Re: Over 50 Crossfitters Sign In
 

Danny-

3 days on. 1 Day off for rest and recovery. Follow the WODs and scale to your ability, and the weight will fall. I look forward to hearing about your progress.

Re: Over 50 Crossfitters Sign In
 

Hey guys,
Thanks for the encouragement and suggestions. How does one incorporate running into a WOD? Or would I just consider a running day as a WOD in and of itself?

I agree there's tons of info on the Main Site here and Brand X. It just seems confusing at times as to waht to do. Scaling? Meaning for example one part of a workout says 10 pushups. Say I can only do 5. Would I do only 5 or break things up for the whole 10? As I said it seems overwhelming at times and well..once you get to a certain age recovery seems a bit longer. I've learned to deal with that part.:run:

Re: Over 50 Crossfitters Sign In
 

Hope everyone had Merry Christmas!
Mark, Diane, and Steve, thanks for the kind words! I am enjoying our discussion here on Mark’s WO log, I hope you don’t mind Mark. I was thinking of just logging my WOs here too like Diane. My log is kind of boring and why post the same info twice.

Welcome Danny! Looks like we have a lot in common, I have always been stuck in the Clydesdale class too. I can remember when I took up MT bike racing, after 2 years from when I started I finally became talented enough to compete, but soon found myself trying to keep up with 150 lb racers, what a disadvantage on long hill climbs. I am not an expert on CF but for me I just try and stick with the posted WODS, if you have enough energy to run after a WOD or on a rest day go for it. But I have found that I cherish rest time, plus over training in mind is probably worse than taking it easy at the start. For me rest time is a must. I was diagnosed with Beckers MD a few years back. I haven’t been able to sustain any exercise program for more than a few months without an adverse effect on my legs or arms. Usually what happens is my CPK (muscle enzyme) becomes about 5x higher than normal, the end result is I end up with muscle cramps that are excruciating, kind of like the muscle burn sensation you would get from an intense endurance activity (i.e. hill climb on a bike) problem for me is it takes days for the burn to go away. I end up having to be sedentary for weeks to recover. But now I am thinking Crossfit might just be the answer for me, because most work outs are short and intense. It has made me realize how fortunate I was to have good health when I was younger; I have always been active in sports and love to compete. It’s taken me a long time to actually accept I have a physical limitation.

You are right, CF is confusing at first. I think I spent more time on the web trying to figure out what to do in each WOD before I did it. I would read the WOD the night before and try and plan for it the next day. When they say scaled down, they mean less. Example, yesterdays WOD was Angie (100 pull ups, 100 pushups, 100 sit ups, 100 squats) to scale down you might do 50 or 75 of each exercise instead of 100. On pull ups I always end up needing some kind of assist unless it less than 5. I know when I first started I was thinking; I could do the main WODS as posted... and maybe it would just take longer, ha, I found out quickly I was wrong. I am in your boat with the pull ups too. After a month at it I can finally do 5 unassisted. At our local affiliate they have stretch bands for pull up assists; I plan on buying some for use at home.

Sorry for the long post I always seem to get off track, hope this helps. BTW, I lived in Holden MA for 3 years, plowing the snow in the driveway was only fun the first year. :)

Re: Over 50 Crossfitters Sign In
 

Danny,

I think the key is to make up your mind that you're going to do this, and then stick with it. When I started over two years ago, I couldn't do a single push up or pull up, couldn't squat correctly, had terrible balance and couldn't run further than a quarter-mile. I was embarrassed and humiliated, but I had a GREAT trainer who pushed me through it. I started with wall push ups and knee push ups and now 20 regular push-ups is a snap. I can do 250 squats in a work-out, can run 5-Ks, and can hop up and down a spiral staircase on one foot. I STILL can't do pull ups but I do jumping pull ups and just keep trying.

As far as running, once I built up my fitness level, I found I liked to run so I sandwiched my WOD between a 1/2-mile run to and from the gym. On days when I had more time, I ran further on the way to the gym and then did the WOD and the 1/2-mile back. Mark is right about rest days though - I sometimes run for distance on rest days and it generally hurts my subsequent WOD performances. And every 6 to 8 weeks I take an entire week off.

Today:

Ran down the street to the CLBBG; workout was a regression - need to be more firm with trainer about my goals and capabilities

WU:
dumbbell swings, back extensions , sit-ups, burpees, shoulder mobility

WO:
SDLHP – 1 min 30# bar, 1 min 45# bar
Push presses – 1 min 30# bar, 1 min 45#bar
OH squats –1 min 30# (stupid zig-zag curl bar so grip was narrow and couldn't squat low), 1 minute with stick (grip was wide and could squat properly)
Mountain climbers – 90 sec
elbow plank – 90 sec
squat jumps - 1 min
Single-leg hops across floor – 3 rounds - 1 min ea leg
Walking lunges - 50 steps

Very frustrated. The SDLHPs and push presses seemed like continuation of the warm-up. Need to insist that we start doing reps, not time, or if we do time, we do more rounds. Jumps and lunges were too easy. I really need to find a new CF trainer.

Left gym, ran to the steps and did the 444 to feel like I accomplished something. Planning to run for pleasure at lunch.

Re: Over 50 Crossfitters Sign In
 

All are welcome. Post-away. I like the idea of building this OVER-50 Crossfit mini-community on this workout log. I have been brief on my comments because I am out of town and have limited computer access.

Today, I warmed up with 2 rounds of 15 squats, sit-ups, and push-ups from the knees.
Then did my 90 burpees. I am resting the remainder of the day.

Re: Over 50 Crossfitters Sign In
 

Fantastic lunch-time run. Forty-something degrees and sunny - didn't even need gloves. Did my alternate 5K which includes 842 steps. [B]That's a total of 1286 steps for the day.[/B] Definitely a PR.

Made contact with the owner of Operation Crossfit (local affilliate)and am trying to figure out how to attend his evening sessions. If only he had early morning classes! Also investigated the newest Pittsburgh affiliate and they do a Saturday morning session. May give that a go.

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Diane, You rock...congrats on the PR! Good luck with the affiliate, hope it works out for you. I am going to mine tomorrow am.

Just finished Angie.

Warm Up -3 rounds
5 pull ups
10 sit ups
10 back extensions
10 dips
Samson stretch 10-15 seconds

Angie 38:20
100 pull ups (jumping)
100 Pushups
100 sit ups
100 squats

Date night tonight, drinking a glass of red wine and watching a movie with my honey.

Re: Over 50 Crossfitters Sign In
 

Diane, Mark, and Terry; Great WOs!! Danny, sounds like your on the right track......Take before and after pix.....I forgot and have seen significant changes just in 14 weeks. It'll be fun to look back on what you've done. Keep a log (if you haven't) besides this one here on the forum. It is the most important WO item I possess.

I hope everyone had a great Christmas!

Re: Over 50 Crossfitters Sign In
 

[B]Today:[/B]

Ran down the street to the CLBBG
Worked out on my own and did the main page WOD

Complete as many rounds as possible 20 minutes of:
65 pound Thruster, 5 reps
65 pound Hang Powercleans, 7 reps
65 pound Sumo Deadlift High-pull, 10 reps

Seven rounds with about 13 seconds to spare but couldn't even consider another thruster.

[B]Best work out in two weeks[/B]

Re: Over 50 Crossfitters Sign In
 

Strong work, Diane!! I was considering going to the gym to do this WO (scaled, of course), but with all the snow stuff yesterday (still sore from that!), my mind kinda got made up for me. Might do something at home later, tho....:D