On Ramp: Day 6

Yesterday Shannon talked me into running intervals because I want to lower my time on the 400m run. So, when I got home from work I ran two sets. 1m 47s my first interval, a walk, 1m 50s my second interval, and a walk. My 400 on July 16th was 1m 52s, so now I have a new time to beat :) However, intervals seemed like a bad idea when I saw what was part of our On Ramp class today...

Today we had Josh and Bucky for coaches!

Warm Up

200m run

10 DNR

5 burpees

20 ham swings

With a PVC Pipe

5 DL

5 PC

5 PP

800m Run for Time!

4m 10s

Skills Covered

Power Clean Review

Push Jerk

Clean & Jerk

Man... this felt like the longest class EVER. First of all, I surprised myself with my 800m run (half mile) - my goal was 6 minutes, and I blew that out of the water. PLUS, I was the first girl in, second overall - only because Shannon (aka - Get Away Sticks) has an injury and decided to take it easy :) We spent the rest of the class perfecting our form on the push jerk and clean & jerk. I'm lovin' liftin'! It reminds me a lot of cheerleading (I was a base...) and most of it comes naturally to me. I worked with a couple of really sweet girls today. We were moving 55# for practice, and Hillary and I tried 65# a few times just to get a feel for it. No WOD today... I was a little disappointed about that!

Oh - and Shannon jumped on the big box today!!!! :) I'm so proud of her!

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Notable Quotables

"What do I get if I do it?"

- Shannon, while I was talking her into jumping on the "big" box

"Stay in front!"

- Shannon, encouraging me from the finish line on the run

"See, intervals make you faster!"

- Shannon, on my 800m run

"One word... Piatt! I don't know what y'all eat, but I'll be dining with you guys soon!"

- Josh Carter, on the video Hillary posted of my push jerk

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I'd also like to mention that I have a pretty awesome husband. When I got home from class, he'd changed C's bag, given him a bath and had him ready for bed, cooked dinner, AND cleaned the kitchen while I was in the shower. Be jealous!

On Ramp: Day 5

Mandy and Bucky again today!

Warm Up

down&back karaoke

d&b shuffle

d&b high knees

10 air squats

10 CTF push-ups

10 PVC pass-throughs

With a PVC Pipe

5 deadlifts

5 power cleans

5 press

5 push press

5 front squats

5 thrusters

Skills Covered

pull-ups

dips

ring row

box jumps

WOD

with a partner....

12 box jumps - max rep sit-ups

200m run

4 rounds!

Shannon and I partnered up (big surprise, huh?) and killed this WOD in 14min 8sec. I have no idea how many sit-ups I did, but I know I did ALOT that first round while she "found her box." That chick couldn't pick a height to jump on! :) So I took it out on her with a potty break during my 3rd round of sit-ups. I jumped on the "big" box (20in) for the first 2 rounds, and then a tire that was slightly shorter (maybe 18in) for the last 2. Shannon pushed me on the runs.... especially the last one. She had me at a flat-out sprint while she was barely breathing hard. I really had to focus on my breathing during these runs - thanks for bearing with that huffing and puffing, Shannon! For the skills, we were taught how to properly use the resistance bands to assist in pull-ups and dips, and how to help build our strength with the ring rows. I'm a green + blue band for both exercises for now. I can't wait til the day I can do an unassisted pull-up!

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Notable Quotables

"Can you ask Josh if I can borrow his box to jump on this weekend?"

- Shannon, via text after class

"I just owned my dining room chair.... how tall was that box? I want to measure and see if it was close."

- Shannon, via text, shortly after the first text

"I just jumped on Davis's bed... it's 22 inches. I've got this."

- Shannon, via text, shortly after the second text

"Go girl! Ok. Now go jump on your bathroom counter."

- Me, to Shannon, via text, in response to her successful "random-items-around-the-house jumps"

"You couldn't do a pull-up without the bands? Or a dip? Well, could you at least do the ring rows?"

- Josh, exasperated by my lack of upper body strength

"How did the box jumps go? Did you do the tall box?"

- Josh, making sure I didn't cheat myself...

On Ramp: Day 4

Today we had Mandy back, along with Bucky, as coaches! Here's how it went...

Warm Up

200m run

10 air squats

10 pushups

10 situps

Hip floss

With a PVC Pipe

5 deadlifts

5 press

5 push press

5 front squat

400m Run For Time!!

Devan - 1min 52sec

Shannon - 1min 35sec

(thus the nickname "Get-away Sticks")



Skills Covered

Power Clean!

55# for practice

WOD

15 - 12 - 9 - 6 - 3

Wallballs (10#)

KB Swings (35#)

I finished this in 5min 43sec.

Shannon, for your records, your time was 5min 36sec   ;)

I tried to go overhead with the KB to start with... it lasted all of 7 swings before I brought it down to shoulder level. I did my best! For the mathematically challenged, that was 45 total reps of each movement. Can't wait to get back out tomorrow and do something new!

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Notable Quotables

Devan: "We're gonna have Crossfit bodies at the Christmas Party this year."

Shannon: "Yep, and maybe I can get low, low, low by then. If not I can at least throw people around."

"I wonder what we'll work on tonight. I want to curl something."

- Shannon, anticipating the WOD

"I don't like being a noob."

- Shannon, while stressing about her skills

Devan: "I ate at Five Guys for lunch. I feel heavy."

Shannon: "OMG. Why did you do that?"

Devan: "It was free."

Shannon: "You keep me accountable on my workouts and I'll keep you accountable on your diet!"

Devan: "I didn't ask for that....."

- friends on Crossfit accountability

"Don't hurt yourself... Power Cleans can be complicated."

- Josh's words of wisdom for the day

"I look forward to reading your blog after class... while I'm sitting on my couch.... unable to move."

- Chris Street (a fellow on-ramper), on MY blog... you made my day! Your quote may have been slightly altered... but you'll get used to that ;) HA!

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Tomorrow or Wednesday I hope to find time to sift through my 400+ Firefighter Combat Challenge photos and get a post out about the fun we had watching these hometown heroes compete. A big thanks to everyone that came out in the heat! Stay tuned...

On Ramp: Day 3

Y'all I love crossfit so much that I asked Josh to do a workout with me in the driveway Wednesday morning at 5am! That consisted of bear crawls, 200m runs, lunges, and burpees - what a way to start the day! Anyway... on to our final day of week one of On Ramp. Today Bucky and Wes coached us.

Warm Up

400m run

Skills Covered

Deadlift

Med Ball Cleans

WOD

10.9.8.7.6.5.4.3.2.1

Deadlift (85#)

Med Ball Cleans (10-12#)

That's a total of 55 each, y'all. I completed this in 12min 24sec, and that was with having to wait for a bar to be empty at times. I was one of the first to finish... if not the first. You'll understand why this is special if you read the quotes below :)

I. Loved. This. Workout.

Mobility

Hip Floss

Frog sit

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Notable Quotables

"Finish First"

- Josh's words of wisdom for the day

"I can actually do this!"

- Shannon, on deadlifts

"If you keep telling people at work that I'm a beast, grown men are going to start flinching when I pass them in the hallway..."

- Me to Shannon

Shannon: "I caught a bull shark once while fishing for tarpon in the Keys..."

Me: "How big was it?"

Shannon: "Like 6 feet."

Me: "Did you choke it out to finish it off?"

- A conversation we had at work... because now that we do Crossfit we think we're BA

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You may be asking yourself, "Is she going to blog about EVERY frappin' workout she does now that she started Crossfit?!" The answer is - NO. But keep in mind - I do what I want. My blog, my rules :) I'm blogging about On Ramp for these reasons:

A) So people interested in Crossfit can get an idea of what it's like to ease into it through one of these programs designed for beginners

2) I'm interested to see the results I obtain through the first part of my journey with Crossfit, and as much as this blog may be entertainment for you, it's also like a diary for me!

I thought I would have more amazing bullets for that train of thought, but I guess not! I must be tired - bed time! Tomorrow and Saturday Montgomery will be hosting the Scott Firefighter Combat Challenge downtown - come out and support them! It's a blast! Josh will be competing, so hopefully I'll have some pictures and a post for that over the weekend. Have a great Friday!

On Ramp: Day 2

Today's class was coached by the owner, Josh Carter (heretofore to be referred to as Josh C. so as not to be confused with my husband, Josh) and Bucky!

Warm Up

200m run

10 air squats

7 burpees

20 pass-throughs

30 second squat hold

Skills Covered

Overhead Press

Push Press

Kettlebell Swings

WOD

Teams of 3

70 Push Press (35#)

100 Kettlebell Swings (26#)

Complete anyway possible

My teammates were my friend Shannon, and a new friend - Jennifer. I completed 40 of the kettlebell swings (overhead for all but my last few!) and 22 of the push presses. We did great!

Mobility

Hip stretches

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Notable Quotables

"Don't slack...."

- Josh, as I was leaving the house

"I'll go last since I'm retarded"

- Jennifer, in reference to the WOD

"Yay! My favorite part!"

- Shannon, while running for warm up

"I'm broken..."

- Shannon, while trying to master the squat hold

Shannon: "I did 10-ish."
Me: "10-ish is not a number..."

Josh C: "Where are y'all at?"

Our Team: "We're done."

Josh C: "OH!"

Me: "Why are you surprised?! There's a Piatt on this team!!"

On Ramp: Day 1

Our first day was great! Mandy went over the basics of Crossfit... lemme break it down for ya.

CV/FM/HI

CV: constantly varied. you will never do the same workout. EVER.

FM: functional movements. every movement in crossfit is a

movement you would do in everyday life.

HI: high intensity. the intensity is what you make it. all crossfit workouts are

scalable for different levels of fitness. you get out what you put in.

And this is what we did during class...

Warm-up

400m run

Skills Covered

Air squats

CTF Push-ups

Front squats

Burpees

WOD

10 minute AMRAP

10 air squats

7 burpees

200m run

(Completed 3 rounds)

Mobility

quad rolls, cat stretch

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Notable Quotables

"Don't be a slacker..."

- Josh to me before he left the gym

"I think my shelf is broken..."

- Shannon on her front squat grip

Shannon: "The only part I'm good at is running."

Me: "It's because of those little get-away sticks!"

"I think I have Crossfit-induced asthma..."

- Me at the end of the WOD



Body Fat, Crossfit, & Meal Planning

This weekend has been SOOO laid back... especially after the crazy week with my family being in town for the 4th. I got up bright and early yesterday morning and had a cool, long (3 miles) run in the rain. It was slow, since I haven't been consistent here lately... about a 12:31 pace. When I got back to the house I threw in a core workout... EMOM 15 situps/planks for 5 rounds. Yesterday Josh and I grocery shopped for what seemed to be the first time in a month. We're getting back on the healthy train since I'm starting crossfit tomorrow :) I've been like a little kid before the first day of school... I've even planned all of my outfits for the week... haha! My friend from work, Shannon, is starting the on-ramp class with me, and she also recently became an Advocare distributor. Advocare is like the sister-cult to the cult of crossfit. Anyway... Carter and I accompanied her to an Advocare informational meeting this afternoon at Kathy and Brandon Eiff's home. Brandon is a trainer at Wynlakes Country Club, and also at River Region Crossfit. We enjoyed the get-together... and as always, never a dull moment... ended up having to change Carter's bag while we were there - so Shannon got a crash-course in colostomy changing! :) While there, Brandon conducted a body fat analysis on anyone interested. I definitely wanted to know going into crossfit, as I'm interested to see the affect it has on my body. Here are my stats:

Devan Piatt

167.2 lbs

Age 22

Tri 21/Supra 24/Thi 27

BF%   27%

Acceptable Range

There's my starting point - we'll see where this crossfit adventure takes me! After the meeting, Shannon and I took the kiddos to Mellow Mushroom to carb-load one last time (yeah right). You may be asking why I'm up at such a late hour...well, I've been busy in the kitchen. I know that I'm horrible about eating badly when I haven't planned ahead -- a little planning can go a long way. Sunday night is my night to stock up for the week. Tonight I accomplished:

A dozen egg muffins for Josh's breakfast this week

Froze the remaining egg muffin filling for next week

Taco meat for dinner tomorrow night

Prepared some veggies for a dip I'll make later this week

Portioned out snacks for the week

One thing I noticed while I was on the Cat Food Diet was that I relied heavily on fruits for snacks instead of veggies. While it helped keep my sugar cravings at bay, I'm sure I could've achieved better results had I limited them more. With that in mind, I decided to go with pre-bagged carrots, cucumbers, and celery. For now, I'll have them with light ranch... I'm waiting for my avocados to ripen to make a cucumber-avocado dip that I picked up on CFD. My lunch bag will also feature flavored almonds, peanut butter (for the celery...), unsweetened applesauce, and some EAS Carb AdvantEdge protein shakes for my afternoon/pre-workout fix. I managed to pull all of this together in about 2 hours, including cleaning the kitchen up. Did I mention this is helpful for those of you who have husbands who don't mind cooking as long as it's minimal effort? Josh can cook just about anything if I leave a detailed recipe, and since he's so willing to cook, I try to make it as easy as possible on him. If you know you're planning something that has boiled chicken in it - go ahead and boil it on your "planning day". Taco meat, meat sauces for spaghetti, or just plain old browned ground beef are great to have in the fridge or freezer for quick, mid-week meals. Same principle with ground turkey, which we love in spaghetti. If you fire up the grill for dinner, throw on some seasoned chicken tenderloins for easy lunches - they're great on salads or pastas. Alright, I'm done with my rambling, and must get to bed. Make it a great week, and plan what you can!