of wine watching Dave Castro put the dumbbell down and say the workout would be using barbells, I felt some immediate relief. THANK GOD, A BREAK FROM THE DUMBBELLS (which are such an irregular part of our programming!). Then he announced “snatch ladder” and I knew I was in for a rough one. Make that a SQUAT snatch ladder. Paired with chest-to-bar pull-ups? Absolutely savage. Brutal. Bring it on.

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Let’s start by taking a look at those jumps in weight! My power snatch max is right around 100 lbs. Squat snatches are a whole other ball game, so I knew 95 would be a struggle. Taking a look at the standards, I also saw there were “no free rides”- aka, you can’t power snatch, adjust your feet, and ride the bar down into an overhead squat. You either had to catch the bar below parallel or ride it down smoothly (no pause). Hellooooo, no reps!

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Let’s also note that chest-to-bar pull-ups increase in reps per round. So as you’re getting more and more tired and your muscles are feeling more and more taxed, you need to do more reps. Good thing I won’t be making it too far into this workout, right?

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Taking these movements into account, I went in with a few strategies.

  • I knew shoulder mobility would be important, so I spent a  lot of time rolling out/stretching and opening up my shoulders prior to the workout.
  • I knew grip would be taxed quickly – the rig + snatches are the special sauce for popeye arms.
  • Being in the rig and on the barbell means your hands are likely to rip. Especially because the kip required to successfully execute a chest-to-bar pull-up means your hands are really moving on the bar. I made sure to chalk up and break up my sets of chest-to-bar to avoid this.
  • Knowing that the weight was going to get too heavy too quick, I made it a point to fly through the reps at 65 lbs so I would have plenty of time to try to get as many 95 lb snatches as possible (and get the best possible tiebreak time at 65 lbs).

So how did it go? I made it successfully through the 65 lb round with few no-reps (squat snatching is awkward. I got better as I went along.) The chest-to-bar pull-ups presented no issues for me.

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Then I got to the 95 lb snatches. There were a lot of deadlifts, high pulls, and no-reps among my 4 successful reps. I power snatched the bar and got stuck/paused on the way down too many times which was wasted time and wasted effort. The last 4 minutes of this 8-minute workout were a bit frustrating and slow for me, but again, I know something I need to work on moving forward: squat snatches!

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I also learned just how big of a difference lifting shoes make. I borrowed a pair from a friend for this workout and they were a game-changer for stability. I went home and immediately ordered a pair!

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All in all, I left this workout with a sense of purpose. I know my goals moving forward. Is a 135 lb squat snatch one of them? Absolutely not. But I’d like to get to a point where 95 lbs is easy. Stay tuned!

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Crossfit Open: 17.2 Recap + Tips

It’s week two of the crossfit open (you can read about week one here). On Thursday, I anxiously watched the live announcement of the workout. I started off feeling pretty good about the movements. Weighted lunges? Hell yeah! Toes to bar? GREAT, I’ve become really efficient at those! Dumbbell power cleans? Not sure what’s with all the dumbbells this year, but yeah, those are fine. Then Castro announced the move I’ve been dreading since I decided to sign up for the open: bar muscle ups.

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I was pretty discouraged to hear it even though I knew it was coming. In my years of crossfit, I’ve probably spent a collected total of three hours working on muscle ups (i.e. not much time at all). So it’s no surprise that I’ve never successfully performed one, and I’m very unprepared for the 16+ that this workout is calling for.

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When you can’t perform a movement, you have two options: scale it or fail out. In crossfit workouts, you actually score better for getting through the workout up until the muscle up portion than you would for scaling the workout and smoking everyone else competing. Also, there’s always hope that with the competitive atmosphere, you’ll be able to do things you’ve never been able to before. I knew I was strong enough to do a muscle up and just needed to get my form down, so this was the hope I went with.

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I also went into the workout planning for the worst. If I wasn’t going to get any muscle ups, I better get a great time for the movements leading up to them.

The workout started off great: I finished my third round of lunges right around the 5 minute mark. This left me with 7 minutes to attempt a bar muscle up. I knew I would need a solid break before I made my first attempt. Those movements crushed my forearms and had me breathing pretty heavily – no need to waste any energy trying a muscle up when I knew I was too tired and would fail.

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So after about a minute passed, I made my first muscle up attempt. Fail. Breathe. Second attempt. Fail. Breathe.

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I filled the last 7 minutes of the workout with failed muscle up attempts and rest. I was stringing together chest to bar pull ups like a boss, and I had a couple of pulls where I was close to getting over – but I fell short every. single. time. Even with the cheers and the coaching, I just wasn’t ready. At least I know what I need to work on moving forward! And who knows.. maybe I’ll try again before I submit my score on Monday 😉

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As for my 17.2 tips:

  1. Be efficient with how you hold your dumbbells on the lunges. This workout taxes your grip – don’t make it worse by relying heavily on your forearms during the lunge portion. Make sure the dumbbells are at least somewhat resting on your shoulders to help take the load off your arms.
  2. Only touch the front head of each dumbbell to the ground between cleans.
  3. If you’re going to rest on your cleans, rest around rep 6 or 7. DO NOT drop the dumbbells after your 8th rep. Move right into your lunges to avoid having to add in an extra clean to get the dumbbells into the front rack position.
  4. Try not to break at all during the lunges. You’ll get tired re-cleaning the dumbbells and you have to start again from behind the last line you passed. These are heavy lunges, use your momentum to keep you going.

Did you do 17.2? How did you do? What are your tips?

 

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March Goals

You know what they say about March weather: coming in like a lion and going out like a lamb? Well, in addition to the weather portion, March has come in like a lion for my personal life – stomach bug, wedding planning meetings, open prep. So I’m a little late with this post! But I’m excited about everything on this list and will be using this blog (in addition to my fiance and the goals outline hanging on my wall) to hold me accountable.

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So without further adieu, here are my March goals:

  1. Grow my @healthydoseoflife Instagram to 450 followers. My action plan is to post at least twice a day, follow 100 people per week, and take the time to comment on other peoples posts and connect with them rather than just liking their pictures and moving on. I really enjoy Instagram as a platform to connect with other like-minded people, so this is where I’ll focus a lot of my energy this month.
  2. Break my record for “most viewed post” on the blog. So far, my most popular post has been my 17.1 recap. This post even ranked in search engines for some terms about crossfit open tips which brought people to my site – a first for my blog. I think I’ll need to recap all of my open workouts to break this record!
  3. Run 75 miles. This is always a tough one to complete on top of crossfit. My runs outside aren’t very long (especially when the temp drops below 30) and the treadmill doesn’t keep me occupied for more than 30 minutes. I’ll also count the few elliptical miles I accumulate each month when the only way I feel like going to the gym is if I can read during my workout. So far I’m only 5 miles in and need to pick it up!
  4. Perform a muscle up. This goal has eluded me since I started crossfit. I tried for 7 minutes to get my first bar muscle up last night during 17.2 and failed, but got really close. I know I’m strong enough but my form needs work and I need to believe it will happen. The time is now!
  5. Read 1 book for purpose rather than pleasure. I love to read fantasy. My fiance loves to read sports biographies and motivational books. The more I see him take notes and learn from the books he reads, the more it makes me want to try it myself. So this month I took out a library loan for “The Happiness Project” by Gretchen Rubin. It is SO good, I can’t put it down. I can’t wait to start my own happiness project after reading it – not because I am unhappy, but because I could be happier and more appreciative of what I have right in front of me. This goal is as good as achieved already.

What goals are you focused on? How do you keep yourself accountable?

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Crossfit Open: 17.1 Recap + Tips

My crossfit journey started in July 2014. Since then I’ve completed countless wods, but not many serious competitions. This year I decided to enter the open.

The crossfit open is a 5-week, 5-workout competition that crossfit athletes all over the world can enter. The workouts are announced on Thursdays and athletes have until Monday to submit their scores. Workouts are completed in the presence of a certified judge who ensures you follow the rules (and in my case, counted my reps out loud for me).

17.1, the first workout of the series, was a couplet: single arm snatches and burpee box jump-overs:

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In my years of being a crossfit athlete, I’ve done countless wods. I start most days doing a wod before going to work. None of them felt like this: heart racing, dry mouth, nerves out of control. I started off strong – 10 snatches and 15 burpee box jumps? No problem. The snatches were unbroken and I jumped right from my burpees onto the box, no step in between.

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Follow it up with 20 snatches and 15 more burpee box jumps? You got it. This isn’t so bad, right?17-1-1

Then came the round of 30 snatches. My back was tightening up, my throat was on fire. I was really starting to feel it – which was evident by the amount of times I dropped the dumbbell, and the step I started taking between the burpee and box jump. This is where my time really started to slide.

I caught myself struggling to get full extension on the snatches and made a conscious effort to catch the dumbbell standing straight up. There were also a few times my non-lifting arm started to rest on my leg during the snatches, which would’ve been a “no-rep”. I felt it happening mid-rep and dropped the dumbbell completely so as not to waste any more time/work. 17-1-2

I was more than 18 minutes in when I started my last 15 burpee box jump-overs. I wasn’t sure I was going to make it under the 20-minute time cap – and you can see from the faces in the picture that the spectators were skeptical too (the ones not looking at me are looking at the clock).

One of my coaches saw I was fading and put on my favorite song (Project T) while one of my other coaches cheered like crazy beside me. I ended up finishing with 4 seconds to spare: 19:56. The energy in the room around me played a huge part in helping me to the finish. I struggled hard and ultimately was hoping for a better time, but I’m happy that I finished. I feel accomplished and ready for the next workout!

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So what are my words of advice for those who haven’t done 17.1 yet?

  1. HYDRATE. This is taxing cardio, you’re going to need all the water you can get leading up to (and following) this wod.
  2. Keep your shoulders above your hips when you bend down on the snatches. It’ll save your lower back in the long run.
  3. Start off taking the burpee box jump-overs slower than you think you should. It’s easy to burn out on them when you’re moving quickly.
  4. Turn mid-air when getting off the box and fall right to the ground into your burpee. Don’t waste time stepping around/setting up between each rep.
  5. Keep a number of snatches to hit unbroken in your head. This was a miss for me – I should’ve set the goal of doing 10 unbroken each round. I didn’t keep this in mind and dropped the dumbbell more times than I should’ve, wasting a lot of time.
  6. Don’t stand to full extension on the box. The completion of the movement is getting OVER the box to the other side. Standing up on the box is unneccessary and will slow you down.

Did you do 17.1? How’d you do? What advice do you have?

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Tabata: Legs

Happy hump day! For #workoutwednesday, I put together a leg-intensive tabata routine. This routine is great for an at-home workout since it requires no equipment. But don’t let the bodyweight movements fool you: tabata is an intense workout. This form of HIIT has a 2:1 work-to-rest ratio – so you’re working twice as long as you’re resting. Each movement should be performed at max effort for 20 seconds, followed by 10 seconds of rest, for 8 rounds.

Before we get into the movements, let’s dive into some of the benefits of tabata:

  1. It’s a great time-saver. Tabata is a quick, effective workout. Studies have shown that you can burn the same amount of calories in 4 minutes as you would in a 20-minute traditional cardio session.
  2. It’ll spike your heart rate and keep your metabolism fired up even after your workout.
  3. It can be varied easily. Check out this post for more exercise examples to build your own routines.

Seems like a win, right? Try it out and let me know what you think. And don’t forget to warm up first!

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Have you tried tabata? What’re your favorite movements?