I have been programming active recovery sessions once a week for one of my athletes for the last couple of months, since he completed his B race, and is building to his A race.
Last week I received a message from said athlete, asking (in their own words) “WTAF is recovery training?”
What I loved about this was that they had been doing the sessions religiously each week, regardless of not really understanding the purpose of them. This to me proved the trust they have in me. However, I didn’t love that I had an athlete in my camp blindly following workouts without knowing the why.
Now I get that not every athlete wants to understand everything (“thats your job” is something one of my guys likes to point out. “Monkey see, Monkey do, Monkey gets results” as he says) but I like to try and share the methodology behind everything we do so that they can execute every session to maximum advantage.
One of my biggest things, across every form of coaching that I do, is that if a client asks me “why are we doing this” if I can validate that question and explain the reason for the movement, or the workout, we shouldn’t be doing it.
As one of my experience athletes didn’t understand Recovery Training, I figure there must be others out there in the same boat so here’s the overview:
Recovery Training is a workout focussed on speeding up your recovery, rather than putting your body under any further stress.
To avoid stress we need to avoid high intensity, high impact, fast pace, or heavy loads. Recovery Training is ideally a maximum of 45 minutes and performed at a low intensity, keeping the heart rate down at around 30-60%. (*Note – It is NOT a zone 2 run. A zone 2 run occurs at a higher % of heart rate and although these often feel easy compared to the speed and power sessions, they are definitely still training and not recovery!)
I generally program indoor cycle sessions as active recovery sessions for my Ironman athletes but it can be swimming, walking, or maybe even some active mobility.
The goal is to move the body into a recovery state; a lowered heart rate, a lowered blood pressure – pushing your body to become more parasympathetic. This can drive up Heart Rate Variability (HRV) and people with a high HRV may have greater cardiovascular fitness and may be more resilient to stress.
Getting the body moving without stress will stimulate blood flow and help push fresh blood (and fresh oxygen) to every muscle fibre which will speed up recovery.
Working out at low intensity means you will be able to focus on the quality and rhythm of your breathing and the quality of your movement. Under fatigue we are all aware our form can go to shit and we are often gasping for breath any way we can get it. Recovery Training gives us time to build or reinforce our foundations, thus improving future workouts. I often spend some of my sessions focussing on my breathing patterns so that it becomes ingrained and less likely to fall apart under stress.
In a nutshell a Recovery Training session should make you feel better than when you started. It should help you feel more mobile, re energised and lessen the effects of the heavy, intense sessions that have come before.
A few months ago I decided to try the bio hack that Dr Stacy Sims talks about in her book ROAR. (Side note – if you are female and care about your athletic performance, you really need to read this book!) I got pretty decent results so thought I would share it here as it may help many of you.
In the book she shared an action plan that she created for a mother daughter duo who were talking the mountain biking world by storm, with both women rising to the top of their game.
This action plan helped both women master their cycles and not let PMS affect their power or performance.
The plan
The plan is in four stages and is this:
Peak Performance during PMS: For the 7 days before your period starts, at night take the following; 250 milligrams of magnesium, 45 milligrams of zinc, 80 milligrams of aspirin (baby aspirin) and 1 gram of omega-3 fatty acid (flaxseed and fish oil)
Pre-training: Take 5 to 7 grams of BCAAs (branched chain amino acids). *Stacy doesn’t state how long before training you should take this. I did this around 30 minutes before starting my session. The science behind taking the BCAAs is that these amino acids cross the blood-brain barrier and therefore help to decrease the estrogen-progesterone effect on central nervous system fatigue. In other words it can hep fight the lack of mojo and help you find some energy.
In Training: Consume approx 0.45 gram of carbohydrate per pound of body weight, per hour. During this high hormone phase you want to consume a few more carbs per hour and should be aiming to get close to the above amount. During the first 2 weeks of your cycle, the low hormone phase, you can go lower at about 0.35 gram per pound of bodyweight, per hour. *I used this for longer endurance based sessions only. For my CrossFit classes I only ever consume water during and make sure my pre and post fuelling strategy is on point. I am however going to rectify that and follow this part of the plan too.
Post Training Consume 20 to 25 grams of protein within 30 minutes of finishing your session. Recovery is key. It is often overlooked yet so critical, especially as this point in your cycle. Progesterone, which is peaking during this phase, is extremely catabolic, which means it breaks down muscle. Getting that protein in post workout means you will be able to fight this process and boost, rather than inhibit, your recovery.
What did I notice? It definitely helped me beat the bloat and keep my usual energy levels… something that never normally happens. I’m lucky that I don’t get super moody (although my husband may say otherwise!) but I do get a bit lazy, a bit “can’t be arsed” and a bit “m’eh”. Following this protocol meant I felt like me regardless of the time of the month 🙂 Who doesn’t want that!
If you feel PMS is holding you back, give this power protocol a go and see if you can learn to master your cycle too.
I’m currently 44 and for the last year or so I’ve been feeling like I’m suffering from some perimenopausal symptoms. Not enough to warrant talking to my doctor about HRT but enough to make me look for some answers and find some help.
Having opened up the conversation within Forza Fitness, talking very open and honestly with pretty much all my female clients, it’s clear a lot of feel the same way. We might be experiencing different effects, we might be different ages but we’re all looking for things we can change to help us with this period of hormonal chaos.
I had a lot of people who’s voices I trust talking about herbal adaptogens so I decided to explore this avenue as they were all saying how this has helped.
I’ve been taking Ashwagandha and Schisandra now for over 7 months, as they were the two best suited to help me with my particular symptoms, and I can honestly say they have been the answer for me. I am under no illusion that further down the line I may need to look seriously at HRT and if that time comes, trust me, I will not hesitate, but for now this is enough and I feel like myself again.
As your oestrogen levels decline your stress levels increase which in turn upsets your mood and concentration – brain fog was a big one for me for sure – I have, in the past, even forgotten my own post code!
To help your body combat this stress, you can introduce adaptogens. Herbal adaptogens work by increasing your body’s resistance to stress and they do this by targeting the neuroendocrine system that controls your reaction to stress and regulates multiple bodily functions such as mood, temperature control, immunity and digestion.
Taking adaptogens means that over time, they build up in the body and block your cortisol response. This means you experience less stress.
Here’s the low down on the three different herbal adaptogens that have come up most often in my research:
Ashwagandha
Ashwagandha increases your DHEA testosterone, which helps lower anxiety and cholesterol. It also improves insulin sensitivity meaning you’ll better blood sugar control and less prone to storing fat.
Research on athletes has shown that it can help increase endurance and power.
It is also an anti-inflammatory so can help reduce soreness after those tough workouts.
It has also been known to help regulate body temperature so can help reduce hot flashes.
Recommended Dose: 250 to 300mg twice a day (tablet)
Contraindications: Can affect your T3 and T4 thyroid hormones so those on thyroid medication should avoid.
Schisandra
Schisandra is widely used in Chinese Medicine and is commonly known as Five Flavoured Fruit.
It is is the adaptogen for brain fog as it stimulates the central nervous system and improves cognition. This means it can clear the fog and help with your concentration and focus.
It helps strengthen your mitochondria (where energy is created in the cells) so it can improve aerobic capacity.
Finally it can help regulate fluctuating hormone levels and reduce hot flashes.
Recommended Dose: 500mg to 2grams a day (powder)
*I add mine to my morning coffee
Caution: It has a caffeine like effect increasing alertness so can disrupt sleep. It best taken in the morning and avoided in the afternoon / evening.
Maca
Maca Root is often referred to as Peruvian Ginseng and is a hormone modulator. It also works as a steroid hormone so is a powerful herb!
It helps improves the onset of night sweats, hot flashes.
It can increase mood and help overcome the onset of anxiety and/or depression which are common during perimenopause.
Research has found it can improve energy levels as well as mood and some people describe Maca as giving them a natural high.
It also has anti inflammatory properties so can help reduce muscle soreness after workouts/
Recommended Dose: 450mg three times a day (tablet)
Contraindications: Can affect adrenal and thyroid function so those on thyroid medication should avoid.
Some products containing Maca are also on the WADA banned substance list so if you are a competing athlete subject to drug tests either avoid or be 100% the product you are taking is ok.
***Please remember I am not a doctor. The information shared here is purely for general information purposes. It is not medical advice.
Back in December last year, after seeing my friend Hannah’s results, I decided to take on the 75Hard challenge. I’d looked at it earlier in the year but dismissed it as I didn’t understand it properly. 75 days of training without a rest day? No thanks! I don’t even do 14 day challenges that don’t factor in rest and recovery as that’s just a straight road to overtraining, loss of performance and possible injury.
Hannah posted her results and I immediately messaged her to ask some questions. She gave me all the info I needed to finally understand this challenge and decide that yes, this could actually be one for me.
I shared it with the 3 other Team NBR members (my accountability group)that I would be starting this on 1st Jan and in sharing it for accountability reasons I actually inspired (although he’ll say peer pressured) Chris James to do it with me. We had several discussions about our individual ‘Why’ as we both had similar thoughts… “it doesn’t actually sound that hard”, “thats pretty much what we do anyway” “I don’t really know what I’d get out of it”… and I think we both came to the same conclusion; This is the Why… because we think it’ll be easy/simple and it must be called 75Hard for a reason. I was also still massively motivated by Hannah’s results but also aware that she is an absolute beast when it comes to fitness so it was unlikely I could achieve what she had.
What is 75 Hard?
It a mindset challenge, not a fitness challenge, designed by Andy Frisella, also known as the MF CEO. It’s 75 days of discipline abiding by the following 6 rules: 1) Two 45 Minute workouts. 1 MUST be outside. They cannot be consecutive and 3 to 4 hours apart at least. 2) Follow a diet. You choose the diet to match your goals but it must be strict. If you decide on calorie deficit and macro counting you cannot just have a takeaway pizza one day and make the rest of the day fit. It must be clean. 3) No alcohol or cheat meals. 4) Take a progress photo every day. 5) 1 gallon of water a day. This is a US gallon which is basically 4 litres. 6) Read 10 pages of a non fiction book every day. Not a e-book, not an audio book. An actual book.
I completed day 75 yesterday and can honestly say this is one of the most surprising challenges I have ever done. I didn’t expect it to be so worthwhile or interesting. I got so much more out of doing this than I ever imagined. It was also a better experience for doing it alongside Chris as we had a lot of the same revelations and thoughts.
Ok, so what did I get out of it?
Well for starters I look better. I start there because it’s the most obvious change. I’m the lightest I’ve been for about 20 years maybe, but the body composition shift is all the right way. Fat% down and muscle % up.
I’m stronger than I was. During the 75 days I PB’d my 1RM Deadlift and Strict Press and have been challenging myself to use heavier options during CrossFit classes.
I read more, I read better. I have loved carving out a little bit of time everyday to sit down with a book and this is definitely something I will be continuing. I’m always listening to audiobooks and reading my kindle but very rarely read an actual book and this is staying. I found it makes such a difference putting the book in my hands. Its a different focus as there are no devices, no electronics and I really liked that a lot. I finished 6 books and am a third of a way through the 7th.
I have proved again to myself that all the stuff I say about myself is true. I am disciplined. I have strong mental grit. I have a strong work ethic. If I say I’m going to do something I do it. There were days when it got to 8pm and I still hadn’t hit the workout criteria so had to get shit done before I could think about going to bed. I’m Ironman training so many days I would hit 2, some days even 3 workouts but because they were either brick sessions, or all indoors or outdoors, I hadn’t followed the rules. In this situation a few people said to me “what does it really matter” “you’ve done 2 workouts” and thats true, but thats not the rules and you can say the rules are stupid/not fair/whatever but I knew the rules going in so bitching about them would have been pointless. I could have quit, saying the rules don’t suit my lifestyle… but thats the point. It’s meant to be difficult, it’s meant to be inconvenient so head down, mouth shut, do the work!
I discovered how much of a difference refined sugar makes to how I feel day to day. Both Chris and I cut refined sugar as part of the diet rule. Neither of us are mass consumers and we were both surprised as how a small change made such a big difference. I followed a strict high protein, calorie deficit diet with no refined sugar. I’ve been doing the high protein, calorie deficit thing for a while, although not as strictly, so the major difference was the sugar piece. After the cravings on day 5 and 6, it was actually really easy to stick to. I thought this would be the hardest bit but not at all. I feel a bit in love with no sugar me. I had more energy, I didn’t feel the need to power nap every afternoon (although I still love a nap – I just didn’t need one), I was just, well, better. Thats not to say I’m never eating refined sugar ever again but it was a learning experience and will for sure shape my diet moving forward.
I finally found a type of yoga I can get on board with. As mentioned at the start, the bit I struggled with when I first heard about 75Hard was the 75 days of 2 workouts a day. After speaking to Hannah, and listening to Andy’s podcast ( a must for anyone thinking of doing this), I understood that you can still have rest and recovery days. An outdoor workout can be a walk and an indoor workout can be yoga. I’ve never been a fan of Yoga but Hannah was using the downdog app and suggested I look at the Yin Yoga. Ok, game changer! I LOVE Yin Yoga. I’m a huge fan of mobility work so this was perfect for me and although I only did maybe 1 or 2 sessions a week, my mobility improved, my squat technique improved and I genuinely enjoyed every session. Like the reading an actual book, weekly yoga is staying as part of my new routine.
The Results: *for the before and after photos you’ll need to check my social media. Body Compostion: Weight – Day 1; 82.4kg – Day 75; 74.6kg (Total loss: 7.8kg)
Body Fat % – Day 1; 32.8 – Day 75; 27.5 (Total loss: 5.3%)
After The Grizzly on the previous Sunday this week was always going to be a bit of a slow builder while I gave my body some time to recover. I was honestly expecting to feel a little worse after all those miles and hills but I’m generally ok. A little tired but thats about it. My foot feels no different to how it did a week ago so it’s still all systems go!
Mon – Rest Day 6pm – Restorative Yoga (via Down Dog App) *Just a 45 min easy restorative yoga session this evening, rather than Yin as this is very gentle, after a nice long dog walk in the morning.
Tues – Rest Day 8:45 – Yin Yoga via Down Dog App *Another day of dog walking and Yoga… feeling good and ready to get back to it.
Weds 6:45am – Coach by Colour Indoor Cycle Class (as Coach) *Week 12 of 12; The Vortex. A max interval session. 4 min blocks of 105% FTP+ holding 85/90RPM with increasing amounts of full recovery down in the white zone.
7:40am – 2 mile Brick Run *Easy 2 miles of the bike with George, one of my Forza Performance clients who also attends my Indoor Cycle classes.
12:30pm – CrossFit Class 50-40-30-20-10 Kettlebell Swing, Sit Up +30 Double Under each rd *If there was a workout made for me, this would be it. I can’t swim this week as I had my hair done on Monday and I cant get it wet for a week so the stars aligned and gifted me this joy of a wod. I’d gone to the box with the thought of RX’ing this one as DU’s are the one RX skill I have. However, I’d expected the RX KB weight to be 20kg and it was 24! Luckily Pam (good friend and owner of Big Croc) was in the class and convinced me to go for it still… she RX’d it with me saying “we can fuck ourselves up together” and sometimes you need someone like this around you to give you that push. I am very much a coward when it comes to a lot of CrossFit and one of the things I’m working on is to try and be braver.
Thur 12:30pm – CrossFit Conditioning Class 40 Min EMOM- Min 1-3 30 sec on (you can do 40 but this is active recovery for me), Min 4- 60s 1; Plate Ground to Overhead, 2; Burpee to Plate, 3; Goblet Squat, 4; Alt Run. Row, Bike Ski 5; Rest *No, I didn’t swim today either. The sessions available didn’t fit my day so easy indoor conditioning it is.
6:30pm – Coach by Colour Indoor Cycle Class (as Coach) *Same as Weds am.
Fri 12:30pm – CrossFit Open 22.3 This wod is too long to write in full so you can go find it elsewhere online if you really care. *I completed the first set of thrusters and single unders and spent about 10 minutes fighting to get 10 Pull Ups out. The video of my struggle to get these pull ups out is on my socials if you want to giggle -they are not pretty but they were effort!
2:00pm – Just Move EMOM with Head Coach Toby (and James & the hubby) 30 Min EMOM 1:16 DB Snatch 2: 20 Air Squat 3: 14 Hang Power Clean 4: 16 Down Up 5: “Recovery” Assault Bike
Sat 8am – CrossFit Class, Partner WOD with Si 25 Min AMRAP; 400m run together then 20 Weighted Box Step Up, 30 DB Snatch, 40 Cal Row, 30 KBS, 20 Devil Press (split reps) * I’d planned for this to be an easy, light recovery session but as often happens with Si and I, we went all in and pushed each other to the max. I didn’t go super heavy but I didn’t go as light as I’d planned.
9am -7k Row with Si I’d planned to run after class but Si said he was doing a row instead so I jumped in on that instead 🙂
5:45pm – 45 Min C2 Bike (easy recovery) As I haven’t finished the 75hard yet I still needed an outdoor workout to meet the rules for the day so I dragged the C2 bike into the garden, set up the 2018 CF Games film on my iPad and just peddled. No stress, just moving.
Sun – Extra Rest Day 5:45pm – Restorative Yoga via Down Dog App * I was feeling VERY beaten up today so I gave myself permission to take life easy. I got up with the dog at 6am and we went for a gorgeous 2 hour walk around Staunton Park and The Thicket before the rest of Havant woke up and then a yoga session in the evening. Even though these yoga sessions are low intensity I am feeling the benefits greatly as my mobility has improved no end since discovering Down Dog. My squat form continues to get better and better and I am definitely more flexible. It really is time well spent.
This week was a tense one. Sunday saw the arrival of my first big race of the season, The Grizzly, and the first big test for my foot. Since my initial sit down with my CrossFit coach, Kerry, back in January, when we agreed I’d take a small step back to focus on my IM training, we’d put this race as a marker. If my foot didn’t make it my IM/Tri season was probably dead in the water. If it survived it was 100% game on!
It was also week 2 of The Open and I was feeling pretty good about my performance in week 1… would that com crashing down come Friday. It doesn’t matter, right – I’m not focussing on the Open. This was what I had to keep telling myself many, many times.
Things were a little quieter this week leading up to The Grizzly, although not a lot… here’s how it went:
Mon 6am – CrossFit Class For Time: 50 Air Squat, 40 Box Step Over, 30 Jumping Pull Up, 20 Hanging Basket, 10 Jumping Bar Muscle Up * This was fast, and fun. Still not jumping on boxes due to my foot but if it survives the weekend I will try and few box jumps next week.
1:15pm – 45min Zone 2 Run *Threw all the layers on to try and make myself more uncomfortable and still control the HR to zone 2.
Tues – Rest Day 3pm – Yin Yoga via Down Dog App *45 min mobilty session with a lower body boost in prep for the weekend.
Weds 6:45am – Coach by Colour Indoor Cycle Class (as Coach) *Week 11 of 12; Faster, Better, Stronger. A repeated pyramid session of tabata sprints, heavy climbs and rest.
7:40am – 2 mile Brick Run *Easy 2 miles of the bike with George, one of my Forza Performance clients who also attends my Indoor Cycle classes.
12:30pm – CrossFit Class 18 Min AMRAP; 21 Wall Ball, 12 Cal Row, 9 Over Rower Burpee *I was supposed to swim today but I really, really liked the look of the workout so decided to switch my days around and Crossfit today and swim tomorrow. I love, love, LOVED this workout.
Thur 12:30pm – CrossFit Conditioning Class 42 Min EMOM- 30 sec on, 30 sec rest (you can do 40/20 but this is meant to be active recovery 1; Weighted Box Step Up, 2; Row, 3; Goblet Squat, 4; Ski, 5; Down Up, 6; Ski *No, I didn’t swim today either. The sessions available didn’t fit my day so easy indoor conditioning it is.
6:30pm – Coach by Colour Indoor Cycle Class (as Coach) *Same as Weds am.
Fri 12:30pm – CrossFit Open 22.2 For Time: 1 to 10 to 1 – Deadlift @ 43kg + Bar Facing Burpee (Time Cap – 10 minutes) *Not a bad workout overall. I’m not the biggest fan of fast deadlifts for time but I don’t mind a Bar Facing Burpee. It got gassy real quick but it was only 10 minutes so you could push.
2:00pm – Just Move EMOM with Head Coach Toby (and James & the hubby) 30 Min EMOM 1: 1 Snatch, 3 Bar Muscle Up Progressions + 15 Air Squat, 2: 30s Handstand Hold, 3: 50 Double Under, 4: 20 Sit Up, 5: Rest
Sat 8am – CrossFit Class, Partner WOD with Si 9 Min AMRAP; 3,6,9,12,15,18.. Hang Power Clean, Push Press, Hanging Leg Raise (split reps between you) 6 Min – to establish a heavy 3 Thruster 9 Min AMRAP; 8 Front Squat, 20 Double Under (1 rd each, U Go, I Go) * After the day before and all the deadlifts my hamstrings were feeling a little tight so no heavy weights todaybut still moving fast.
Sun Race Day – The Grizzly 20 Miles, All Terrain with a total of 1065m of elevation. *This race is nuts. Carl and I always run this one together as it’s so challenging. It’s down in Seaton in Devon and it is the hardest 20 miles I’ve ever run in one go. This was our third time doing it so we knew what to expect as the route rarely changes from year to year. I was bricking it that my foot would blow up and that would be it but I did what I tell my clients to do – control the controllable and find the positives. My foot has been “ok” since January. No, it isn’t 100% right but it hasn’t stopped me doing anything (except box jumps) all year. After some reassurance from my close friends, who also form Team NBR (No Bling required) – my accountability group, and lots of good luck messages from my coaches and friends I felt ready. The headline of the day is: “Liza’s Foot is OK and happily survived the full 20 miles with no repercussions” I was ELATED on the drive home (and pretty much all the way round to be honest) and it now really feels like this season is here and happening. It really is time to get to work!
This week saw the start of the CrossFit Open. I wasn’t going to join in the fun this year, apart from as a Judge, as it detracts from my primary goal but when my box said they were going to run an In House Comp and all proceeds would be reinvested back in the gym, well, how could I not sign up! I now have three weeks of competition where I have to keep reminding myself that I’m not taking it seriously and I AM NOT bothered about how it goes… honest! Fun times 🙂
I had an Instrument Assisted Soft Tissue Mobilisation treatment with Muscle Therapies 640 on Monday and we focussed solely on the foot and connecting areas. Paul managed to trace some of the issue to my achilles so hopefully this issue will get sorted once and for all within the next couple of months.
Other than that, nothing much has happened this week beyond the norm so here’s what my week looked like.
Mon 6:30am CrossFit Class Every 3 mins x 5; 30 x Double Under, 20 x Pistols Squat (Foot behind ankle), 10 x Handstand Push Up from a box
Tues – 11:45am – 2000m Pool Swim *Boom! Longest swim to date, after only a few weeks of swimming and the only reason I stopped was because the pool session is capped to one hour!
Weds 6:45am – Coach by Colour Indoor Cycle Class (as Coach) *Week 10 of the 12 week Program = The Force, or as my husband calls it, The Kitchen Sink as I’ve thrown everything at this one. It’s a full on interval session that flies by. No brick run today as, following my treatment Monday I’m not allowed to run until Saturday.
12:30pm – CrossFit Class Deadlift; 3 Reps every 3 mins x 5 Then Every 90 seconds; 5 Deadlift + 10 Burpee over the Bar
Thur 12:30pm – CrossFit Conditioning Class 42 Min EMOM (Min 1 to 4 40sec, Min 5 60sec) 1 – Down Ups, 2 – KB Swings, 3 – Top Of Plank Hold, 4 – Weighted Box Step Ups, 5 – Alt Row/Ski, 6 – Rest
6:30pm – Coach by Colour Indoor Cycle Class (as Coach) *Same as Weds am.
Fri 12:30pm – CrossFit Open 22.1 18 Min AMRAP; 3 Scaled Wall Walk, 12 Alt DB Snatch, 15 Box Step Over *A fun start to The Open. Very happy with Snatches and Box Step Overs… not practiced Wall Walks a lot lately but the scaled version was simple enough.
2:00pm – Just Move EMOM with Head Coach Toby (and James & Jack) 30 Min EMOM 1: 1 Snatch, 3 Bar Muscle Up Progressions, 2: 16 Wall Ball, 3: 100ft Dbl KB Front Rack Carry, 4: 12 Hanging Leg Raise, 5: Rest
Sat 8am – CrossFit Class, Partner WOD with Si 25 Min AMRAP (U go, I go but run together); 1000m Row, 200m Run, 75 Thurster, 200m Run, 50 Bar Facing Burpee, 200m Run, 25 Hang Power Clean, 200m Run.
Sun Rest Day * Myself and a couple of the Forza Performance crew went to Southsea to support one of our own, George, participating in the Portsmouth Duathlon. That was ahard fought race in brutal wind whipped conditions. I was very glad I hadn’t signed up!
8pm – Yin Yoga (via DownDog App) * A chilled way to end the week 🙂
This week I had my first dark day. My foot has been playing up more than usual and I was still a week away from treatment. I knew I had to cut back the running and thats not great for someone less than 5 months away from a 140.6, with no more than 8 continuous miles under their belt.
Still, the first things I try to instil in my athletes is “Control the controllable” and “Find the positive”. I am usually pretty good at this and up until Wednesday I was doing ok. However, for whatever reason, I woke up feeling less than chipper. I then had a disaster session in the pool and my mindset went black. I’d been feeling a little guilty for all the training hours taking me away from my husband, my dog and my home but I know my husband understands (and has never complained so this is ALL in my head) and while things are going great it’s ok as it all feels worthwhile.
Normally one bad session wouldn’t be enough to derail me but this week, for whatever reason, it was. I am only human after all and sometimes things get the better of you. Realising that I’d forgotten to check in with a close friend, who is really going through something shit, pushed me over the edge. It all seemed pointless. Thoughts of “whats the point in doing all this, if you’re going to fail anyway” plagued me, along with “this just isn’t worth it, you’re a shit triathlete and all this is going to count for nothing” and more along the same theme. Dramatic right! I know! But when you get beat down, you get beat down and it happens to the best of us.
What really matters though is what you do next.. how you deal with the black thoughts and whether you pull yourself out of the quagmire. Obviously I did. I quit the swim as it clearly wasn’t working. I went home, ran a bath and took 15 minutes of relaxed silence to reprogram my thoughts. I told myself it’s inevitable to have bad days. I always tell my team its the bad days that define us. Its easy when everything goes right. It’s how we deal with the tough times that show us who we really are. So, who am I? Oh right, I’m a muthafucking badass bear and badass bears don’t wallow in self pity. They take charge, they fix shit and they keep moving forward. Once out of the bath I first messaged my friend, then rescheduled my week to attack the swim again at the end of the week and got back on with my day.
Why am I sharing this? Because everyone will have self doubt at some point, especially anyone training for an Ironman (or crazy ass endurance event) as it takes such a commitment and so many other things have to take a back seat. Its a dark side of endurance training that we need to normalise and learn how to deal with. We all know the mantra; It’s ok not to be ok and it’s true. We just have to be kind to ourselves, take a few deep breaths and rationally look at the big picture, not just that one bad day!
Overall, my training week was pretty good so here it is:
Mon 12:30pm CrossFit Class 15 Min AMRAP 100m Farmer Carry 2x DB then 2 Rounds of DB DT (12 x Deadlift, 9 x Hang Power Clean, 6 x STOH) *This was, as you can imagine, a grip burner. I survived better than I thought I would and my forearm only really went on my lefthand side. More unilateral grip strength work needs to be done clearly!
Tues – Rest Day 6:30am – Active Recovery Session at CFID *Usual mobility and HR Z1 cardio to just move and focus on some deep mobility.
Weds 6:45am – Coach by Colour Indoor Cycle Class (as Coach) *Week 9 of the 12 week Program = My favourite week of the program. It’s called Le Tour and is basically an homage to my favourite stage of the 2019 Tour De France. It was an Alpine stage so lots of heavy, heavy climbs and a bit of fast racing in between.
No brick run today as my foot has been a more tender than usual so had to cut it. Already by this stage of the week I was getting a little concerned that my training activity had dropped from it’s usual level, which as contributing to the dark mood I described in the opening of this blog.
In reality I’d missed a session on Monday (which is an added bonus if I do it anyway) and a 20 min run but today was the day my PMS kicked in and my mood dropped as a result of a hormone change but I wasn’t being rationale at this stage and mentally berating myself pretty damn hard.
12:45pm – Pool Swim 1 mile for time – was the plan but the world had other ideas (or, I let my mindset slip and get the better of me so I quit!) *I have been saying in every other IM blog so far this year that my swim karma was seemingly a bit too good. Well, today it all changed. I was already being down on myself. When I arrived at the pool the changing room was loud, busy, chaotic and everything about it just rattled me. Then I went to put on my swim hat and it snapped. I was stood, in front of the mirror with my swimsuit on, watch set, googles in hand staring at my now useless swim hat thinking “well that’s that then. I cant swim today” Ridiculous maybe, but I have long, thick dreadlocks which do nothing to aid buoyancy or aerodynamics and weigh a ton when wet. I did tell myself I was being ridiculous though, pulled my hair into something i thought might work in the water and hit the lane. It was a DISASTER. My hair fell out of the ponytail/bun thing I had tried to secure it as, it pulled my head and neck down in the water. I retied it and tried to keep going but it kept slipping and threw my whole swim off. My feet were hitting the bottom of the pool, I was over-rotating, everything was just wrong. I persevered for 400m and then gave up. Another contributing factor to my dark mood and building sense that this week was going to shit.
I teach my athletes three key things when it comes to mindset; 1 – Control the controllable 2 – Find the positive 3 – Learn the lessons I tried to apply these to this situation, both in the moment and after. Doing this is one of the main reasons I pulled myself out of my funk. Instead of not swimming I thought “what if this happens on race day, what if you end up having to swim without hat” – actually, this is not only unlikely but would probably secure you a disqualification as generally, all swimmers must be wearing the issued swim cap so they can be easily identified, and I would have spare hats so that if one split or snapped when putting it on, I would just grab another. The positive was that at least I tried. I managed 400m. Ok, it wasn’t much in the grand scheme of things but it was something. Lessons learned – buy a couple more swim hats (I need a special size swim hat because of my hair so couldn’t even just go to reception and buy one) and keep spares in your bag.
Thur 11:30am – Mono-structural Cardio Conditioning Session 45 Min; 5 Min Row, Assault Bike, Ski – Each 5 min starts with 400m run *I pulled my head out my ass and decided that if my main concern was my lack of activity this week, find some space and add a session in. I had 60 minutes spare before the CF class so went in early and got some shit done. I could have stayed at home and done this session in my own gym but I like going to the box. Its separate to my work and my home and if I’m going there, it’s for the purpose of training (or to drink coffee, but thats usually only ever after training!)
12:30pm – CrossFit Conditioning Class 42 Min EMOM (Min 1 to 4 40sec, Min 5 60sec) 1: Alt Devil Press, 2: Goblet Squat, 3: Sit Up, 4: Box Step Up, 5: Row, 6: Rest
6:30pm – Coach by Colour Indoor Cycle Class (as Coach) *Same as Weds am.
Fri 12:30pm – CrossFit Class Part A: For Time 10-9 -8-7-6-5-4-3-2-1 2xDB Front Squat + Bar Facing Burpees At minute 10: 6 mins to establish a heavy complex for the day; 1 x Clean, 1 x Front Squat, 1 x STOH *This was a variation of an Open workout from 2018. Part A was an exact copy so we got to test ourselves against our previous best. I was really pleased as I beat my score by over a minute. Happy Liza! The complex was new as in The Open it was only a 1RM Clean. I was strong with the Clean and Front squat but as usual my confidence in/fear of pushing a heavy bar over my head let me down. Once this Ironman is done and dusted I am going to spend a few months focussing mainly on overcoming some of the major weaknesses in my CrossFt repertoire.
2:00pm – Work on your Weaknesses EMOM with Head Coach Toby 30 Min EMOM 1: 1 Snatch, 3 Bar Muscle Up Progressions, 2: 16 Box Step Over, 3: 6/6 DB Hang Clean & Jerk, 4: 2 x 16kg KB 100ft Farmer Carry, 5: Rest
Sat 7:15am – 4 Mile Run
8am – CrossFit Class, Partner WOD with my husband 25 min AMRAP; Run 400m – Together (row for me) 30 x Power Cleans, 20 x Box Jumps (Steps for me, Stoopid foot!), 30 x STOH 20 x Pull Ups TeamSmith got to train together today as my usual CF Partner was out with a bad back. Carl and I don’t often train together so it’s really fun when it happens. We both agreed to push ourselves with a heavier barbell weight and go hard on the run/row. We both tried, and we both succeeded. Go Us 🙂
Sun
9am – Coach By Colour Indoor Cycle Class * as a participant rather than coach.
10am – 1650m Swim * yep, thats right I redid my swim session and it was fine. It was better than fine. It was good. It also helps that I’m on restricted running right now as normally I’d run on Sundays but rather than sulk about not being able to run, find the positive. No running means time available. What sucked this week, what can I put right? What can I try and fix?
This biggest thing this week I re-engaged with my Nutrition Coach, Demi @ Deep Health Nutrition, as I’m still dropping weight quite quick due to the 75Hard and the increased training levels that come from IM training. I’m hitting protein goals (30% of daily intake every day) and I am still losing fat and building muscle but I just need to ensure I’m eating enough, at the right times etc to maximise my performance and not let all this hard work go to waste.
I definitely had fat and weight to lose so I’m not at all concerned about dropping weight, but 5kg in 6 weeks is quite fast and if I had done it any other way I would know its not sustainable. It just shows that my calorie deficit was a little too aggressive, although occasionally in the very short term, this can be ok. I PB’d a couple of lifts in this time and both my running speed and bike power has improved so all signs show this was all perfectly ok. But, I know it wont last… soon, if I’m not careful I will lose performance due to being inadequately fuelled and that cannot happen.
Now, I could absolutely sort my nutrition myself but a) I don’t want to have to think about that as well as program my own training etc b) I want to be accountable to someone and c) I am smart enough to know what I don’t know and would rather lean on another expert to help me get this right. You should all know that one of my biggest beliefs is that the best coaches are ultimately coachable and have coaches. I stand by my beliefs.
And with that out of the way… on to the weeks activities.
Mon 6am – CrossFit Class 2k Row for Time – A classic cardio test * I equally love and hate the 2k row test. I love it because rowing is something I am strong at but man the 2k hurts. If it doesn’t, you didn’t do it right. No PB today but I was too conservative in the first 1000m. Still 5s off isn’t too bad.
Tues – Rest Day 6:30am – Active Recovery Session at CFID *Once again my coach Kerry let me crash the early morning class, hide up the back and just do my own recovery session. 5 minute rounds of 3min easy (Z1) row or ski and 2 min mobility. I have had a few people ask me what sort of mobility I do here and it standard stuff; couch stretch, pigeon stretch off the box, lizard stretch, back extensions using the GHD, deep squat holds etc. Nothing fancy, just basic shit that works.
Weds 6:45am – Coach by Colour Indoor Cycle Class (as Coach) *Week 8 of the 12 week Program = Get Stronger, which basically means climbing week. One of my favourites as I much prefer to climb than race.
7:30am – 2 Mile Brick Run
10am – Pool Swim 1 mile for time *Still got good swim karma. One mile, no stopping and it was both easy and enjoyable. Surely this enjoyment of swimming can’t last. I don’t ever remember liking it like this, or finding it so easy. I am also aware that I have not even hit half distance of what I require on race day but leave me alone, let me enjoy this while it lasts 🙂
12:30pm CrossFit Class Back Squat Day Lift every two minutes: 5 reps, 5, 5, 3, 3, 3, 2, 2, 2, 2 *My squats have never felt so good, or looked so good according to Toby, who was coaching the class. I think the Yin Yoga is paying off. Who know… oh right, almost anyone who’s done any amount of decent yoga.
1:30pm Post CF 4 Mile Run * This run sucked. I felt so tired, which is completely justified after everything else I had done today. I would normally only Cycle, Run and Swim on a Weds but I had no clients after 10am so I took full advantage and snuck in a couple of extra sessions. Let’s face it, being able to run tired, on fatigued legs is a skill all Ironman and potential Ironmen should develop so as much as it sucked, it was also great.
Thur 12:30pm – CrossFit Conditioning Class 42 Min EMOM (Min 1 to 4 40sec, Min 5 60sec) 1: Plank DB Taps, 2: SA DB Thruster L, 3: DB Box Step Up, 4: SA DB Thruster R, 5: Assault Bike, 6: Rest *As per last week, I used this class as active recovery so easy intensity all the way through, a med weight DB, not too heavy but also not crazy light.
6:30pm – Coach by Colour Indoor Cycle Class (as Coach) *Same as Weds am.
Fri 11am – Conditioning with Head Coach Toby 60 Min AMRAP 5 can Row, 5 Cal Bike, 5 Cal Ski, 2m Burpee Broad Jump *add 5 class every round. * The goal here was to keep Heart Rate in Zone 3. This meant having to pull back on the bike but push a little harder on the Ski. 60 minutes passed fairly easily.
12:30pm – CrossFit Class 4 Rounds for Time 400m Run, 50ft SA DB Overhead Walking Lunge, 25 DB Push Press *Not a lot to say about this one. It wasn’t as horrific as I thought it would be so happy days… move on.
2:00pm – Work on your Weaknesses EMOM with Head Coach Toby 30 Min EMOM 1: 1 Snatch, 3 Bar Muscle Up Progressions, 2:2 x 16kg KB 50ft Farmer Carry , 3: Alt 8 Pull Up / 30s Active Hang, 4: 8 Toes to Rings 5: Rest
Start of the week brings me to 31 Days complete of the 75Hard challenge. This means I still need to hit the 2 x 45 minute workouts, one must be outdoors and they must not be consecutive rule so most days, due to bricking a lot of my sessions, my activity level continues to rise 🙂
Mon 12:30pm – CrossFit Class Barbell Day WOD For Time: 18, 15, 12, 9, 6, 3 Hang Power Snatch and Clean & Jerk *Loved this workout. Grip strength held out and my plan for the WOD worked well. I finished just within the time cap, as in, with literally seconds to spare.
6:30pm 45 min Zone 2 Run *Lots of layers, hat and gloves as it was pretty bitter outside. Still took over 5 minutes to get my HR out of zone 1 and in to zone 2 but once it was there, it was a steady run. It felt a little harder than a usual zone 2 due to me being completely ready for my rest day tomorrow.
Tues – Rest Day 8:20pm – 45 min Yoga Practice via DownDog App *Another Yin Yoga session. Definitely more my style of yoga and definitely what I needed today to help me recover from the last few days of effort.
Weds 6:45am – Coach by Colour Indoor Cycle Class (as Coach) *Week 7 of the 12 week Program = Unbreakable. A no rest, pyramid session using a mix of racing and climbing peaking in the middle with a brutal mountain climb.
7:30am – 2 Mile Brick Run Two of my clients who also come to Indoor Cycle Class kept me company on the run this week. Its what I called a “Naked” run – I set the watch but don’t look at it while moving. This is a great way to test if your perceived effort matches your actual effort. The goal of this run was to keep it comfortable and the data showed a mix of Zone2/3 so not far off.
12:45pm – Pool Swim 1000m for time *Aiming to continue my positive experience with swimming I decided to just swim this week. No repeats, no stopping, just swim 1000m and see what happens. I’m not going to break any speed records thats for sure but that isnt my goal. My only goal is to get through the swim relatively unscathed and without exerting too much effort. Today’s 1000m was fairly effortless, i enjoyed it and when I uploaded it to garmin, it turns out it was 3 minutes quicker than back in 2020… Result!
Thur 6:30pm – CrossFit Conditioning Class 42 Min EMOM (Min 1 to 4 40sec, Min 5 60sec) 1: Ski Erg, 2: No Push Up Burpee, 3: Double Under, 4: Alt DB Hang Clean & Jerk, 5: Row, 6: Rest *Used this class as active recovery so easy intensity all the way through. First time having skipping in a conditioning class so I took the opportunity to play with all my different ropes and alternated my speed rope, heavy rope and drag rope. I’m easily pleased and found this fun 🙂
6:30pm – Coach by Colour Indoor Cycle Class (as Coach) *Same as Weds am.
Fri 12:30pm – CrossFit Class 15 Min AMRAP 800m Run + AMRAP 12 Alt DB Snatch, 6&6 Devil Thruster, 12 Weighted DB Step Up *This was brutal! And yes, you read that right… Devil Thrusters! Do A S/A Devil Press, add a S/A Thruster and boom – one Devil Thruster. Another genius move from our Head Coach Toby.
2:00pm – Conditioning EMOM with Head Coach Toby 60 Min EMOM1: 30s Active Hang, 2: 20 Air Squat, 3: 30s Handstand Hold, 4: 60 Alt Single/Double Under 5: 20 Kettlebell Swing, 6: Rest *It was Toby’s deload week so a it was a bit different this week…no crazy programming today. It was good but I’m looking forward to getting back to normal next week.
Sat 7:15am – Pre CrossFit 3 Mile Run *With my CF training partner Simon, and my husband Carl 🙂
8:00am – CrossFit Class (Partner wod with Simon) 30 Min AMRAP Part A – P1 400m Farmer Carry, P2 Max Effort Row Part B – Combined Row Cals x 2 = Wallball total to be completed (split reps) Part C – Establish max weight for BB complex: Deadlift, Clean, Hang Clean, Jerk *This looked horrific and while it was tough, both Simon and I really enjoyed it.
9:00am – Post CF 4 Mile Run *Carl stayed to drink coffee and be sociable while Simon and I went back out for a few more miles. We hit the trails not far from the box and I discovered there are nicer places to run in Waterlooville than I realised.
6:00pm – Yoga Practice via DownDog App
Sun
6:00pm – Yoga Practice *Originally I was going to do my usual Indoor Cycle Class and run, then I was going to go for a swim instead as that would be a little less, but I went to bed exhausted Saturday night so decided to just give myself permission to wake up without an alarm and have a lie in. Carl and I went for a long dog walk in the morning which was just perfect. Took an extra rest/active recovery day and didn’t stress about it at all as I knew I needed it.
Last week in my first IM training blog of 2022 I outlined my approach for this 6 month block of training, which will take me from 0 to 140.6.
There isn’t really much to say about this week so on to the specifics:
Mon 9:30am Outdoor Upper Body Strength & Core EMOM 1: 10 Min 3xPull Up, 2: 10 Min 3xPush Up 3: 10 Min 30s Hollow Hold, 4: 10 Min 30s Arch Hold All with 2 min rest between
12:30pm – CrossFit Class Mono-structural Cardio day today 30 Min AMRAP – 400m Row, 400m Run, 50 Double Unders *My goal was to keep every round consistent and hope my foot holds out with the combo of running and double unders – I did, and it did 🙂
Tues – Rest Day 6:30am – “Just Moving” Recovery Session at CrossFit *Same as last week – without 75Hard I would likely just do the dog walk and that would be but as I need that second workout I went to hang out with the early morning crew again and did an easy (zone 1 max) session. I threw in the Ski Erg as well as the Assault Bike for of 9 x 3 min cardio + 2 Minutes mobility – and I threw in the GHD to work on some deep back extensions.
Weds 6:45am – Coach by Colour Indoor Cycle Class (as Coach) *Week 6 of the 12 week Program = Get Faster aka Speed Week. I’m a better climber than racer so this is a good week for me to work on my weaknesses. No brick run post class this week as I had no one to run with (meaning I had no one to store my bag with as I cycle to the gym). I know I could have done it once I got home but I got through the door and Cracker dog was so happy to see me I couldn’t turn round and leave hime again straight away… weak sauce I know but dog owners, you will understand.
12:45pm – Pool Swim 14 x 100m repeats with 1 min rest. *Building on the positives of my first session last week I simply aimed to add two more 100m repeats. I ended up doing 4 more, with the intention of completing 16 to get the mile but I ran out of time as the session ended. Note to self – find out how long the session is so I can plan accordingly.
Thur 12:30pm – CrossFit Conditioning Class 40 Min EMOM (Min 1 to 3 40sec, Min 4 60sec) 1: Burpee Box Step Up, 2: Alt Ring Row/Push Up, 3: KB Swing, 4: Alt Row/Ski, 5: Rest
6:30pm – Coach by Colour Indoor Cycle Class (as Coach) *Thurs night is the same as Weds morning so a second crack at speed week. It’s always interesting to compare the two efforts and weirdly there isn’t a clear pattern of best performance. One week my morning session will be stronger, another the evening.
Fri 12:30pm – CrossFit Class Heavy Strength Day today Every 3 min x 10 = 1 Deadlift + 10 Hanging L Raises (add one deadlift every set) *The deadlift was advised to be 50/60% of your 1RM and completed in unbroken sets. My current 1rm is 95kg so I went for 55kg. It felt solid, I could maintain good form and consistent pacing on each set and more importantly my grip lasted the workout. I split the hanging leg raises from the start into 2 sets of 5 and held this throughout.
2:00pm – Conditioning AMRAP session with Head Coach Toby 100 Wallball for time + 4 min rest. *The goal here was to complete as big a set as possible for the first set, same again for second set getting it done as quickly as possible with as few breaks as possible. I hit a set of 50, 20, 20, 10. Toby, because he’s a rock star hit 70, 30! 1 min on, 1 min off: 5 cal row + 2 Burpee over Rower. Add 2 Burpee until you cannot finish. *A twisted take on Death by Burpee -I got the round of 14 but could only get 12 reps. Toby, again because he’s a rock star got to the round of 20 but got timed out at 19 reps; EMO2M 5/5 Single Arm Dumbbell Squat Snatch x 6 * I cannot squat snatch a dumbbell I found out. I had never tried before and it did not go well. I cannot even really single arm squat with a dumbbell so I went back to basics, removed the weight and just worked on bodyweight single arm squats. I def found something I suck at which I will need to work on.
Sat 8:00am – CrossFit Class (Partner wod with Simon) 25 Min AMRAP (Run together, split the reps) 400m row, 50 Wallball, 50 Burpee Box Step Over 400m row, 50 Alt Devil Press, 50 Weighted Box Step Up 400m row, 50 Hang Power Clean, 50 Push Jerk *It was meant to be a run but I cant run in my CF shoes so Simon ran while I rowed. We both decided we wanted to push ourselves so we both went heavier with the dumbbell and barbell. During the warm up I genuinely felt done and was properly worried about how this was going to play out. I shouldn’t have worried. I loved every second of it. I worked harder than I honestly thought I could and thoroughly enjoyed it.
9:00am – 4 Mile Run w/ weight vest *No Simon to run with this week so I decided if I didn’t have him to push my pace, I would throw on my weight vest and mix it up that way. I ran 2 miles out, 2 miles back, so I couldn’t be tempted to dial it in early. It was practically spring like outside so no layering up required. Shorts, vest top, weight vest – Go.
7:00pm – Yoga Practice via DownDog App *So I discovered Yin Yoga on the app and let me tell you, I am a fan. I bought a new yoga matt in the week, one with the alignment lines on it (which actually helps a lot) as new kit always helps right 🙂 These two things combined mean that I think I can say, I enjoyed yoga.
Sun 9:00am – Coach by Colour Indoor Cycle Class *Again, not coaching the session I upped my FTP and just let Chris tell me what to do. It must have been a good session as at least twice when he gave an instruction I told him to fuck off (in my head of course). It’s like I tell my athletes, if every so often you aren’t cursing me during a session, I’m probably not doing my job right. No, it shouldn’t be high intensity, max effort all the time but occasionally you need to go to war with yourself and I did that in the class today.
10:00am – 400m Hill Reps *Post Cycle Brick Run session but this week focussed on building leg strength, cardio endurance and quick recovery. Once again Lorraine was the only one willingly to jump in with me and we spent around 40 minutes running 200m up 200m down the same incline for 3.5 miles. The goal is not to sprint up and jog down, the goal for this run was consistency. Same pace up, same pace down.
7:00pm – Yoga Practice *The exercise rule of 75Hard, is as you may remember, 2 45 minute workouts (can be longer), 1 must be outdoors, they cannot be consecutive. I’d hit the first two parts of the rule but same as yesterday, they were consecutive so I had to hit a third workout to meet the rules. Let’s face it, Yoga is never going to be a bad thing to do and I am determined to get to a place where I like yoga – yes I enjoyed the practice yesterday but that doesn’t yet make it something I relish and look forward to. I tried a second Yin Yoga session and I think because it feels more like the mobility sessions I’m used to it’s more comfortable (mentally, not necessarily physically). Again, I enjoyed it and could def feel the pain points in my body releasing a little.
As we know, I am not going to quit CrossFit, as I love it and its been proven again and again that it works to build a brilliant training base encompassing strength, speed, power and overall conditioning.
My aim for this 6 month training block is to continue pretty much as normal at CrossFit (with a few tweaks here and there which I will discuss as they happen) and hit 8 to 10 hours of specific Ironman Training alongside. This duration will increase as we get closer to the event but not by a huge amount, I expect.
It’s worth mentioning that I am also currently doing Andy Frisella’s 75Hard challenge, which I started on Jan 1st. I will be posting a separate post about this challenge on my Fitness Blog so head there if you want to ready anymore about this. What this does mean is that I have to do two workouts a day, min 45 minutes, 1 must be outdoors and they must not be consecutive, and at least 3 hours apart. I walk my dog every day for around an hour and as this often constitutes the outdoor workout I have turned it into a ruck, taking the weight plates out of my weight vest and putting them in my rucksack.
So, on to my week and the training specifics:
Mon 12:30pm – CrossFit Class 3 x 3 Min AMRAP of 20 Box Step Over, 12 Cal Row, 5 Hanging Leg Raises
3:30pm – Concept 2 Bike Erg Session Zone 2 HR for 50k – took just over 1hr 45. *Why use a C2 bike and not a turbo – Simply the C2 bike is there in my studio and to use the turbo I have to get the turbo out, put the bike on the turbo, load up a program blah blah blah. No it means I’m not putting the time in on my bike but right now, building bike endurance is all that matters and that can happen anywhere. There will be time to build bike craft and work on technique later.
Tues – Rest Day 6:30am – “Just Moving” Recovery Session at CrossFit *Without 75Hard I would likely just do the dog walk and that would be but as I need that second workout I went to hang out with the early morning crew and did an easy (zone 1 max) session of 9 x 3 min Assault Bike, 2 Minutes mobility – holding static stretches for 1 minute or 1 min per side.
Weds 6:45am – Coach by Colour Indoor Cycle Class (as Coach) Coaching Indoor Cycle is a blast. It’s where I started my FitPro life. Coach by Colour is power based training using your FTP and power zones. Its now the only type of Indoor Cycle I will do as its meaningful and measurable. I run my classes on a 12 periodised program (which I created) with FTP testing every 13th week. Luckily, as its expected for the coach to be in with the participants I can actually use this session as a training session. Good coaches are not “paid to train”. That is the mantra of lazy, crap trainers. Coaches are paid to Coach and I believe one of the very few expectations to this rule is on the bike.
7:30am – 2 mile Brick Run As soon as the class is over me and one of my clients and friends, Gary, hit the road for a 2 mile blast. Nothing special, nothing fast, just a bit of a brick session to build endurance and ability. Plus, it gives us a chance to catch up, which is always nice!
Thur 6:30am – CrossFit Conditioning Class 2 x 20 Min EMOM 1: Down Ups, Air Squats, Row, Rest and 2: Ski, Alt Sit Ups/Plank, 600m Assault Bike, Rest
12:45pm – Pool Swim 10 x 100m repeats with 1 min rest. *This was my first session back in the pool since March 2020 and I was dreading it. I had to really force myself to go to the pool. Turns out, I had nothing to worry about. I have never been, nor will I ever be, a good swimmer but I get by and this session was a huge confidence builder.
6:30pm – Coach by Colour Indoor Cycle Class (as Coach) Back in the Cycle Studio for Class 2. Same session as Weds as I keep both classes on the same schedule. This week was Wk5 in the 12 wk program and that meant Power Pyramid. 3 Repeats of Hill Climb, Tabata Sprint, Rest. A brutal but effective session and a firm favourite amongst my squad.
Fri 12:30pm – CrossFit Class Benchmark WOD Nancy – 5 Rds of 400m Run, 15 Overhead Squat. I had to row this one as I have been dealing with a crazy foot injury that is finally healing. However, it not healed enough to allow me to run in my CF shoes, and I cannot OHS in my Running Shoes so rowing was the solution.
2:00pm – Conditioning AMRAP session with Head Coach Toby 9 Min AMRAP: 15 Burpee Box Step, 30 Lunge, 15 Power Clean and Push Jerk, 4 Min Rest 9 Min AMRAP: Ring Muscle Ups and Double Unders (no need to write the specific rep scheme!) *Every Friday I jump in with our Head Coach Toby on whatever he has programmed, purely so he has someone to train alongside. I call myself his “Anti Sandbagger” His coach Matt has a bit of an evil streak and some of these sessions are the worst I have ever encountered (but in that really good way). This one was waaayyyy spicer than I thought it would be. Fun though.
Sat 8:00am – CrossFit Class 3 Min Max Effort Row for Meters, 2 Min Rest 6 Min Build to Heavy 3 Thruster, 2 Min Rest 3 Min Max Effort for Meters, 2 Min Rest 10 Min AMRAP (partner WOD) 2, 4, 6, 8, etc Cal Row, Thruster, Burpee Over Bar *Saturdays are Partner WOD at our box and I am lucky to have landed on my feet with my regular training partner, Simon, another triathlete, who is this year again attempting the DECCA (thats 10 full 140.6 Triathlons in 10 days)
9:00am – 5 Mile Run Layer up, change shoes and Simon and I were out the door straight after class. My plan was to run 4 miles, he needed 5 so 5 it was. It was one of those beautiful runs where you felt you could run forever. Again, it wasn’t fast, the HR was a bit too high (thanks to that beast of a CF class – that isn’t a complaint, I bloody loved it) but it felt comfortable and we had a really good chat all the way round.
4:15pm – Yoga Practice via DownDog App I am not a yoga fan but I am trying to find some love for it. I had to add something else in today to meet the 75Hard requirements and a bit of yoga seemed like the sensible choice. This was my 2nd session and I liked it a bit more than my first – I guess thats something right. We are going in the right direction at least.
Sun 9:00am – Coach by Colour Indoor Cycle Class This time I was on the other side of the class and not coaching. In this weather I am not risking outdoor rides os decided to head to the gym and see my favourite Indoor Cycle Instructor – who also instructs Coach By Colour. Not being the one on the stage I didn’t have to think. I didn’t have to talk. I just had to ride so I whacked my FTP up by 10 watts to see how I’d get on and I held it ok. Will be keeping this up the next few weeks while the weather is questionable.
10:00am – 5 Mile Run Again, layer up, change shoes and straight out the door after class for a run. This time Lorraine met me. Its so nice having so many people around me, willing to jump in and train with me. Lorraine is another friend and client and she’s training for her first attempt at competitive OCR so was more than happy to work on her running.
5:00pm – Yoga Practice Again, as the first two sessions were back to back I needed a second session for 75Hard. Yoga practice was about all I was up for and again, I “enjoyed” it a little bit more BUT I cannot breathe that slowly. I guess all that comes with time… I find it ok for the first few minutes but then the voice on the app is saying “and breathe out” and I’ve taken 3 breaths! Is this normal? Do others struggle with this?
Now this years attempt depends on more than just Covid restrictions. In one of the weirdest injuries ever sustained (and Chris James was with me when it happened and those are his words!) I managed to screw my foot up running less than a mile on flat grass…I know!
X-Rays and Consultations took place and the official diagnosis was “Grumpy Foot” – this is actually the term used by my consultant. Damaged Ligaments and a foot that was basically “fucked off with the amount of work it had been doing” – yep, again, the actual phrase used at the hospital.
This means we approach the 6 month mark of training prep and I have run the longest distance of a mammoth 4 miles. Houston, we have a problem… or do we? Possibly not actually, I’m a stubborn bitch and love being up against it so realistically, Houston, lets fucking do this.
At this point in 2020 I had just completed my 5 marathons in 5 months, hit a comfortable distance of 1.5 miles in the pool and was damn comfortable working at power on a bike. Roll forward to now and I’ve run 4 miles, not swum since that last session in 2020 and my FTP is down over 25 watts, plus I haven’t been out on my bike since 2020 either. Lets face it, things aren’t looking great.
Before, I had the luxury of using this 6 months to play around. We all know I love CrossFit and was never going to quit CrossFit for any event.. however with such a solid base I could afford do a bit more of the non essential stuff and use some unconventional methods to get myself conditioned and race ready. *At this point I need to stress that for me “race ready” does not mean I am planning on actual racing. I have no interest in being “competitive” and race ready to me means being confident I can finish the event and enjoy the experience. Maybe I should say “participation ready” instead,
This time around I have even, for now, had to give up my 121 Coaching with my Coach, Kerry. This was decided during a meeting we had last week and I am now dead to her 🙁 This should make the CrossFit classes she coaches interesting when I’m in attendance. Will she just ignore me? Will my name even get put up on the board? I jest obviously (hopefully?!) as I need her, and as many positive supporters in my corner now more than ever. The haters are gonna hate, that will never change and thats fine – let them talk, that shit just adds fuel to my fire.
So why quit my coach? I just need that time to dedicate to the basics right now. It’s only an hour a week but when you examine the big picture that hour is needed for the pool. I am still not going to train in the most traditional way as it just isn’t for me and I am not your traditional triathlete. However, this time round it will look a little orthodox.
So training starts in earnest today and that means my weekly Training blog will be back so you can follow my progress, if that interests you, on my Ironman Training Blog
Today is Day 1 and the goal is to get from 0 to 140.6.
Note…I wrote this blog back in November 2019 but as we are approaching the Open once more I thought it was worth reposting.
*For those not in the know The CrossFit Open is a global competition comprised of five workouts over five weeks. The workouts are released every Thursday and all registered athletes have until the following Monday to submit their best score online.
I originally had big plans for the CrossFit Open 2020 (which takes place in Oct/Nov 2019) but those plans had to go in the bin. To explain this, I need to go back to Feb 2019, the start of the 2019 Open. I was recovering from an illness and never going to perform at my best. It became an opportunity to set a base line and see where I was at. I had gone backwards, as expected, but made my peace with it, making a deal with myself and Kerry, my coach, that the following 8 months would be all about improving my overall CrossFit ability so that I could give the Open 2020 my best shot. Unfortunately, in May I cracked/broke my rib and it took until the end of September for it to start to heal. I made the decision to not enter to ensure I didn’t set myself back further. The Open can become quite adrenaline fuelled. I didn’t want to get a bit overexcited and maybe do something that my body wasn’t ready for so I excluded myself from the process… as an athlete.
I spoke to Kerry, as during the earlier Open I had been available quite a lot to help judge those in the process and asked if i might be needed again. It was a resounding yes so I did my judges course, along with the hubby, and did whatever I was asked to help support the box as, from a management point of view, the whole thing can be quite stressful.
In the first week I was asked to judge Coach Lewis for his re-do attempt and then this stuck as a regular thing. This meant that I was involved in the Monday afternoon throw down where our 3 coaches, including Head Coach Toby, plus one of our best athletes came together to re-do the workout. It is a very different atmosphere in the box at this time and it was very cool to watch the best of our box come together like this and give it everything they have.
After the Feb Open Kerry set me a piece of homework which was to write down everything I learned during the 5 weeks and during one of the weeks in October she mentioned it might be interesting for me to do it again, having only been involved as a judge… I’m taking it one step further and explaining the 10 things I learned from our Head Coach Toby:
1) Walk the walk.
Don’t just say you want to do something, make sure you back your words up with action and fucking do it. Toby set himself a specific goal for this Open and made sure that he worked everyday to give himself the best shot of achieving it. He tells us tirelessly to work on our weaknesses and strive to be 1% better every day. Not only does he tell us. He shows us. Toby doesn’t talk about himself a lot but if you ask him a question about what he is doing or why, he will always take the time to have that conversation. Muscle Ups were a weak point in his game, so guess what, with the help of his coach and his programming he spent time every week working on his Muscle Ups, and all the accessory work required to become efficient. This is just one example. Trust me, there are many.
2) Control the controllable.
Now, I learned this a while ago and Toby hammered it home to me when I asked him for a chat after being invited to a casting day for SAS Who Dares Wins. I got a weeks notice and this was in June, a month after “the rib”. My head was all over the place… should I do this, focus on this, work on this and `i needed someone to just break through the noise. Kerry was dealing with her own stuff during this week and I didn’t want to burden her with anything unnecessarily. I messaged Toby and was in for a chat that same day. He made things very easy and clear for me. He told me what I already knew, that I wasn’t going to improve my fitness in a week, and helped me figure out a game plan for what I could do. Eat well, hydrate like it’s my job and get my 8 hours sleep a night… control the things that are in my control and don’t worry about the rest.
During The Open he showed, once again, that he practices what he preaches. He was working towards a particular goal and to achieve this goal he needed a particular placing on the leaderboard. While some people would spend minutes, hours and maybe days pouring over the leaderboard looking at what everyone else is doing Toby deleted the app and paid no attention to the leaderboard. What anyone else did didn’t effect his effort or execution in each workout. As long as he gave 100% each time then he had done all that he could do.
3) What others are doing shouldn’t concern you.
Leading on from the above, I have learned to become unconcerned with what other people are doing. That doesn’t mean I don’t care, it just means I am more able to be comfortable with what I’m doing. The Crossfit gym can become a competitive place, especially when everyone’s weights and scores are published on the board for all to see. I am not a competitive person at all but I can feel a little insecure about not choosing a heavy enough weight, or being too slow at a particular movement. Watching Toby over these last few weeks has really hammered home what I have been trying to tell myself these last 8 months. It doesn’t matter if everyone else in the gym is lifting heavier than you, running faster than you, cycling a barbell quicker… the list goes on and on. We all have our strengths, we all have our weaknesses and the sooner you concern yourself with just what you are doing, the better things get. Its something I have been working on a lot this year but over the last few weeks it has really clicked. That doesn’t mean a sly, well timed comment from Coach Harry won’t make me swap to heavier set of dumbbells though! I am still me and when a Coach encourages you to step a little further out of your comfort zone, you listen. They wouldn’t say it just to be mean and have fun watching you suffer… although in Harry’s case, he might ;0)
4) Be positive and don’t make excuses.
Toby’s attitude is just fucking brilliant. He was thrown a massive curveball just before that start of The Open which meant that goal he wanted to achieve became way harder. Did he complain, bitch or moan about it? Maybe behind closed doors with Kerry or his coach, a little, but not once was it a negative in the gym. If you asked him how he felt about it you got a cheerful “it is what it is, right?”. It all comes back to controlling the controllable but to see him again put that into action, get this done and just deal with it, was pretty inspiring.
5) It’s not just about the training
Just as he had advised me to do back in June, Toby looked at all of the things within his control. He logged his food… I know this because we both work with the same nutrition company and he, along with Kerry, helped me get to grips with it. He logged his water. He focussed on recovery. He focussed on sleep. He did everything needed to support his training and ensure he got the best out of every training session.
6) It takes a village.
As mentioned Toby doesn’t just rely on himself. He knew where he needed support and found the best people for the job. He has a Coach, the other Coaches and members at CFID, he works with We Dominate Nutrition, he works with a sport therapist. If he needs help he gets it and is never too big or proud to admit he needs it. I have massively adopted this approach during my Iron Man training.
7) Who you are when things don’t end the way you want says way more about your character than who you are in the good times.
I said that Toby had a specific goal for this Open. I told you that he was thrown a huge curveball that meant achieving it would then be way harder. The end to this tale is that he didn’t achieve his goal. Was he disappointed, probably. Did he scream, shout or cry? Very unlikely. To quote the man himself when I asked him how he was “I’m ok. I can honestly say I couldn’t have done anymore”…which I 100% believe…I’m currently in the best shape of my life and there is still room for improvement” What a fucking legend!
8) Find the good, and the lessons, in every situation.
The above quote proves this one. No feeling sorry for himself or making excuses. Just acceptance of the situation, recognition of the hard work done and looking ahead to the future. Not everything will go your way but every situation will present a learning opportunity.
9) Extreme ownership
Ok, so this one actually belongs to Jocko Willink, but it was Toby that turned me on to him and his book. And, it was Toby that demonstrated this. It’s ok to feel sad and disappointed but it is not ok to blame others or the situation and wallow in negative emotions. Dust yourself off and figure out what you can do to own your situation.
10) Enjoy what you do, have fun and don’t take yourself too seriously.
At the end of the day, all of this training, competition etc is a choice. No one forces us to do it. We chose to do it. So, if you take it all too seriously and stop enjoying it all then it becomes pointless. Toby’s final placing in The Open doesn’t actually change his life in any significant way, he has put in all this hard work and effort because he wants to, because it’s what he enjoys and it adds value to his life. This will be the same for my IronMan… if I complete the challenge and get to call myself an Ironman, my life won’t fundamentally change. I will have achieved something and the pursuit and achievement of goals is something I value but it won’t make me a different or better person. If I started hating the process I would stop. At the end of the day, no one actually cares if I’m an IronMan or not, apart from me… and I’m only really doing it for the tattoo ;0)
Body Comp Stats Weight: 75.1kg (-1.0kg) Body Fat %: 28 (-0.3) Muscle %: 33.8 (+/- 0)
Mon: 12:30pm 6 Hour Hell Session
Kerry (my coach for you new readers) kindly agreed to do this once a month for me and this one came around real quick. I felt a bit like I had gone to war with CrossFit and I although I survived, I got my butt well and truly kicked in the process. Workout 1: 100 Jumps over the Jerk Blocks Every 10 reps = 10 Russian Twist (10kg plate) Every 20 reps = 20 Kettlebell Swing (16kg KB) Every 50 reps = 10 Sumo Deadlift (35kg)
Workout 2 / 3 / 4: Accumulate; 2 min Handstand Hold 10 min Wall Sit 6 min Hollow Hold at top of Dip Bar
Workout 5: 7k Run 5k Assault Bike 3k Ski Erg *all in weight vest
Workout 6: Memorial Workout ‘Gilbert Drake’ Accumulate 6 minutes hanging from the rig 1st drop from rig = 800m Run + 20 Burpee Box Jump Overs 2nd drop from rig = 600m Run + 20 Burpee Box Jump Overs 3rd drop from rig = 400m Run + 20 Burpee Box Jump Overs 4th and every subsequent drop = 200m Run + 20 Burpee Box Jump Overs *Should have only been Burpee Box Jumps but I misread the workout! This one hurt. For one of the first times ever I started to hate burpees. Luckily Toby was on hand to present me with a little written motivation…
Workout 7: The Finale 100 cal Assault Bike 100 cal Ski Erg 100 cal Row Every 2 minutes = 10 meter walking lunge w/ 12.5kg Dumbbell
All done and my lats, delts, glutes and hamstrings felt completely beaten up, exactly what I wanted so once again it was time to thank Kerry for an amazing job and head home to start the clean up process as I appeared to have been cleaning the floor of the gym with my legs….
Tues: Rest Day – funny that!
Wed: 6:45am Indoor Cycle Class + 2 mile Run
Coach cycle. Run with Gary. Standard Weds morning and I was surprised at how well my legs held up. I thought this would be the slowest run ever but I did ok. Again, the constant chat helped 🙂
Thu: 9:30am Indoor Cycle Class
Coached week 9 of my programme which is an homage to my favourite stage of The Tour last year. Stage 15, a mountain stage with awesome climbs and an uphill finish.
Thu: 6:30pm Coach By Colour Indoor Cycle Class
Second attempt at The Tour stage, I enjoyed it just as much the second time round and it may just be my favourite week of the programme this year. The plan was to hit another run after class with Gary but he forgot and I took the easy way out and went home, rather than run on my own.
Fri: 1pm CrossFit Class
Kerry asked me when I arrived how I was feeling and I answered honestly that I felt really good. Skill/Strength focus was all about the Overhead Squat but if I put anything more than a PVC pipe above my head I could really feel it in my lower back (yes, I am still struggling with it nearly 2 months on!) so it was Front Squats for me… 5 sets of 3, building up to a heavy 3 for the day. Given everything I did Monday I didn’t go near my usual heavy but what I did do felt heavy enough and as Kerry says “If it feels heavy, thats because it’s heavy!” The workout was a 10 minute AMRAP of 1 Front Squat, 1 Pull Up (jumping for me), adding another rep of each movement every round. Three rounds in and I realised how tired my lats, triceps and shoulders still were. When I told Kerry this she just laughed and said “I thought that would be the case!” Remember kids, just like your mum, your coach knows everything!
Sat: Planned Rest Day
Sun: Unplanned Rest Day
My alarm went off at 6:30am so I could get up and head to the pool, followed by the cycle studio but I rolled over, turned it off and snuggled back down in bed with my husband and our dog. I decided to give myself one lazy morning and have a day where I’m not getting up, rushing around and then catching up with my husband later in the day. Even on rest days I have to get up for work so we don’t get mornings like this anymore. Did I feel guilty? No Did I completely enjoy sitting in bed drinking tea, reading my book and even (horrific gasp!) eating a few biscuits? You fucking bet I did. So there will be an X over this mornings session. Big deal. It is just one session and as long as this doesn’t become the habit (which I already know won’t happen as a I am too focussed on my goal) there is no harm done. I know how much effort I put in this week and I made the instant decision to put just as much effort into some pure quality time with my family as that was where I have been slacking this week!
*No body stats this week. Storm Dennis kicked in and I couldn’t be fudged to go down to the studio in that just to stand on the scales. I can wait until next week!
Mon: 12:15pm Total Body Conditioning
Back to our regular scheduled programming, meaning Monday = Row, Bike, Ski. 40 secs on, 20 secs off. Hold the same calories every round, which for me was Row – 13, Bike – 11, Ski – 9. Need to get stronger on that Ski Erg!!!
Mon: 1pm Core Training
Starting to step up the amount of core work as I am very aware that I made a slightly tipsy agreement with our CrossFit Box’s Head Coach and I also want to line up on the start line of the IronMan with a 6 pack… not because it will make me a better athlete or more likely to finish but because I want to prove I can dedicate myself to my nutrition and training. I did the 10 minute Eliud Kipchoge routine and then spent 15 minutes running through various exercises such as Sit Ups, Russian Twists and GHD Sit Ups (The Glute Hamstring Developer – not hair straighters)
Tue: 11:30am FTP Test
Straight after coaching Insanity I headed for the beautiful IC7 indoor bike and started my FTP Ramp Test. Note to self, never do an FTP Test in an open gym when you don’t have your headphones. The constant grime playlist drove me to distraction and I actually quit maybe 1 ramp earlier than I should as I couldn’t stand it anymore. I was still very happy with the result and got an increase of 24 watts! If it had been my one shot as a test I would have dug in and carried on but I knew I could have another go soon. I already have some quality time booked with my coach’s Bike Erg next week and that is to do a 20 minute FTP test.
Tue: 3pm David Goggins Guided Home Workout
I felt like doing something extra today and while chatting with my good friend Mr Chris James his plans for a run were foiled so he said he was going to give the Goggins workout a go. I hadn’t yet sampled this particular delight so decided to do the same. He warned me not to preview it and just do it so I did as I was told. My only mistake was doing it in bare feet. My calf muscles did not appreciate that very much and if you give it a go, you will see why. if you want to try it, it’s on YouTube: https://youtu.be/SaiiLzTNVmo
Wed: 6:45am Indoor Cycle Class and 2 mile Run
Coach a cycle class, run with Gary. A good start to every Wednesday! I slightly felt the effects of yesterdays FTP test in the legs but nothing too bad. Too busy chatting on the run to really even think about whether it hurts or not. I guess that means it didn’t?!
Wed: 1pm CrossFit Class
Partner WOD with the husband today. Toby didn’t split us up today (no matter how much I hinted!) so we got to throw down together. It was an awesome workout; 20 Rounds – 30 min time cap You Go I GO – 1 round each at a time 200m Row, 4 25kg Hang Power Clean, 6 Over Bar Burpees. We pushed each other hard and got in just under the time cap. Boom! I always feel lucky that we are able to work out together and push each other. I know some couples that either get too competitive or just too angry with each other but we compliment each other quite well… plus there’s no point being competitive as he is pretty much better at everything than me and I’m ok with that!
Thu: 9:30am Indoor Cycle Class
Week 7 = Unbreakable; A pyramid session of endurance, sprint, race, climb, mountain, climb, race, sprint, endurance. It does not let up 🙂
Thu: 6:30pm Coach By Colour Indoor Cycle Class + RPM class
Coached the Coach By Colour Class then took a participant bike in studio (next to Gary for some motivation) for the second class. Back to back classes just to get a bit more time in the saddle.
Fri: Rest Day
Unplanned rest day. It was one of those days where other things became more important so training went out the window. Some people get really stressed when plans do not run exactly as dictated but I am not one of these people. I don’t get really down and/or angry/stress when injured… if I did, there would have been a whole load of stress last year! I’m currently dealing with a back issue but I am just figuring out how to work around it, although maybe the Hang Power Cleans on Weds weren’t such a good idea.
Sat: Planned Rest Day
Sun: 9:45am Indoor Cycle Class
I was supposed to be out on my bike this morning but Storm Dennis made sure that, for the second week in a row, that didn’t happen. However, yesterday evening I got a request to cover Cycle at Nuffield Chichester and gladly accepted. I introduced them to the Power Pyramid session and from the feedback I got, they LOVED it! I’m glad as so do I. Not quite the milage I should have done but better than nothing.
Body Comp Stats My weigh in is on a Sunday morning at the end of each week and as we were out the door at 6am on Sunday for an Ultra race I didn’t weigh in!
Mon: 12:15pm 6 Hour Hell Session
Last Monday of each month between now and the IronMan is Hell Session Day 🙂 Workout 1: 6 rounds of 30 cal Ski Erg and 15 Double 10kg DB Front Squats. Rest 1:1. Workout 2: Accumulate 5 Minute Wall Sit (total time to achieve = 7:26) Workout 3: Accumulate 10 Minute in Dead/Active Hang off rig (I broke this into 2 sessions doing the last 4 minutes after workout 5). Attacked this Tabata style hanging for 20 secs, dropping for 10 secs and repeating. Workout 4: Build to a heavy set of 5 Deadlifts and then 5 x 5 @ 80% – this one was cut short as my back wasn’t playing. At 45kg I could feel my back pulling despite good technique so not worth pushing through. Workout 5: 8 Rounds of approx 1km run loop and 15 squats… in my weight vest! This one was done in the pouring rain and one of my favourite workouts as I love running in the rain. That doesn’t mean it was easy, I just really liked it.
Workout 6: 3k Assault Bike + 50 Bar Facing Burpee 6k Assault Bike + 40 Bar Facing Burpee 9k Assault Bike + 30 Bar Facing Burpee 12k Assault Bike + 20 Bar Facing Burpee 15k Assault Bike + 10 Bar Facing Burpee Total time = 1:50:35 This workout was the worst thing my coach, Kerry, has ever programmed for me. I told her as much and she looked very pleased with herself. Maybe if I had done it first it would not have been so bad and pretty much after finishing it I was considering when I would do it again to test that theory!
Tue: Rest Day
Wed: 6:45am Indoor Cycle Class + 2 mile run
Same as usual, coach a 45 min cycle class and head out the door for a run. Not much more to say really 🙂
Wed: 1pm Pull Up and Push Up work
Again, with my friend Amy we worked through 5 as slow as possible Negative Pull Ups, a 10 minute Pull Up EMOM of 3 strict banded reps and a 10 minute Push Up EMOM.
Thu: 9:30 Indoor Cycle Class
Week 5 of my programme sees the return of the Power Pyramid, the first indoor cycle session I ever created and 5 years later it still forms an integral part of the periodised programme. It is a brilliant session for increasing both aerobic and anaerobic fitness and improving recovery. Who doesn’t want that.
Thu: 6:30 Coach by Colour Indoor Cycle Class
Power Pyramid take 2… oh my god I nearly died on the final round but the Coach By Colour system is a great motivator, especially when you are up on a platform with the entire class able to see if you turn down, slow down or give up.
Fri: Rest Day
Another extra rest day this week in preparation for the South Coast 50 on Sunday… a 50km+ ultra race.
Sat: Rest Day
Sun: 8am South Coast 50 Race
5 repping the Forza Fitness Squad today 🙂 It was quite simple… start is on the pier in Littlehampton and, via a self directed route with check points/aid stations roughly every 7 miles, run 33 miles back to Portchester Castle. I had a really lovely day on this run. Unfortunately the boy (My husband, Carl) voluntarily withdrew at mile 23 in Emsworth, but still hit his longest run distance to date so went home happy.
As you can probably tell from these training logs I don’t actually do what most would call traditional training runs, partly because I find them quite boring but mainly because of the way I train I don’t feel the need. I don’t care enough about pace and times to give up my other training (or time at home with the boy and the dog) to hit the pavement. I run for enjoyment enjoy. I can comfortably run decent distances and thats enough for me. I get asked quite a lot about why (and how) I rock up to these endurance events without properly training for them and my answer is that I do train for them, just not how most people expect. If I was more competitive, or cared more, or wanted to focus just on running, I could probably become a much better runner but honestly, who cares. I definitely don’t. In a year, a month, or even a years time will it matter how fast I ran this race? No it won’t, What I will remember is having a brilliant day out with my husband and my friend Claire, who, until this race I hadn’t spent any one on one time with and now know much better.. I am very grateful for this and means more to me than a time.
I’ve had more than a few people ask me why I do CrossFit. I’m not sure if they mean in general, or because I’m a coach with my own fitness brand that isn’t CrossFit. But anyway, I thought I would give the question my full attention and explain why CrossFit.
I grew with the Portsmouth Joggers running club as my mum and dad were very active members and as such many a weekend was spent at this race or that event. There was invariably a kids race at many of these and I would participate in every one that I could. I also spent my summers at Squash Camp, did Rhythmic Gymnastics, played tennis and was a very sporty kid. It faded during my late teens and twenties as I discovered gigs, clubs, music festivals and it’s safe to say that although I was healthy during this time I wasn’t “into” fitness, unless it was dancing from 10pm to 6am! I had various gym memberships but it wasn’t an important factor in my life.
I met Carl, my husband in 2008 just after I turned 30 and quickly moved in with him in Havant. One of the first things we did was join a gym together. It was just a local globo gym but we made it a regular thing and ventured to some classes together and enjoyed it. It often solved the question… “what do you want to do?”
I started running again in 2012 after our first trip to the Gambia as I wanted to do some fundraising for a local project out there. I was competing in a 10k/10mile or half marathon race at least once a month and starting to enjoy it but I wasn’t really improving. I then got the dreaded ITB injury and that was me out until 2014.
In 2014 I was reading an article in Runners World about a guy who was stuck at a marathon time and just couldn’t improve. He was asked to do CrossFit for 6 months to see if it could help. In that 6 months he did CrossFit and ran less than half the amount of miles he would normally run while marathon training and bam! new marathon PB was achieved.
After reading this, myself and another running friend of mine rocked up to CrossFit Fareham to see what all the fuss was about. At the time I only managed 2 months as I couldn’t afford to keep it up but I could already see that there was something in it so followed Crossfit main site and adapted my gym workouts to be a little more in line with the CrossFit methodology.
In 2017, after avidly watching the Crossfit Open, Regionals and Games together for 4 years, I managed to finally convince Carl to give it a go with me. I nervously called CrossFit Iron Duke to book our taster session and neither of us have looked back. Yes, we have had to re-evaluate our finances slightly and make a couple of sacrifices but that’s ok because this is a priority for us. People pay more to go to David Lloyd than we do to go to CrossFit and no blinks an eye about that!
The combination of Cardio, Olympic Lifting, Weights and Gymnastics means not even once have I been bored in a Crossfit class, not once in 2 years. We are coached more directly and held to a higher standard than you will find in any regular gym. We can never get away with a less than below parallel squat (unless you have a genuine mobility issue), full overhead lockout with the bar or chest and thighs to floor for both burpees and push ups.
I am fitter, faster and stronger than I have ever been. I smashed over 4 minutes off my parkrun PB in 6 months without actual run training. My mobility and posture are much improved and besides all that, you have no idea how supportive, fun and amazing the CrossFit community is. It isn’t like a normal gym in any way shape or form and until you are part of it you just can’t understand it. Anyone that tells you it is a glorified and over priced circuits class either likely never stepped foot inside a CrossFit Gym.
The other big plus for me is that it is where I go to grow, learn and be held accountable. I have blended the methodology behind CrossFit into my own training and the way I train my clients and trust me, it works. Having a coach help to develop me means I am more able to develop and help my clients.
Lastly, I spend most of time programming workouts, writing training plans and planning classes for other people. The last thing I want to do is do that for myself. Don’t get this confused though… of course I can do it but I don’t want to. All this however, is touching on another future blog post so I will leave this for now!
Body Comp Stats Weight: 75.6kg (-0.4kg) Body Fat %: 29 (+/- 0) Muscle %: 33.4 (+/- 0)
Mon: 12.15pm Total Body Conditioning
10 Rounds of 40 seconds on 20 seconds off; Row, Bike Ski, Rest. That rest minute meant that each 40 seconds of work should be a hard effort. I tried but it got tough!!
Mon: 1pm 10 min Pull Up EMOM + 10 min Push Up EMOM
Same as last week but we (meaning me and my friend Amy, who is doing this extra work with me) have added in some negative phase work before the banded work to try and fast track our Pull Up progress.
Tue: 12pm Pool Swim
Today was a CrossFit day according to my training plan but I decided to go back to the pool and put a bit of extra work in on my swimming. Just a short session focussing on trying to improve my breathing, working specifically on breathing on every 3rd stroke. I’m fine on 2 but if I do 3 stroke alternating sides, after 50 meters my lungs feel like they want to explode. It got a little easier but it needs a lot of work.
Wed: 6:45am Indoor Cycle Class
I do love coaching indoor cycle and no matter how tired or sluggish I feel when I wake up by the time I start this session I am buzzing. Tracking my performance this year I can already see that I definitely don’t perform as well at 6:45am as I do later in the day.
Wed: 7:30am 2 Mile Run
Straight out of the spin studio on to the road for a little run. Training is usually better with someone else and this was no exception. My friend, PT client and fellow Ironman in training (he has already done one though) Gary did my Indoor Cycle class and then kept me company on the run. I do love my friends :0)
Wed: 1pm PT with my Coach, Kerry
Does your Coach make you cry with laughter during your sessions? Mine does! We did some strength work, specifically Strict and Push Press, and between lifts she was telling me a story that had me howling with laughter. Thank goodness, as the lifting was enough to make me cry with frustration… but so far I’ve only cried over a deadlift and I don’t want to add to that list! I know I lost a lot of strength due to “ribgate” but it’s still a little frustrating to realise how much. At least knowing where I am means I can figure out what I want to do about it. Before I signed up for the IronMan I had planned on focussing on the Barbell and improving all of my lifts. I think this will be the first thing I do after… once we get back from our trip to the CrossFit Games.
Thu: 9:30am Indoor Cycle Class
Ohhhh the hamstrings were feeling the workload today. I got asked recently if, as the instructor, I ever turn it down and coast through the class. The honest answer is no I don’t. I ask my class participants to give me 100% so it only seems fair I give them the same. I know that I find it difficult to engage with an indoor cycle class if the coach isn’t in it with me. If I have a reason to take it a bit easy I tell the class beforehand. I coached a 1hr class the day before the London Marathon. I said to the group I was heading straight to London after the class so I would be just having an gentle ride (what I call a “Do as I say, not as I do” class) but I got wrapped up in the class and ended up leaving a sweaty mess as usual.
Thu: 11:45am Pool Swim
It was time to increase the distance with 3 x 400m metre intervals with a 3 minute rest in between. I alternated between 2 and 3 stroke breathing so that I could focus a little more on distance and pace. It still isn’t what I would call smooth or easy but it did feel a little better.
Thu: 6:30pm Coach By Colour Indoor Cycle Class
Oh my god, I struggled towards the end of this one. It’s week 4 of my programme, which means ‘The Scorpion’, an intense, progressive interval session which improves active recovery. Twice in one day was tough. Enough said really!
Thu: 7:30pm 2 mile Zone 2 Run
Rather than doing a double in the spin studio I swapped the second class for another little brick session of cycle and run. This time the Boy (meaning the Husband) kept me company and to be honest, to have 20 minutes of side by side running, just the two of us, was pretty lovely. We train at CrossFit together quite a lot, participate in OCR together quite a lot but hardly ever is it just the two of us. Hopefully there will be a bit more of this.
Fri: Unplanned Rest Day
Today was supposed to be a TBC and CrossFit day but after coaching my three classes at Nuffield Chichester I decided to take the rest of the day off. I tweaked my glute during Insanity at 6:45am and if a client had done that I would be telling them to go home, stretch and look after themselves. So, I listened to my own advice and did just that.
Sat: Pool Swim
My friend and client Anna wanted a bit of company in the pool so she picked me up at 7:15am (!) (Saturday is normally my rest day which means I lie in until about 7:30/8am) for the lane swimming session. Just an easy recovery session for me consisting of 800m all done in breaststroke.
Sun: 8am Bike Ride
The boy was happy to stay in bed with the dog so I was on my own today. God, it is a bit dull on your own! I’m also not overly familiar with cycle routes, roads etc so headed out to see if I could do 30 miles without getting lost. I chose a fairly straightforward (and straight) out and back but after 9 miles my hamstring started to really pull so I turned round earlier than planned and headed home. Slightly annoying but with a 6 hour hell session tomorrow and a 50k ultra run on Sunday it is all about the long game.
Body Comp Stats Weight: 76kg (-2.2kg) Body Fat %: 29 (-+2.6) Muscle %: 33.4 (+0.3)
Mon: 12.15pm Total Body Conditioning
You know the drill as well as I do now… Monday = Row, Bike, Ski. This week we had a little twist, meaning we also did a little bit of running. We worked in 5 minute intervals on each piece of equipment with each interval starting with a 400m run. No rest, so a full on and intense 35 minutes of pure engine work. Safe to say, I loved it!
Mon: 1pm 10 min Pull Up EMOM + 10 min Push Up EMOM
Getting back to working on a couple of basic upper body strength/gymnastic moves. 3 reps every minute on the minute. Pull Ups are banded and strict. Push Ups are full, which means chest and thighs to the floor.
Mon: 5.30pm CrossFit Class
Two technical movements in focus today; the Handstand Push Up and the Pistol Squat. Both things I suck at so it was good to have a bit of time to strip them back and work on some accessory movements that will help me progress. The workout was a 21-15-9 of Handstand Push Up, Box Jump Over and Pistol Squat. My progressions were DB Push Press and supported Pistol Squats.
Tue: 12.30pm Pool Swim
I decided to go back to basics in the pool. I had 400 meters to do so I did 50m every 2 minutes and used each interval to focus on a different thing; breathing, stroke pull, kick etc.
Wed: 6.45am Indoor Cycle Class
Week 2 of my 2020 programme so one last shot at ‘The Threshold’. Found it a little harder early in the morning but still got it done. I put the Coach By Colour on just to keep me honest!
Wed: 7.45pm 1 mile Run
This was meant to be a 5k zone 2 run but by the time I got out of the spin studio I only had 10 minutes left before the car park charges kicked in so I decided to just do a mile as something is better than nothing.
Wed: 12.15pm Total Body Conditioning
I was late to class which meant I had to just jump in as the workout had started. It was a partner workout but I had to throw down solo which meant I lost the rest part of a You Go – I Go. It was also the amazing Pamlaaa’s 40th birthday so she got to write the workout but she shared this honour with those that were there on time. It became an AMRAP; 40 reps of Burpee, Cal Row, Box Step Over, Cal Bike, Plate Cluster, Cal Ski Erg, Slamball and Devil Press.
Wed: 1pm CrossFit Class
A little bit of everything today with a 15 minute AMRAP of 40 Double Under, 30 Sit Up, 20 12.5kg DB Hang Clean & Jerk, 10 Jumping Pull Up. As usual the Pull Ups were the hardest bit so hopefully with some more focus and work these will start to get easier.
Thu: 9:30am Indoor Cycle Class
Because this was the first of my classes to start back in the new year it is always the first to experience the next week in my programme. This week was week 3, Feel the Burn. A conditioning class aimed at building endurance.
Thu: 1pm Pool Swim
800m to get done today. Still lots of rest as my breathing is still very laboured but I actually did a little bit extra and ended up with 850m. I’m really hoping it starts to get easier soon and I can start to put together more distance without needing to stop.
Thu: 6.30pm Coach By Colour Indoor Cycle Class
Second shot at ‘Feel The Burn’. Using the Coach By Colour system I managed to control the session better and get exactly the results I wanted from the session. Boom!
Thu: 7.30pm RPM Indoor Cycle Class
Swapped my instructor bike for a participant bike and once again did a double session to get a bit more time in the saddle.
Fri: 1pm CrossFit Class
I had planned to do the TBC class but swapped to the CrossFit Class as the workout was burpees and skipping, yum! As a class we also got to choose the gymnastic skill we wanted to focus on for the skill part of the session and between us we asked for Pull Ups and Handstands. Head Coach Toby took us through some really useful accessory drills we can do in our own time to help us improve both of these things. The workout was a short and sharp 7 min AMRAP of 2 Burpee, 30 Single Under, 4 Burpee, 30 Single Under, 6 Burpee etc etc etc. It was as spicy as expected but I really liked it.
Sat: 8am CrossFit Iron Duke Charity Row for Rowans
Once again our amazing CrossFit community, led by Team Cooley, came together to try and do a little bit of good and give something back. This was our third charity event and this time it was the ‘Row for Rowans’, the 2 million meter challenge. 20 teams of 4 rowing 100k each. Our team comprised of me, the Boy (my husband Carl for those that aren’t familiar with my blog yet) and two more of the lunchtime crew Claire and Olly. We split the 100k into 1k intervals and smashed the 25k each in just under 7 hours. We started at 8am and the last team to hit the finish line did so roughly 8 hours later. It was a long but brilliant day and currently, at the time of writing this post, our fundraising efforts are just shy of £8k for the amazing Rowans Hospice. I am so proud to be a part of this crazy, caring crew!
Body Comp Stats Weight: 78.2 kg (+0.9kg) Body Fat %: 26.4 (- 4.1) Muscle %: 33.1 (+2.5) * Take a moment to digest these figures. I am constantly talking to my clients about the fact that the scales won’t always accurately represent your journey, especially if you are training hard and fuelling efficiently. If I just went by the number on the scale I would probably be feeling a little deflated. Luckily, I learnt along time ago that number only tells me about gravity’s effect on my body and nothing more. I always do my measurement and take progress photos and alongside losing fat and gaining muscle I also dropped a total of 2.5 inches. Other things to consider are the fact that I am sleeping well (apart from one rubbish night) and have more than enough energy to complete all my planned training sessions and can give my clients and class members 100% of my energy, just as they deserve.
Mon: 12.15pm Total Body Conditioning(Recovery Style)
Recovery TBC means I do a round (it was Monday so Row, Bike, Ski, obvs!) and then skip a round and use the time to hold various stretches and poses. Toby, our head coach, used this during The Open, and I have adopted it as a good recovery session after a hard effort like, say, a marathon.
Tue: Unplanned Rest Day
On the way home from coaching Insanity in the morning I blew a tyre so by the time I had got that sorted out (huge thanks to the Boy for coming to my rescue and helping me put the spare on… I did learn how to do it but not having had to do it ever I had no idea what to do).
Wed: 6.45am Indoor Cycle Class
First early morning class of the New Year so that meant treating my class members to Week 1 of my new 2020 programme. To keep myself honest I use the Coach by Colour system even though this isn’t officially a Power Training class. It’s useful as then I can compare my performance on the same equipment and same programme at different times of the day as my Thur 6:30pm class is in the same studio.
Wed: 7.40am 2 mile Zone 2 run
This was meant to be a 5k but I went out straight after coaching my indoor cycle class and the car park started charging at 8am so I had to get out and back in 20 minutes. The point of the run was a Zone 2 and it went surprisingly well. I held a 10 min pace and honestly, I was pleased as I thought I would struggle to hold any kind of run pace given that I’d just done the cycle class. Legs felt fine, lungs felt fine. All good 🙂
Wed: 1pm PT with Kerry (my Coach)
Today was all about the Paused Front Squat. Lots of glute firing work first. This means putting a band around first my quads and then my ankles and walking/waddling up and down the gym. Bless Kerry for walking with me so we could continue our conversation. I say walking, at one point we were more dancing than walking as the music seemed to demand it. Cue finger snapping and everything! The Paused Front Squat is exactly what it sounds like, do a front squat and pause in the bottom position for 2-3 seconds before standing up. Things went well, I got to ring the PB bell. I don’t like ringing the PB bell but Kerry was pretty insistent and the gym was practically empty. I also got to practise bailing out of front and back squats which isn’t something I’ve ever had practice with. I think this likely helped with the PB!
Thu: 9.30am Indoor Cycle Class
This is the class that uses MyZone but since acquiring a Garmin chest strap to pair to my watch, I’m no longer using MyZone as I want all of my data and stats to be in the same place. Regardless having MyZone definitely increases the motivation and effort from the class members and it showed today for sure.
Thu: 12.30pm Pool Swim
Yay me! I finally, finally, actually got in the pool and do a swimming thing. I haven’t really swum since 2014 and for some reason I thought I would just jump back in and it would be as easy as it was then. Now, really, I know that isn’t how it works but hey. My training plan said 2 x 400m with a 3 minute rest. It was originally 1 x 400m but when doing the double check before finalising it, I decided that would likely be too easy so I doubled it! More fool me, I did the first 250m and then decided that I would be better doing it in 100m intervals and using each block to focus on a different aspect; breathing, stroke pull, kick etc) I got very out of breath and my heart rate was quite high but it still felt like a victory as I had done my first swim session.
Thu: 6.30pm Coach By Colour Indoor Cycle Class
Week 2 of my 2020 programme and I unleashed ‘The Threshold’. Naming my sessions is one of my things. I don’t really know why, I’ve done it ever since becoming a power trainer and writing periodised programmes. I think it helps give the sessions meaning and fit the programme together. Plus, people remember it and it sets me apart from other trainers. The Threshold is, obviously, a threshold session, working in the saddle at 100% FTP for varying lengths of time and cadences. The slower the RPM the longer the interval and rest breaks between intervals got shorter and shorter. It was unilaterally described as tough… job done!
Thu: 7.30pm RPM Indoor Cycle Class
This one was as a participant, not a Coach. To help build my overall stamina and endurance I will be staying after my class to take part in the next one on any week that isn’t a recovery week. It just happens to be an RPM class. I am not particularly a fan of Les Mills RPM as I find doing the same programme week after week a little dull but at the end of the day it is another 45 minutes in the saddle and I stick the Coach By Colour on to help keep my efforts honest and consistent.
Fri: 12.15pm Total Body Conditioning
3 ten minute workouts as is becoming the norm for the Friday Class, separated by 2 minutes rest. 1; 10 min amrap of 200m Run, 10 Walking Lunges, 10 24″ Box Step Ups. 2; 10 min EMOM. Odd = 50 sec Assault Bike. Even = recovery paced Down Ups (chest to floor burpees without a jump) 3; 1 min on, 1 min off Max Effort Ski Erg
Fri: 1pm CrossFit Class
It’s been Back to Basics week at our CrossFit box which means stripping back the fundamental and basic movements and just having a week to refocus, relearn and tidy up technique. Today was the turn of the Overhead Squat, Pull Up and Push Up. All the work I have been putting in on my mobility showed during the Overhead Squat portion of the class so that was nice.
Sat: Rest Day
Sun: 10am 20 mile Bike Ride
Yay me.. again. I actually got on my actual bike and cycled outside. I think the last time I used my beautiful Bianchi bike was probably 2017. I aways enjoy being on my bike but I lack confidence. The boy came and kept me company and some might say we have issues as we decided to test ways to cycle to CrossFit, and yes, it is closed on Sundays! This is because I want to cycle to CF occasionally but the roads are quite busy and in some places not where I would feel safe on a bike so we tested different routes. I have lost some basic skills, like being able to look over my shoulder without pulling the bike to the centre of the road but all that will come back with practise. Two big wins this week… I got in the pool and I got on my bike. Whoop Whoop.
Body Comp Stats Yes, Christmas did have a negative effect on the fat and muscle. Weight didn’t change though, once again proving you shouldn’t pay too much attention to the scales. Weight: 77.3kg Fat%: 30.5% Muscle: 30.6%
This week brings the start of my fully planned training plan. I have mapped out every single day from now until the IronMan. Plus, I have started a new fully coached programme with We Dominate Nutrition so it really is a case of ‘bring it on!’
Mon: 12.15pm Total Body Conditioning
The usual Monday routine of Row, Bike, Ski as a 36 minute EMOM. Simples. Well, simples apart from the fact that rowing started to really pull on my back. Since that first back spasm a few weeks ago things haven’t been quite right so I’m having to adapt certain movements and it now seems rowing might also be on that list
Mon: 1pm CrossFit Class
5 Rounds of 1 min Max Effort (ME) Assault Bike for calories, 1 min ME Pull Ups (Jumping), 1 min Single Under Skips, 1 min Box Step Overs, 1 min Rest.
This workout was meant to include Rowing but I swapped to the bike to avoid any further back pain. It was also meant to be double unders and box jump overs but I’m being super careful and sensible. Yay me!
Tue: Rest Day
Today wasn’t originally planned as a rest day, even being New Years Eve. The gym’s tradition is to do the hero workout Bert, which I quite like in a weird way. Unfortunately the Boy and I found ourselves in Trowbridge attending the funeral of my uncle. Despite the sad occasion it did bring my family together and I got to spend the end of the year with some lovely people I haven’t seen in far too long.
Wed: Rest Day
Planned rest day. I had spoken to Kerry (my coach for those that are new to my blog) about doing Bert today at home but to be honest, after yesterday I just wanted a quiet day with the boy and Cracker Dog so thats what I did.
Thu: 9:30am Indoor Cycle Class
Man, it was so good to be back in front of a class, coaching a class. I launched my 2020 programme and week 1 is simply called ‘The Beginning’. Nothing complicated, just a tough non stop rotation of 1 climbing track and 1 speed track.
Thu: 1pm CrossFit Class
One of the Girls today; Helen. 3 Rounds for time of 400m Run, 21 American Kettlebell Swing (kept it lighter than usual at 12kg to protect my back), 12 Jumping Pull Ups. Workout went well but the pull ups were definitely the worst bit. Ended the session with a 10 min EMOM of 30 sec Hollow Hold and 30 sec Arch Hold.
Thu: 6.30pm Coach by Colour Indoor Cycle Class
Another go at the week 1 programme, this time with the Coach By Colour technology. Using power and proper metrics makes such a difference. The calorie burn between this and the morning class was similar but the training effect using Power was soooo much better. Power training really works people, use it!
Fri: 12.15pm Total Body Conditioning
A 3 parter today, with 2 minutes rest between each workout: 1) 10 min AMRAP of 200m run, 5 DB Box Step Up, 5 Single Arm Devil Press… well it was meant to be 5 but I told Toby I was going to do 6 as my brain can’t deal with odd numbers and uneven work so he made it 10… Sorry to the rest of the class! 2) 10 min EMOM 40 seconds on, 20 seconds off; Row and Slamball 3) 10 min EMOM 40 seconds on, 20 seconds off; Ski Erg and Squat Hard work but enjoyable 🙂
Sat: Rest Day
This was one planned, ready for the run tomorrow.
Sun: 9.30am Resolution Run, by On The Whistle.
First race of the year and I made a promise to myself not to come home with anything less than a marathon. This was a 6 hour event comprising of 4.4 mile laps, well I say laps but it was actually dull as dishwater out and back along the same piece of coastal path. You needed 6 laps to hit marathon distant and this one was a true test of my mental grit. Plus, I should probably stop rocking up to events trying to run a marathon without doing any type of training run. I was seriously contemplating stopping after lap 3 but, being a follower of David Goggins, I sorted myself out and pushed on for the last 3. It was possible one of the least enjoyable runs I have ever done. Not that that is a reflection on the organisers, it was another well organised and well supported event. Total distance 26.4 miles..Done.
* I am not including the classes I coach in this training log (apart from my indoor cycle classes) but for reference I also coach 2 Insanity, 2 Boxercise, 1 LBT, 1 Core Strength and 1 Tabata class a week between Tuesday and Friday.
This week saw the return of the 6 hour Hell Session. I knew that doing this only 8 days after my marathon plus meant that the rest of the week might be a little bit light, and probably wasn’t the best planning but as my favourite, David Goggins, says you have to get after it, don’t procrastinate. Do the hard stuff and learn shit along the way. So, no excuses made.. let’s do this!
I had actually planned to train today but the admin was stacking up so I decided to put that first and give my body a rest at the same time.
Wed: 6:45am Indoor Cycle
Week 8 this week and that brings us Jacob’s Ladder. A mirror pyramid session that includes speed endurance, intervals, sprints, climbing and a mountain in the middle. A beautifully crafted beast of a session if I say so myself 🙂
Thu: 9:30am Indoor Cycle (with MyZone)
Another crack at Jacob’s Ladder, using the MyZone heart rate monitoring to ensure my output is where it should be. I prefer to use power but HR is a good replacment when it’s not available.
Thu: 6:30pm Coach By Colour Indoor Cycle
Being a week behind my other classes, due to the FTP test week, this was Speed Week. Managed a better overall output than last week, although last week Speed Week was done in the two morning classes. One of the things I really want to track next year is the difference in my performance at the different times of day and thanks to Coach by Colour and MyZone I will be able to do this quite accurately.
Fri: 12:30pm Week 3 Row Prep
As you probably know by now, on 18th January 2020 CrossFit Iron Duke are hosting their second charity row event. This time it’s The 2 Million Meter Row… teams of 4 people per rower, each team has to row 100,000 split into 25k per person. This weeks prep was 5 x 1000m, still with 3 minutes rest. I’d arranged to meet India so that we weren’t alone. There wasn’t a huge amount of chat happening during the intervals, even though the effort level was at a level where you can hold a conversation, but it did help having someone next to me, keeping me honest.
Return of the 6 Hour Hell Session: Choose your Own Adventure
In 2018 I did 4 of these sessions. They came about because I was training for a 36 hour SAS style event where you had no idea what you would be asked to do. I had worked as staff for the event the previous year so I could get some first hand experience and understand a little more about what it might be like. I was talking to Kerry about it during one of our PT sessions and I commented it that it would be really good training to somehow do some longer sessions. About 15 minutes later we had a plan for a 6 hour session where she would plan various workouts for me and I would just turn up and do whatever she gave me. Given the work she was putting in planning this for me the deal was that I could never say no or alter them. The workouts would be as directed. I’m not sure when they became known as Hell Sessions but the descriptions fits. Unfortunately the event I was training for was cancelled so there was no need to do anymore…. until now. As I’m now training for an IronMan I asked Kerry if we could bring it back, with a pure focus on endurance (as the SAS focussed sessions had some stress stuff included, both mental and physical) and because she is awesome, and I think she loves the challenge and seeing how far she can push me, she immediately said yes. We set a date and that was that.
I arrived at the gym at 12:30 as planned and as soon as I walked in she had a huge grin on her face. I love that she enjoys this and it comes across in her planning and attention to detail. We went to the office to go through the plan and she handed me two beautifully written sheets of A4 paper, written in pink pen for extra effect as she knows I love pink (not much!)
The two sheets contained 6 workouts. It was a choose your own adventure day so I could do the workouts in any order. Here is how the 6 hours played out:
*Just FYI I haven’t included my scores as honestly why do you care? The one thing I hate about marathon running is that the only thing people generally ask is “what was your time?”. This is why Tough Mudder holds so much appeal to me as it’s all about the personal challenge, teamwork and camaraderie and not about your time.
Workout 1: 100 Rep Challenge – For Time 100 Burpee Box Jump Overs (over the Jerk Blocks)
I chose to do this one first as I figured doing it later in the day would be awful. I also (wrongly) thought that this was the only burpee workout and I figured get the burpees out of the way. I didn’t go all out as you know, first workout so I broke it down in to ten sets of ten with a 10 to 30 second break between sets. I’m always trying to figure out how to move more efficiently and managed to find a rhythm and technique over the blocks that minimised the amount of work I had to do.
Workout 2: Row, Jump, Swing – For Time 1000m row, 10 x 24” Box Jump, 10 x 24kg Kettlebell Swing 750m row, 20 x 24” Box Jump, 20 x 20kg Kettlebell Swing 500m row, 30 x 24” Box Jump, 30 x 16kg Kettlebell Swing 500m row, 30 x 24” Box Jump, 30 x 16kg Kettlebell Swing 750m row, 20 x 24” Box Jump, 20 x 20kg Kettlebell Swing 1000m row, 10 x 24” Box Jump, 10 x 24kg Kettlebell Swing
More jumping so I decided again to do this one early on while the legs were still fresh. I paced the row, focussing on consistency with both pace and stroke rate. The box was higher than I’m used to using in a workout as female box height is generally 20”. I liked this element of the challenge and appreciated the fact that I got to use the soft box in case of mishap.
Workout 3: Weighted Run – For Time 5k Run in 7kg weight vest
Simple. Put the vest on, head out the door and come back 5k later. This outdoor workout was always going to take place at 2pm as Kerry and Toby wanted to get out of the the gym for a change of scenery, to get warm and a coffee 🙂
I haven’t ever run more than 1 mile on my vest so this was one I was really looking forward. I had no idea how the vest would affect my pacing on a longer run but it felt comfortable and my Zone 2 training must be paying off. I was about 2 minutes slower than usual on an easy 5k and I spent 95% of that time in Zone 2. I managed to get back before Kerry and Toby meaning the gym was still shut but once again they showed why they are the best coaches as my water bottle was waiting for me on the doorstep.
Workout 4: Push, Pull, Ride – For Meters For one hour 60kg Prowler Push / Pull (10 meters each way) Every 50 meters complete: 25 cals on Assault Bike and 30 sec 70kg Hex Bar Hold
I kinda wanted to do this one with tired legs to help work on my endurance, especially as it involves the bike. This may be a controversial statement but I actually love the Assault Bike. I was most concerned about the Hex Bar Hold but this only became really taxing in the last two rounds which was a pleasant surprise. The pull of the prowler is so much easier than the push and the minute I get distracted with the thoughts I lose count, even though I only need to count 5 lengths at a time! This workout become quite monotonous but that was the point right. As Kerry said after “you’re going to be sat on a bike for hours… you need to learn to deal with it” and she’s right. The music during this workout was a pop punk playlist which I really dislike but I embraced this as well as it helped toughen the mind.
Workout 5: 500 Rep Challenge – For Time 100 x Wall Ball (10lb ball) 100 x 10kg Dumbbell Snatch 100 x 35kg Sumo Deadlift 100 x Jumping Pull Up 100 x Shuttle Run (Burpee) *Split reps as you wish.
I’d left this workout til late as I liked the look of it and didn’t expect it to be too bad. I was wrong! This workout stole a little piece of my soul. I’d not noticed the burpee next to shuttle run for one but that wasn’t actually that bad. I’d been feeling really positive before this workout, pleased with how things had been going and how my endurance seems to be improving. Kerry’s advice was to split the reps into 10 rounds of 10 so that is exactly what I did. I started the first two rounds with a 12.5kg dumbbell for the snatch but switched down to 10kg as it was not going up well. The 5 movements together were just hell (so at least on brand for the session I guess!) and every minute of it sucked. It took longer than it should have done as there was much rest… especially during the jumping pull ups, which ended up in sets of 3!
Workout 6: 40 Min EMOM Min 1: 15 Cal Ski Erg Min 2: 50kg D Ball 10 meter carry Min 3: 10 x Hanging Leg Raise (from Rings) Min 4: 10 x 10kg Russian Twist Min 5: Rest
I’d saved this until last as it looked relatively simple and I figured the EMOM format would keep me on point if I started to feel like I wanted to slow down. The 15 cals on the Ski Erg were averaging 45 seconds so I knew I couldn’t relax there but luckily it came after the rest so this was manageable. The 50kg D Ball got switched to 30kg for the last two rounds as my back was pulling slightly when trying to pick it up. To make up for the change it weight we increased the distance. My grip was properly tested in the Leg Raises and again, these got split after the first two rounds. But, 8 rounds later and it was all done.
A huge thank you to Kerry for all her planning and general evil genius, and Team Cooley (Kerry and Toby) for allowing me to use their space for my training, especially while classes were going on.
* I am not including the classes I coach in this training log (apart from my indoor cycle classes) but for reference I also coach 2 Insanity, 2 Boxercise, 1 LBT, 1 Core Strength and 1 Tabata class a week between Tuesday and Friday.
This week was a planned light week post marathon on Sunday and pre 6 Hour Hell Session next Monday. After the big run I was pleased to find I felt pretty ok. My glutes felt tight, my calves felt tight but nothing terrible and nothing that would stop me training this week. I have booked a physio appt for Monday 9th Dec so that anything still lingering from the two big days can be sorted before becoming an issue.
Mon: 12:15 Total Body Conditioning
You know the drill as well as I do by now. Monday = Row, Bike, Ski and today is was just that 30 sec on, 30 sec off for 36 minutes. Nothing fast, nothing frantic. A classic “just moving” day to flush the legs after the 28.2 miles yesterday. I spent about 30 minutes after the session stretching, rolling and running a few mobility drills and walked away feeling great.
Tue: Rest Day
I would never normally rest on a Tuesday but I coached Insanity and decided that that was enough for today. Its called a light week for a reason after all 🙂
Wed: 6:45am Indoor Cycle Class
Week 7 in my programme brings my least favourite week… Speed Week. Give me hill climbs any day. But, I know that a lot (read most) of my participants feel this way too which is why I designed a specialist week devoted to improving our speed work.
Wed: 1pm PT with my Coach
After missing two weeks due to the back spasm it was good to get back to some one on one time with Kerry. We started with Deadlifts and there were nerly tears and tantrums, until Kerry reminded me we were using the Hex Bar, which weighs 30kg on it’s own so I was lifting more than I thought! After deadlifts I got to play with some sled drags and the GHD Sit Up machine. My fear of falling still kicks in on the GHD but hopefully with more practice and regular use this will disappear. It makes no sense to me that I can drop backwards out of an elevated tunnel at Tough Mudder and this is one of my favourite obstacles and yet I cannot let myself drop backwards of the GHD, when I know I can’t fall off. This fear of falling is ridiculous and if I could have one superpower I would just wish to rid of it as it holds me back in so many ways!
Thu: 9:30am Indoor Cycle Class (with MyZone)
Another crack at speed week but it’s much harder to gauge in this class as the bikes don’t have RPM meters or levels, just the turning dial. Luckily the MyZone shows your HR and effort on the big screen so there is some accountability but it’s not the same as being able to see your pace etc.
Thu: 6:30pmCoach By Colour Indoor Cycle Class
From my least favourite week to my most as, being a week behind my other 2 classes, it’s climbing week. There’s nowhere to hide when the colour is on and I love how committed and motivated the guys in this class are.
Thu: 7:30pm RPM Cycle Class (as a participant, not a coach)
I’d made a deal with my friend, PT Client and fellow IronMan hopeful Rich to do the double tonight so as soon as I was done with coaching my class as I was off the instructor bike and set myself up on the floor next to Rich. It was good fun being back on the floor and in a class, especially being next to someone hat constantly pushes me that little bit more. 3 cycle classes in one day.. done 🙂
Fri: 12:15pm Total Body Conditioning
Three 10 minute workouts, separated by 2 minutes of rest. 1: 10 min Assault Bike; every 2 minutes complete 20 Jump Lunges…. hello quads! 2: 10 min EMOM 40 secs on, 20 secs off; Med Ball Box Step Up and Down Ups (chest to floor burpees without a jump!) 3: 10 min EOMOM; Max Effort Ski Erg for Calories.
Fri: 1pm Week 2 Row Programme
As mentioned last week on 18th January 2020 CrossFit Iron Duke are hosting their second charity row event. This time it’s The 2 Million Meter Row… teams of 4 people per rower, each team has to row 100,000 split into 25k per person. This weeks prep programming was 4 x 1000m, with 3 minutes rest. Luckily I wasn’t on my own this week as India and Raquel who were with me in the Conditioning class also needed to do it so we set up together for a bit of camaraderie. I was a bit faster than last week (although I couldn’t have been much slower to be fair) and still very consistent. Good times!
Sat and Sun: Rest Day
Yes, it’s a lot of rest this week but again, a light week is meant to be light. I was going to train with the girls on Sunday but decided to be smart and give myself a little more of a break before the return of the 6 hour Hell Session tomorrow!
* I am not including the classes I coach in this training log (apart from my indoor cycle classes) but for reference I also coach 2 Insanity, 2 Boxercise, 1 LBT, 1 Core Strength and 1 Tabata class a week between Tuesday and Friday.
After the back spasm last Wednesday this week was all about protecting myself ready for my run race on Sunday. It was already planned as a de-load week so with the back issue as well things were pretty quiet.
Mon: 12:15pm Total Body Conditioning
As always. Mon is Row, Bike, Ski. The twist this week was that it was to be sprint efforts. 36 minutes of work, 4 minutes spent on each machine at a time varying the sprint time. This is a session I will revisit as it was a little bit wasted on me this week given that I couldn’t give it my all.
Mon: 6:30pm Physio with Louise
First session with the wonderful Louise. Bless her for being available at short notice. I’d gotten into the habit of having semi regular appointments with my sports therapist but for one reason or another I got out of the habit. This last week has taught me that this is something I cannot overlook. One hour of pretty intense therapy on my back, glutes and hamstrings and my mind is finally at ease knowing that there is nothing serious wrong. The diagnosis; extremely tight hamstrings and glutes so even more stretching required. I’m not sure how much more I can do but OK!
Tue: Rest Day
I wouldn’t normally rest on the Tuesday of a race week but given I only had physio last night and coached Insanity in the morning rest was the only sensible option.
Wed: 12:15pm Total Body Conditioning
After a chat with Kerry, forever looking out for me and putting out the sensible suggestions it was agreed I would forego PT this week, so as not to risk anything post physio and pre race, and just come in for some modified conditioning. I started with a 10 min consistent Row and then moved between intervals on the Assault Bike and various mobility stretches.
Wed: 6:45am Indoor Cycle Class
Week 7 of the programme and it’s Climbing week. Exactly as it sounds, 40 minutes of a variety of hills, presented in different ways. One of my favourite weeks as I am all about the climbing and not as strong with the speed stuff.
Wed: 1:15pm Week 1 Row Programme
On 18th January 2020 CrossFit Iron Duke are hosting their second charity row event. This time it’s The 2 Million Meter Row… teams of 4 people per rower, each team has to row 100,000 split into 25k per person. How we split the meters is up to us as long as each person does their bit. To support us in the build up to the event the coaches are releasing a weekly programme. Week 1 is 3 x 1000m, with 3 minutes rest. The goal is to be consistent with both pace and stroke rate. I took this really easy but my consistency was on point 🙂
Thu: 9:30am Indoor Cycle Class (with MyZone)
Second time for Climbing Week. Having the MyZone screen in the studio definitely helps with the effort levels. A lot of the guys in my class embraced it and bought the MyZone heart rate monitor. The screen shows everyones Heart Rate, Calories and Effort levels… I have some quite competitive people in my class, it makes it interesting for sure. What didn’t help was dropping a 20kg plate on my left foot during a session with my first PT client of the day. It landed directly on my big toe and the pain was pretty intense. I didn’t really want to know how bad it was so just got on with my day without removing my socks or shoes.
Thu: 6:30pm Coach By Colour Indoor Cycle Class
Week 5 for my evening lot which means the Power Pyramid. I talked about this in last weeks log so will not repeat myself. I did finally take my sock off for the first time after the class and it wasn’t tooooo bad. The nail was split and the right half was pretty black. I cut the nail down as low as possible but I got next to no sleep due to the pain!
Fri: Rest Day
I had planned to hit a Conditioning Class today but my morning ran away with me and food became a priority so I skipped class in favour of lunch. Given I had plans to run a Marathon, or possibly an Ultra on Sunday I wasn’t at all concerned about taking an extra rest day. Especially as my Friday morning is spent at Nuffield Chichester coaching Insanity, LBT and Tabata pretty much back to back!
Sat: Rest Day
Sun: Festive Frolic Run, by On The Whistle
I won’t go into massive detail about the race here as I will write a separate race report blog but I will say I achieved my goal of a marathon plus, (6 laps equalled roughly 28 miles).
* I am not including the classes I coach in this training log (apart from my indoor cycle classes) but for reference I also coach2 Insanity, 2 Boxercise, 1 LBT and 1 Tabata class a week between Tuesday and Friday.
This week things got back on track. The smallest hints of my cold were still lingering but overall I was feeling pretty damn good. I didn’t have any specific goals for this week, apart from 6 days on, one day off and that wasn’t ever really in doubt.
Mon: 12:15pm Total Body Conditioning
Usual Monday of Row, Bike, Ski. This week, for 39 minutes. 40 seconds on, 20 seconds off. Actually not as bad as it first sounded.
Mon: 1pm Brick Session
I sacked off the CrossFit class today as I really felt I ought to do some running. I decided to haul an Assault Bike to the entrance of the gym for a brick session and set the clock for 30 minutes. Another simple workout; 20 cals on the bike, 100m run, 20 cals, 200m run, 20 cals, 400m run and repeat. I got 2 rounds plus a bit extra in my self inflicted time cap.
Tue: 1pm CrossFit Class
November is the month of remembrance and at CrossFit Iron Duke we pay our respects by completing one Hero WoD a week, every week. We started this week with ‘The Chief’; 5 x 3 min AMRAPS, with one min rest in between, of 3 Power Clean, 6 Push Up, 9 Air Squat. I’m pretty good at pacing the longer workouts but I was definitely grateful for the push from Coach Harry before the start of the last round to get the extra reps and not just coast home. I’m leaving the coasting to my Coach, who does it so well, right Kerry? ;0)
Wed: 6:45am Indoor Cycle Class
Quite a few people have asked why I don’t include the classes I coach in my Training Log as surely they are adding to my training. As a Class Instructor I am a Coach and not ‘Paid to Train’ which is how some instructors view it. If I am training I am not coaching. I can’t be. There is no way I could do a class such as Insanity as well as watch everyone else, consistently check form, cue movement patterns, correct common errors, motivate effectively etc and if I’m not doing all of that then I am not there for the full benefit of my participants. The only class where I am actually capable of being an effective coach while still engaging 100% with the content is in the cycle studio. I will occasionally get of my bike if I feel it is needed but overall most members want to see you up there, sweating, struggling and suffering with them. I know this because I get told this a lot! So I am now including the Cycle classes as I do on the training log.
Wed: 1pm PT Session with my Coach
Today was about overcoming a bit of a fear, although I didn’t know this was the plan. I’m not too bad at box jumps and can jump on to a 30 inch soft box. However, turn a wooden box from 20″ to 24″ and I just can’t do it… or rather I couldn’t do it. Kerry had me move from wooden to soft box at increasing heights and lo and behold I can now add 24 inch box jumps to the ‘can do” list 🙂 Kicking up into a handstand though remained firmly on the ‘nope’ list with no real improvement made. Oh well, luckily I don’t need the skill of kicking up into a handstand to complete my Iron Man whereas explosive box jumps have some actual carry over.
As I coach Indoor Cycle more as a Power Trainer, and put my Thursday pm lot through regular FTP testing, I run my Cycle classes on a 12 week periodised training plan. All of my classes follow the same programme whether we are using HR monitoring, Coach by Colour Power Training or just a regular indoor bike. The idea is that after every 12 week cycle your levels or FTP should go up so that every time you restart the programme the easier beginning weeks should still feel challenging and we can still push for the desired adaptations.
Thu: 1pm CrossFit Class
Partner Workout with the Hubby today. We don’t actually train together often at all so this was quite fun. If we are in the box together during a busy class we try and work with other people. Head Coach Toby used to split us up when we first joined to ensure we got to know other people and the habit has stuck. The workout was a 40 min AMRAP where one person rests while the other works. The work consisted of 100 single under skips, a 200m run and a 300m row and as Carl is faster than me (on the running and the rowing… not the skipping, I kick his ass at skipping!) I got a little less rest than him but we both gave everything we had and did a pretty good job.
Thu: 2:15pm 10 Min Pull Up / Push Up EMOM
My weekly upper body strength piece to get back the lost strength thanks to “the rib” and to hopefully surpass my previous best. 10 minutes of Pull Ups, followed by 10 minutes of Push Ups, done as a 3 rep EMOM (every minute on the minute).
Thu: 6:30pm Coach by Colour Indoor Cycle
Coach By Colour is specific Power Training technology, created and run on ICG bikes and by far my favourite way to run a cycle class. It is robust, there is no time lag like there is with Heart rate Training and you cannot hide, either from yourself or me as your power zone is literally beaming out of the front of your bike. If you are serious about improving your bike, or overall, fitness then Power Training is definitely the way to go.
Fri: 12:15pm Total Body Conditioning
Three 10 minute workouts; Firstly 10 mins (1 on, 1 off) on the Assault Bike. Second, a 10 min EMOM (40 secs on, 20 off) of Dumbbell Thrusters and Dumbbell Swings and finally a 10 min AMRAP of 10 Calories on the Ski Erg, 8 Burpees to a Plate and 6 Plate Ground to Overhead. Nothing complicated and I actually felt better after the workout than before.
Fri: 2:30pm Zone 2 10k Run
I pushed the distance on my Zone 2 Training from 5k to 10k and it was nearly doubly frustrating. As usual, the first couple of miles were straightforward. Running at a comfortable and easy pace, HR where I want it to be and everything going all good. The next 4 miles though…same old song and dance. Try and hold a decent ( and by that I do not mean fast, just decent) run pace and the HR shoots into Zone 3, and then sometimes Zone 4. Walk to bring it down, push into a run and it shoots straight back up. I perservered though. I did the whole long (!) thing in Zone 2 as much as possible without intentionally pushing up. A couple of the guys in my Accountability group are joining me on the Zone 2 training thing and I think we are all finding the same thing, which is that it is a slow but worthwhile process.
Sat: Rest Day
Sun: 9:30am, Sunday Funday with the Forza Fitness Squad
6 of us turned up to play and so we all contributed to the plan. I chose to revisit the 5 min bike test, Suzanne wanted more Core work (she always wants more Core work!), Angela wanted to incorporate the Kettlebell and then we put some boxing around all of that and away we went. One hour later we are all very happy, sweaty and ready for cups of tea!
* I am not including the classes I coach in this training log but for reference I coach 3 indoor cycle, 2 Insanity, 2 Boxercise, 1 LBT and 1 Tabata class a week between Tuesday and Friday.
This week has not been a great week. I woke up with a cold on Thursday and this negatively affected the second half of my week. My diary was a bit all over the place anyway due to it being half term and I’d planned to do all my running from Thursday onwards when time would allow. This means that no running took place but I decided it was better to submit to the cold rather than push through and possibly make thing worse. I will admit I am probably a little more worried about illness since becoming so ill with a cross contamination of viruses in January that I was put on bed rest, suffered post viral fatigue and warned about Chronic Fatigue. That shit knocked me out for weeks and I do not want that to happen again. So, anyway not a massively effective week but some stuff got done.
Mon: 4pm Total Body Conditioning
Due to my weird timetable this week I couldn’t hit my usual lunchtime training so I met my husband at the box during Open Gym and we worked our way through the TBC class programme. As usual it was Row, Bike, Ski and this time in increasing intervals of 1 min, 2 min, 3 min, 4 min, all with 1 min rest in between.
I followed this with a 10 minute Push Up EMOM.
Tue: 1pm Crossfit Class
We were encouraged to go heavier with our kettlebell today which created a long internal (and external, with one of my favourite training partners, Claire) debate, as we were also told that ideally we should be doing the sets unbroken. The workout was a 50, 40, 30, 20, 10 of Russian Kettlebell Swings, Double Unders, Sit Ups with each round being followed by a 200m run. Thats a lot of swings, and a big set to do unbroken as the start. Claire decided to go for it with the weight so I followed suit. I did not manage to go unbroken on the first 2 sets! Maybe it wasn’t the most sensible choice as I haven’t done KBS since “the rib incident” but I had a “fuck it” moment and decided that if I didn’t try, I wouldn’t know so lets see what happens. Overall, the workout went well but then double unders and sit ups are two of the things I can do well. There are not many other things on this list!
Tue: 2:15pm Another Harry Reynold’s Workout
It got the end of the class and someone asked me if I was running. I said no, but felt like I wanted to do something else. I just didn’t know what. Coach Harry piped up that there was something ready on the board if I wanted to join in. I really enjoyed the last time I trained with him, it’s kinda fun trying to keep up him, not that I stand a chance in hell really as he’s mid twenties and one of the best CrossFitters at our gym but it’s good motivation. For anyone wondering I am a less than average crossfitter. I looked at what was on the board and headed back to my bag to get my skipping rope back out as it was rowing, skipping and wall balls. Three movements I love so, good times ahead.
The workout was 5 rounds, each round was 6 minutes and in that 6 minutes we had to complete 50 double unders, 30 calories on the row (40 for Harry) and 30 Wall Balls. The first round went pretty smoothly. The skipping was fast and unbroken, the row was smooth and the wall balls felt ok. That was where the good times ended. On the next round I lost my ability to skip. I whipped myself so badly it bought tears to my eyes and every time I tried to double under I tripped on the rope. This had never happened to me before. My leg was stinging and nothing was working. I could have launched my rope across the gym and given up but I tried some single unders and they went ok so I had a word with myself, doubled up the amount to make it fair and got on with it. I finished this round considerably behind Harry and told him he was to blame for my shit skipping. Not because he tripped me (which he has had a habit of doing in the past because he thinks it’s funny, the little Goblin!) but because his workout stole my skipping magic. Once I accepted my fate of single unders, after trying double unders and failing, things got back on track. Each round hurt a little more than the last but eventually it was done and it felt good.
Wed: 1pm PT with my Coach
Oh boy, did Kerry have something in store for me today. The session started with some fairly normal Overhead Walking Lunges. This was done with a barbell and increasing weights. So far so good. Then she introduced her next idea… she explained that she’d been thinking about how to improve core stabilisation for the swim and the bike, how we’d been talking about yoke carries a little while back and then started threading kettlebells on to the ends of the barbell using resistance bands. Hey presto, an improvised yoke!
It was really weird and not as easy at it looked. I have never walked so weirdly in all my life (I hope). My feet turned in, I had a very defined heel strike and nothing was normal. I walked that barbell across the gym on my back and in the front rack position, we added heavier kettlebells and then a weight plate each end. My walk got less weird but I didn’t get it a point where I could just walk. Neither of us listened to Head Coach Toby’s suggestion of trying it overhead (thank goodness) although maybe in time this will be achievable.
The session ended with a quick beasting sponsored by the number 5 involving the Assualt Bike and the 30kg D Ball.
Thu: The start of the cold
As I coach two indoor cycle classes, one at either end of the day I decided to stay away from the gym and rest up in between. I was also very aware that we are in Open season at the box and I didn’t want to be responsible for passing anything on to anyone, least of all one of the guys aiming for the Online Qualifiers or a Sanctional.
Fri: 12:15pm Total Body Conditioning
As I was less achey, less snotty and void of a cough I decided to try TBC to see how it goes. You don’t work massively close to anyone during TBC so I figured I could stay in my bubble and just do my thing. It was a really good class consisting of a 35 min EMOM of Assault Bike, Burpee, Devil Press, Plate Cluster and Ski Erg. Toby varied the intervals each round which I found made it more fun than usual.
After class however, the Cocodomol which I had taken to get me through my 3 morning classes wore off and I found the aches and sinus pain come back with a vengeance. Luckily Saturday is always my rest day and I decided to just see how things go and not put pressure on myself on Sunday. Sunday came and in the morning I thought I might do a run in the evening but the evening came and instead of a run there was a Papa Johns Pizza. Oh well! Tomorrow is a new week and hopefully by giving myself this time I was be fighting fit and ready to go.
* I am not including the classes I coach in this training log but for reference I coach 3 indoor cycle, 2 Insanity, 2 Boxercise, 1 LBT and 1 Tabata class a week between Tuesday and Friday.
A pretty smooth week this week. I achieved my goal of 6 days on, 1 day off so that worked! The thing that I have let slide already is the mobility work. I nailed that for the total of 1 week, oops!
Mon: 12:15pm Total Body Conditioning
Usual Monday programming of Row, Bike, Ski. 3 minutes on 1 minute off for 3 rounds. Given my extra rest day at the weekend I was determined to put the effort in today, whilst being mindful of the fact that I was staying for the CrossFit class. It’s a fine balance and not one I always get right.
Mon: 1pm CrossFit Class
5 Minute rounds of DB Snatch, Squats and 200m Run Sprints. The quicker you got the work done, the more rest you got and I as aiming for consistency but started to slow in the final 2 rounds. It was a workout that I really liked the look of, was really looking forward to doing but man, did it hurt. It hurt way more than I thought it would but I did love it.
Tue: 12:15pm Zone 2 5k Run
Once again the first 2 miles went according to plan but mile 3 was hard work, trying to keep the heart rate where I want it. It was marginally quicker than last weeks efforts so something must be working.
Tue: 1pm CrossFit Class
I was not looking forward to this workout and it wasn’t much fun. It was simple; 10 – 20 – 30 – 40 Box Jumps, Push Ups, Jumping Pull Ups. Anytime the rep scheme increases I mentally find it a little tougher. I don’t think I am alone in that. There was an 18 minute time cap and I didn’t finish the final set of 40 Pull Ups. It was close but I was literally working in single reps as my upper body had nothing left.
Wed: 12:15pm Total Body Conditioning
3 10 minute workouts separated by 2 minutes rest. 1 AMRAP of Over Row Buprees, Squats and 200m Row Sprints. Another of 2x8kg DB DT (12 Deadlift, 9 Hang Power Clean, 6 Shoulder to Overhead) + 20 Mountain Climbers and finally a 1 min on, 1 min off Max Effort Ski. I’ve loved DT whenever I’ve done it with a barbell but the dumbbell version was not so great. I think my shoulders, arms and lats were still feeling the effects of yesterday but you know, no excuses. I think we all agreed though that this was one of the toughest TBC classes we had done in a while, possibly ever!
Wed: 1pm CrossFit Class
I really didn’t want to stay for class but that attitude does not an IronMan make so I ordered myself to just refill the water bottle and get my ass to the board for the class briefing. One more AMRAP for the day; 3 Snatch, 6 Clean and Jerk, 400m Run. Ouch! During the skill work practising the lifts even just the barbell felt heavy and I wanted to ensure my technique was as good as possible so I didn’t add anymore weight and stuck at 15kg. I took my time on the lifts, focussing on form and tried to push hard on the runs. I’m not sure I was particularly quick on the run but I do know I couldn’t have done anymore.
Thu: 1pm CrossFit Class
Consistency was the name of the game today. 5 Rounds comprising of 3 minutes work, 1 minute rest and the goal was to hit the same number of reps every round. The rounds were made up of 1 min Max Effort Wall Balls, Hang Power Snatch (yep, more Snatch work!) and Calories on the Rower. Despite being in a world of pain I actually really enjoyed this one and managed to score pretty evenly.
Fri: 12:15pm Total Body Conditioning
Again, 3 10 minute workouts separated by 2 minutes rest. 1 AMRAP of 200m Run Sprints, 10 Single Arm 10kg Devil Press. 1 EMOM of 40/20 2x10kgDB Box Step Overs and Ski and 1 min on, 1 min off Max Effort on the Assault Bike. Despite teaching 3 classes prior to arriving at the gym, and knowing that I feel wiped out, I always have the intention of doing the double of TBC and CrossFit Class but as per the last two weeks, I finished TBC and quit. I think I’m using the fact that it’s ‘The Open’ as a bit of an excuse as I’m not doing The Open this time round. Maybe in 3 weeks time, when it’s all over, I will be more inclined, or have less excuse, to suck it up and stay for class.
Sat: Rest Day
More alcohol today. I have drunk more in the last 6 weeks than I think I have all year. It’s not that big a deal. It wasn’t a vast amount of alcohol but I already know that in 2020, until we arrive at the CrossFit Games, post IronMan, I will not be drinking, at all.
Sun: 9:30am Sunday Boxing Squad
3 of my girls came over today to workout with me. Along with working some combinations we included a 5 min Assault Bike Test, 100m Row Sprints, Box Step Ups, Squats and Sit Ups. 1 hour of fun, team work and sweat.
Sun: 5:30pm 5k Run
I was planning to do a zone 2 run but as soon as I got outside I thought sod it, I’m just going to run. I pulled my sleeve down over my watch and did just that. As most runners do, I accurately know 1 mile, 3 mile and 6 mile routes in all directions from my house so I choose a 3 mile route and set off. It was comfortable and I was having a long conversation with David Goggins in my head (I don’t like to run with music). When I got back I was pleasantly surprised to find I’d run a 26:57 while keeping my heart rate in zone 2 for 20 minutes. This whole Zone 2 training stuff does actually work it seems.
*A few of you have asked what my full week actually looks like so here it is!
* I am not including the classes I coach in this training log but for reference I coach 3 indoor cycle, 2 Insanity, 2 Boxercise, 1 LBT and 1 Tabata class a week between Tuesday and Friday.
Once again plans went awry but at this stage in the game I am not worried about it. I’m lucky enough to be a part of an Accountability Group with 5 awesome guys I met doing Tough Mudder. We check in with each other, discuss workouts, training plans, share anything we think will be useful, and talk about David Goggins… a lot! One of the things we’ve started doing recently is setting a personal weekly goal and due to how things have been going I have made mine for next week really simple; Train 6 days out of 7 as last week I only hit 5. My training plan is always 6 days on, 1 day off with Saturday as my rest day so to make sure the fundamentals are right this week that is my main focus, rebuild my routine. Yes it has only been a week but stuff can start to slide really easily if you let it and I am just making sure that doesn’t happen.
Mon: 12:15pm Total Body Conditioning
Mon is always a pure Row, Bike, Ski day and todays formula involved 3 rounds of Tabata on each piece of equipment. Simple and highly effective.
Mon: 1pm CrossFit Class
I was on my own for class today which was tough as for a workout like this one it is good to have someone to go against. I really love rowing next to someone really strong as it pushes me to go that little bit more. Class format was straight forward; 10 x 250m sprints, rest 1:1 (meaning rest as long as each sprint takes). Fastest sprint 51.9, Slowest 54.9. It was a true slog and suckfest but Coach Toby turned ‘The Prodigy’ up loud (one benefit of being in class by yourself – you can own the playlist if you ask nicely, although I didn’t need to ask, Toby knows me that well!) and I was away 🙂
Tue: 12pm Zone 2 5k run
My zone 2 (low aerobic) heart rate ranges from 140 to 156 and for the first two miles I could hold a steady run and stay in this zone. The last mile went completely to hell and I seemed to be walking every minute as the moment I started running I was pushing into the high aerobic zone. Very frustrating but I am trusting the process and just going with it.
Tue: 1pm CrossFit Class
Today was a repeat of an Open workout, 14.5 and 16.5. A grim couplet of Thursters and Bar Facing Burpees. It was sweaty, it hurt but my goal was just to keep moving and get the thing done and I made the time cap. Job done.
Tue: 2:15pm A Harry Workout
I was rehydrating in the social area at the gym post class, everyone else had left and I was about to get my stuff together and leave when Coach Harry looked at me and said just two words “Bike Sprints?” Me being me, my only response was “how many?’ and that was that. 6 rounds of 90 sec work/ 90 sec rest, completing 15 cals on the Assault Bike and as many 10kg DB Power Cleans as possible in the remaining time. It was my first time working out with Harry and I was determined to put up a fight on the bike so as not to get left behind. It was tough but fun. For some reason Assault Bike and Dumbbells are a favoured combination of mine.
Wed: 1pm PT Session
Dogshit Deadlifts today! Yes I know I am getting over a cracked or broken rib or whatever but we did deadlifts not even a month a go and I did better than I did today. The plan was 5 x 5 but I didn’t get that far. 65kg went up fine, 5 times, no issues. Add 5kg and for whatever reason I could not pick 70kg up off the floor. Last time, I was picking up 80 for 5 and my rib is better now that it was then so no idea what was going on.The only thing I know for sure is, it was a weak day! Second part of my session went much better; 45kg Deadlifts and Prowler Pushes. Talk about a lactic acid quad burn.
Thu: 12pm Zone 2 5k run
Another run where the first 2 miles were great but the third mile was spiking heart rates and lots of walking. This has to get better though right?!
Thu: 1pm CrossFit Class
All about the Back Squat today and after my shit day with the barbell yesterday lets just say I was feeling a little nervous about how this was going to go. 5 sets of 3, building to a heavy 3 for the day. Since ‘rib gate’ I haven’t tested my back squat, or any squat that much, but in July I hit 65kg which is a good average for me. I am pleased to say that I hit 65kg today, although I took my time getting there. I hit 60kg ok, put 65 on the bar, did one rep, decided I didn’t like it so took it off again. Hit 60kg again, had a word with myself, loaded up 65 and hit my 3 reps. What was all the fuss about? It’s a barbell, I love it but I am not confident with it so yes, sometimes I make a fuss! Finished the session with some accessory work in the shape of 3 x 20 15kg DB 24″ Step Ups.
Thu: 2pm Playtime with Jade
I was trying to decide what else to do when I noticed Jade at the back of the box with a barbell out. We’d already done 30 burpees as it’s her 30th birthday today and the tradition in our gym is that you do birthday burpees. I managed to coerce all of the 1 o clock class in to doing them with her as who wants to do 30 burpees alone on their birthday. I ended up joining her and her barbell and we worked our way through sets of power cleans and power snatch. Next up was 30 Pull Ups, then 30 Push Ups and finally some skipping. Happy Birthday Jade 🙂
Fri: 12:15pm Total Body Conditioning
Another ‘made up on the spot and ingenious session’ by head Coach Toby involving a 10 min Assault Bike Test, Goblet Squats, Max Effort Rows and a Team Challenge of Ski Erg Cals and Burpees. Just like last week, I had planned to jump in the 1pm class but was completely done in so skipped it and just helped judge the guys doing The Open.
Sat: Rest Day
I had planned to do something today as the Forza Fitness squad were going out in the evening and I knew that Sunday would most likely be a write off. But, the day was busy, no workout was done so, rest day. There were a couple of burpees on the dance floor that night though!
Sun: Rest Day
And here is where it all fell apart. Sat night some of us made plans to train together today. The night wore on, more cocktails were drunk but we were still talking, and fist bumping, about training. Roll on Sunday and everything is quiet… no messages are being exchanged, everyone is busy, my dog went back to school (advanced classes as well 🙂 ), the boy and I had an afternoon nap, dinner time rolls around and it is clear that nothing resembling a workout is going to happen. No biggie though, last night was worth it and come 2020 the alcohol will be cut completely. I barely drink as it is and these nights happen less than once every 2 months so I’m not beating myself up about it. Whats the point. It’s done, it’s happened. Tomorrow is a new day, a new week and I have my goal. Train 6 days out of 7, no excuses. So I will do just that and have no remorse about 1 missed workout!
* I am not including the classes I coach in this training log but for reference I coach 3 indoor cycle, 2 Insanity, 2 Boxercise, 1 LBT and 1 Tabata class a week between Tuesday and Friday.
The plans I had this week didn’t quite work out. I didn’t get in the three runs I’d wanted but I still trained 6 days out of 7 so I’m not going to stress about it. Running was programmed in a couple of the workouts so it’s not like I didn’t do any.
Life will sometimes get in the way and thats ok, it has to be otherwise I’d be a gibbering wreck rocking back and forth in a corner thanks to the amount of set backs I’ve had over the last two years! Things are what they are, you control the controllable (thanks Toby for drilling this in to me) and do what you can with what you have.
Mon: 12:15pm Total Body Conditioning Class
More simple but effective cardio conditioning. 3 minutes on, 1 minute off rotating between the Assault Bike, Rower and Ski Erg for about 35 minutes.
Mon: 1pm Crossfit Class
4 Rounds for time; 800 meter run (so theres 2 miles straight off the bat), 20 Push Ups and 20 Box Jumps. Trying to run efficiently straight after quite a high volume of box jumps was not easy and this is something I’m definitely going to incorporate more into my training.
Tue: 1pm CrossFit Class
Two 6 minute AMRAP’s with a 3 minute rest in between. First one involved a 750m row and then 50 15kg Thrusters. If you finished within the 6 minute time cap you got a longer rest. I got an extra 12 seconds 🙂 Second AMRAP was 200 Double Unders, 20 15kg Thrusters and then as many Over Bar Burpees as you could do. Safe to say this whole thing was a sucky sweat fest but the major positive for me was that I was able to do Thrusters without pain for the first time since cracking the rib. I left the gym on a real high as I finally felt like maybe, just maybe, it was healed and I could put the injury behind me.
Tue: 2:15pm Zone 2 5km Run
I’d finally managed to adjust my heart rate zones on my Garmin to work off the % of my Lactate Threshold Heart Rate, rather than Max HR and this run felt more effective than those of last week. It also means that my 30 minute Max Effort Assault Bike workout was not for nothing so you know, winning.
Wed: 12:15pm Total Body Conditioning Class
Three 10 minute workouts with 2 mins rest in between. More running in the first one, this time 200m sprints teamed with 10kg DB Deadlifts. Second one was Ski Erg Max Effort intervals and finally an EMOM alternating between the Assault Bike and a 12kg Slamball.
Wed: 1pm CrossFit Class
This class was all about being calm and controlled and working though the technique of a Ring Muscle Up (RMU). It involved breaking the movement down, practising the different components and adding some accessory work in the form of DB Strict Press and Hollow Holds. Although I am miles away from being able to do a RMU I was again able to do things without feeling pain and discomfort that even a couple of weeks ago were causing me issues so more elation ensued.
Wed: 2pm Meeting with my Coach
No PT session today as we had a planning session. The upshot of this was that for the rest of 2019 (all 12/13 weeks of it!) I am going to focus on the fundamentals… staying injury and illness free, getting my weight down, making sure my rib is 100% healed, building my upper body and core strength and increasing my base fitness in relation to endurance and power.
Thu: 1pm CrossFit Class
Snatch tekkers and then more running today. I have lost a lot of the confidence I had built when it comes to throwing a barbell above my head. Hopefully, with the rib issue becoming a thing of the past, I can get over this pretty quickly. For the second week in a row I put 25kg on the bar and then failed to get it off the ground. My snatch 1RM is only 35kg anyway as it’s a complex lift and not one that I have spent a huge amount of time on. As the workout was a 15 min AMRAP of a 200m run and 3 Snatch I decided to keep it light and focus on drilling my technique every lift. With only a 15kg bar, Coach Harry made it very clear I was not to miss one lift. Roger that!
Fri: 12:15pm Total Body Conditioning Class
Another three 10 minute workouts separated by first 2 and then 1 minute rest. First up, one of my favourite combinations; Assault Bike sprints and DB Snatch. Second; max effort Row intervals and lastly Wall Balls and Burpees. I gave this everything I had, to the extent that I had nothing left in the tank so signed myself out of the 1pm class. The biggest takeaway today was that I felt stronger on the rower than I have done in months so once again, proof that my injuries were fading fast.
Sat: Rest Day
Sun: 9am Gym Session
Brunch plans were the most important thing today (priorities and balance right) so after coaching a Bootcamp Class at Nuffield Chichester I made use of their facilities and the half hour I had available and decided to just do all the things I enjoy. I repeated the Assault Bike and DB Snatch workout from Friday. I did Annie, my favourite CrossFit Girl workout (50,40,30,20,10 Double Unders and Sit Ups) and some Ski Erg Intervals. I did look at the treadmill but I have no interest in running inside. There was a guy in the gym, who I know is an IronMan and in training for another one next year. He did a serious amount of time of the Watt Bike (I know this because he was on it when my class started at 8:15 and still on it while I was skipping) and then hit the treadmill. I guess that’s the traditional, and in most peoples eyes, more sensible use of time (especially in the winter) when training for an IM but no thanks. It just isn’t me!
**The other thing I’ve added in to my routine this week is more mobility and stretching work. I am finally making use of my ROMWOD account ( I should after it auto-renewed and over £100 left my bank account!) Hopefully this will help with the ‘staying injury free’ goal 🙂
* I am not including the classes I coach in this training log but for reference I coach 3 indoor cycle, 2 Insanity, 2 Boxercise, 1 LBT and 1 Tabata class a week between Tuesday and Friday.
This week the focus on low heart rate training, in relation to running and cycling and also back to back sessions to improve endurance.
Mon: 12:15pm Total Body Conditioning Class
Very simple but effective cardio conditioning circuit cycling through 2 mins on, 1 min off between the assault bike, rower and ski erg for just over 35 minutes.
Mon: 1pm 5k Run
First attempt at zone training. 5k run working to keep my heart rate in the aerobic zone and below 142. It was a very slow 5k!
Tue: 1pm CrossFit Class
A lot of time spent working on pull ups during the skill/strength portion of the class. I am definitely seeing some progress with regards to my broken/cracked rib and things involving me hanging off a bar are getting easier again 🙂 The WOD was a grim 15 min AMRAP of 5 x Jumping Chest to Bar Pull up, 10 x 45kg Deadlift, 16 12.5kg Alt DB Snatch and a 200m row. Usually I love DB Snatch but today it just sucked a little less than everything else sucked!
Tue: 2:15pm 5k run
Second attempt at zone training. Again working to keep my heart rate in the aerobic zone and below 142. Went slightly better than yesterday 🙂
Wed: 12:15Total Body Conditioning Class
First order of the day, a 10 minute assault bike effort. This started to remind me of the horrors of last weeks 30 min max effort threshold heart rate test but luckily I had my girl Claire on the bike next to me and she, without saying a word, pushed me to get it done and get it done well. 1 minutes rest and then it was on to 2 10 min EMOM’s involving Rowing & 10kg Plate Cleans and Ski Erg & DB Down Ups.
Wed: 1pm Crossfit Class
No run today as I really wanted to do this class. A 10k partner row. The rules being you can split the meters however you want but both partners must row 5k each and the time cap is 40 minutes. I bagged the awesome Olly as my partner at the beginning of the TBC class… and then started to question my sanity as that boy is seriously fast and I realised I would be getting very little rest! We always make a good team though and despite it being a workout that really, really hurt, we managed to have a lot of fun and smash the time cap!
Thu: 12:00pm 5k Run
Third run of the week and the first mile was great, I didn’t need to walk to keep my heart rate were I wanted it and I thought I was starting to get the hang of it. Then the second mile was, shall we say, a little less smooth and the third mile was complete crap. Every time I pushed into a run my heart rate instantly pinged into the threshold zone and it was possibly the slowest mile I’ve run for the longest time. Still, I preserved and got it done.
Thu: 1pm CrossFit Class
Skill/ Strength focus was on Toes To Bar and Handstand Push Ups. Two movements I suck at and two movements severely hampered by, yes, you guessed it, my bloody cracked/broken rib! However, more proof that it is definitely healing.. I landed my first toes to bar 🙂 No, I couldn’t get another one but small victories right. I now know that I can do it! The WOD was two 6 minute AMRAP’s, separated by 2 minutes rest, of 1; Toes to Bar (so in my case knees to chest!) & Burpee Box Jump Overs and 2; DB Push Press and Double Unders. I do love a bit of skipping but I’m now using my super heavy RX Gear Zeus rope and man does it burn.
Fri: 12:15pm Total Body Conditioning Class
I had planned for today to be a rest day but originally my lovely friend Amy was signed in on her own and she is not one for doing solo classes so I thought I’d do the decent thing and come keep her company. What a mistake! Welcome to Burpee Frikkin Friday! Yep, you can tell The Open is coming up… shame I’n not entering this year though. We 30 minutes of rowing, over row burpees, DB Row Clusters (Head Coach Toby’s latest tortute creation!) Over DB Burpees, Ski Erg and Plate Jumps. It was gross but awesome and more than enough for what should be a rest day.
Sat: Tough Mudder 5k Urban
Saturday is usually my rest day but we (being my husband and I) were off to play on Clapham Common at at Tough Mudder event with no mud and no water. Different and a brilliant little event and the last UK event of 2019. Totally different to anything else Tough Mudder offer and it showed as pretty much everyone on course was new to Tough Mudder and obstacle racing in general. This meant we were able to hang out at obstacles and help a huge amount of people. It was all over by 4pm and that was it, TM done for another year. Now, it’s a waiting game to see if we are chosen as ambassadors for a 4th year in 2020.
Sun: 9:30am Forza Fitness Squad Strong Girl Sunday Funday
5 of us this week playing around in my studio this week and it was all about boxing and core work. Lots of combination work and laughs, just as a Sunday Funday should be… especially when one of the squad creates a very confusing combination that foxes everyone!
The two most asked questions I have had since blogging about my IM journey (apart from when/where is it? and why on earth would you want to do that?) are 1; Why do you, a coach/pt/trainer yourself have a coach, can’t you do it yourself? 2; Why haven’t you switched to an IM coach?
So, let me explain…
1; Yes, it’s true I am a Coach myself and I have now worked in the fitness industry for more than 4 years. For that reason alone, of course I have my own coach. Why would I not buy in to the very thing I put so much value in, it is now my life’s work! Yes, I could write my own programming and do it effectively but, if I do that, my world becomes very insular. In that scenario I am accountable to no one, I am not learning from anyone else and I am not being held to any kind of standard.
Kerry, my coach, has a Coach – Head Coach of CrossFit Iron Duke (and also her husband), Toby. Toby has a Coach, his coach has a coach and so on and trust me, the chain is long. We are all progressing together, albeit at different levels, and my clients benefit from this as I continue to develop and grow, both as an athlete and a coach. Personally, I wouldn’t work with a PT or Coach that wasn’t involved in the process themselves from the other side.
2; There are so many reasons why I haven’t switched to an IM coach. First and foremost I love Kerry. We have been working together for nearly two years, since January 2018. I had stopped working with my previous PT about 6 months previously and started CrossFit in August 2017. Given the amount of coaching you get via the regular CrossFit classes I decided to take my time picking my next Coach. At the time we had 4 coaches at CrossFit Iron Duke, 3 of which offered PT and I decided pretty quickly that I wanted my next coach to be one of them. I asked Kerry for a chat to find out how it works and she explained that I simply had to decide which one I wanted to work with and go from there. That was a tough decision as each Coach offered something slightly different in both skill set and manner. At the time I was starting to plan for a 36 hour SAS Hell Week style event and I decided to go with Kerry as, gods honest truth, she scared the crap out of me and I thought that might be a good experience, bearing in mind what I wanted to take on! It took all of our first session for me to realise that actually she is a complete sweetheart and not in the slightest bit scary.
She may not be scary but she is thorough, committed and very inventive. When I gave her carte blanche to create what has lovingly become known as my “6 hour hell sessions” she certainly seemed to relish the task. These basically involved me turning up to the gym, knowing I would be training for 6 hours but never knowing what exactly I would be doing. My brief to her was make it as tough and varied as she felt appropriate/necessary. I will post a couple of the full sessions in a separate blog for those that are intrigued.
As soon as I booked the IM I contacted Kerry, we scheduled a meeting for the very next day and my statement to her was ” I want to do this and yes, I know that the next year has to now be all about this IronMan but I don’t want to leave CrossFit and I don’t want to leave you… unless I have to, what do you think” She had clearly given the matter some thought and laid out just a few ideas of how we could make it work and I knew instantly that I would be staying.
Another key reason is simply because I don’t want this to take over my life and I don’t want to forsake everything else for it. Yes, I want to do an Iron Man and I want to do it as well as I can (although do not ask me my time as I don’t ever participate for time) and most importantly I want to enjoy it but, when this is all over I don’t want to only be good for endurance/ triathlon events.
The CrossFit open will take place 3 months after my IronMan and I want to be able to compete, and finally, give it my best shot. The Open in Feb 2019 was meant to be a chance for me to see how all of my hard work in 2018 would pay off but I was ill in January, to the point that the doctor ordered bed rest, and so The Open became only about setting new benchmark’s as I had lost a lot of fitness and was still being warned to protect against post viral fatigue. The Open that starts tomorrow was going to be my next shot but I cracked my rib in May and only this week does it actually feel like it’s healing so I am not even signed up for this one. With all this behind me I can assure you that I have other goals next year besides my IM.
The Open, October 2020, I am coming for you! SAS Who Dares Wins.. I want another shot…My Coach can help prepare for all of this whereas an IM coach can only help me prepare for the IM so for me, that is not the right choice. If I wanted a specific time or had a goal beyond, finish it with a smile one my face, I would likely make a different choice but this is what will work for me.
Kerry and I at the end of the CrossFit Iron Duke 24 Hour WODaTHON
*I am not going to include the classes that I coach in my training log but for reference per week between Tuesday and Friday I coach 3 indoor cycle , 2 Insanity, 2 Boxercise, 1 LBT and 1 Tabata class .
Mon: Rest Day
As a rule Saturday is my one rest day but given that I did 8 days on the bounce due to the weekend being the last Tough Mudder Classic weekend of the year Monday was my well earned rest day. I had PT clients and other than that I took Cracker Dog for a long 2 hour-ish walk and that, as they say, was that.
Tues: 1pm CrossFit class
Now, I want to make one thing clear. As soon as I booked my IM, after my husband and my parents, the next person I contacted was my coach. I asked if we could have a chat the next day and we sat down and discussed how I could adapt my time and the workouts at CrossFit Iron Duke to make it viable to continue to train there. So yes, get used to it, my training is going to still involve a lot of CrossFit.
This class involved a deceiving brutal partner workout containing Wall Balls, Push Ups, Double Unders and Pull Ups. My triceps were shot after two days at Tough Mudder pulling people up Everest and the like so my poor partner, Ben, had to deal with me being shockingly slow on the push ups – sorry again Ben!
Weds: 1pm PT Session
I have been working with my coach, Kerry for almost two years now and I get a lot of surprise from people who wonder why a coach needs a coach. I find this really shocking but am saving this subject for a future blog.
This week was another strength week, focussed on building lower body strength and power. We are both still very mindful that my cracked/broken rib(s) are healing so there are a few things we are staying away from but there was definite progress this week when throwing the 50kg D Ball on and off the jerk blocks so obviously things aren’t as bad as they were. Other activities included a lot of DB Romanian Deadlifts and DB Walking Lunges.
Thurs: 11:15am Barbell Club
Work has conspired against me for a lot of this year and that, teamed with “the rib” has meant that I haven’t been able to make Barbell Club so now that I am free for a while I am going to go. Again, this may seem like an odd choice for someone training for an IM but I have already explained that I refuse to just run, bike, swim and there is more than one way to skin a cat! Barbell Club focusses only on the two Olympic lifts, Snatch and Clean & Jerk and this week was all about maxing out your Snatch. Having been away for a while and losing a lot of confidence, I maxed out at a not so impressive 25kg.. But, I got to throw a barbell around and I got a thumbs up from Harry on two occasions (if you know him, you’ll know!) so I’ll take it.
Thurs: 12:15pm Threshold Heart Rate Test
To help build my endurance I am currently focussing on working out while keeping my heart rate low. I mainly use my indoor cycle classes for this work. The one thing I haven’t done for a long time is do a test to figure out actually what my threshold heart rate is. As I sold my turbo trainer a couple of years ago I decided that it would be a good idea to do this test on the most disgusting piece of equipment I love to hate, the assault bike! It is now Sunday and the memory of this 30 minute max effort test is still haunting me but I did it and now I just have to figure out how to change the heart rate zones on my Garmin to most effectively use the data.
Fri: 12:15pm Total Body Conditioning Class
I was actually feeling more than a little beaten up while coaching so in between my three classes in the morning I messaged Kerry to ask if the TBC class was featuring all the burpees again (last Friday had been burpee frikkin central with a different type of burpee in every section of the class). I really didn’t think I would be able to cope with more of the same and luckily, no burpees were programmed and no Liza’s were harmed for asking such a question ( still not sure how I got away with it!) However there were 10kg Plate Clusters, 200m Sprints, Assault Bike and Ski Erg efforts, Single Arm DB Clean and Jerk (now they take some concentration!) and Box Steps. We (being me and the two other girls in my section) managed to put a smile on everyone’s faces with our synchro box step skills so yay for making people happy while training our asses off!
Sat: Rest Day
Rest Day activities included a long dog walk and watching Matthew Bourne’s Romeo and Juliet Ballet because, you know, balance! I did find it amusing how surprised people were, that don’t know me well, that I was going to the ballet. Tough Mudder one week, Ballet the next and just for balance we’re back to Tough Mudder next Saturday for the final UK event, the Urban 5k in Clapham.
Sun: 9:30 Forza Fitness Squad Strong Girl Sunday Funday
This started with a couple of the girls in my squad after I was moaning about never being able to box. I coach 2 Boxercise Classes a week, boxing features heavily in the sessions with some of my clients. I love it but I never got to put the gloves on myself. These girls offered to come over and put the pads on for me and from that grew our Sunday Funday session. It’s one hour of boxing and whatever else anyone fancies which could be running, battleropes, rope climbs, you name it. It is very democratic; we all write the work outs and everyone that joins us has to add at least two songs to the playlist.
