Wish. Train. Fulfill. - Ivonne's WTF Training Journal

[ivonne b.]

Last night, I started training for the Women's Tri-Fitness Fall Classic taking place November 11-13 in Tampa, Florida.

This past weekend I went to their training camp (BRUTAL but a total blast!), and learned technique on each of the obstacles. I jumped hurdles for the first time in my life and did better on the cargo rope wall than I thought I would. I also found out what my weaknesses are - and there are many.

My sprint speed, my one-arm strength (pulling myself on that knotted rope up the 12-foot wall), my endurance (my arms and legs were giving out on me much sooner than I'd hoped). My strengths are that I'm not afraid of heights, and I'm not afraid to fall on my face (as was evident by the many falls I took onto the mat beneath the rope wall before getting it sorta right).

I'm going to train between now and early september, and then I'm going back to the camp to see how I've improved. Al Rosen, founder of WTF and coach at the camp, gave me an o-course simulation workout to do at home here in new york (well, at the PARK, not at home), and a cardio/endurance/conditioning workout to do to improve my overall conditioning for this thing.

Last night I went to Asphalt Green and performed this endurance program for the first time. Before I tell you what I did, I'll tell you that my time was 27:26. There is room for improvement here.

OK here goes.

Set#1: 20 squats (body weight), 20 pushups, 25 crunches, sprint 70 yards*.
Set #2: 19 squats, 19 pushups, 25 crunches, sprint
Set #3: 18 squats, 18 pushups, 25 crunches, sprint
Set #4: 17 squats, 17 pushups, 25 crunches, sprint
Set #5: 16 squats, 16 pushups, 25 crunches, sprint
Set #6: 15 squats, 15 pushups, 25 crunches, sprint
Set #7: 14 squats, 14 pushups, 25 crunches, sprint
Set #8: 13 squats, 13 pushups, 25 crunches, sprint
Set #9: 12 squats, 12 pushups, 25 crunches, sprint
Set #10: 11 squats, 11 pushups, 25 crunches, sprint

* i could not find and measure a 70-yard long space in which to sprint, so instead, i sprinted the length of a full basketball court twice. Someone said it is 84 feet, so I'm guessing I sprinted about 56 yards each time. Damn. Gotta find a longer space.

Notes: by set #2 I had to move from doing pushups on the ground to doing them leaning on a bench. I refused to do kneeling pushups. So the rest of the sets of pushups were on my toes, but with my hands on the seat of a bench. They were brutal regardless. The squats were cake. The crunches, cake. The sprint, by set #6 I was feeling a little light headed and they got slower and slower as the sets got shorter and shorter between sprints.

This was definitely interesting, and I'm determined to get my time up on this.

Anyway, with this entry, I kick off my training journal. Callie's starting hers too.

We're gonna kick some ass in November!

[patrick w.]

Rawr. :F:

[ivonne b.]

Total Body

Squat for reps with 75% of current body weight
80lb/45 reps

notes: this was for a contest going on at work. I am so far, the one with the most reps, and the only girl who has done it. On rep #44, i got a blinding headache on the back of my head by my neck, or I could have kept going. My legs were doing just fine.

Close Grip Bench Press
65/5
70/5 x 2
75/5 (last two were forced reps with a spotter)

SLDL
70/10
75/10
85/10

1 Arm Rope Pull downs, arm in front and close to my body
(training for strength to pull myself up the rope in the o-course)
Each arm:
30/6
35/6 x 3

1 leg balance on wobble board
30 seconds each leg x 3

Close Grip Seated Row
#5/6
#5 + 10lb/6 x 3

DB Lying External Rotation
(because I am trying to work on my posture a little bit!)
5lb/10 x 2 each side

Stretch

[Jacob Sauter]

Finally a journal without spam! :D Oh, and I got some pics for you(green mohawk) I need to scan.

[patrick w.]

I want those pics too!!

[Callie Marunde]

Ivonne, how'd the box drill go? Are you so tired you forgot to let us know??hehe
CM

[ivonne b.]

Ivonne, how'd the box drill go? Are you so tired you forgot to let us know??hehe
CM

Shoot hahahahaha! i haven't done it yet. I'm abotu to post today's workout. i may do the box drill sunday with my o-course simulation day. will post it here today for you though. It's from the WTF magazine.

[ivonne b.]

Weights Workout

Bench
80/5 x 4

Notes: tried to do the competition at work today to bench 75% of my bodyweight for reps, but i couldn't get more than five and every single one was TOUGH. So i made a nice set out of it instead. Oh well...

Deadlift
85/10
115/6
115/5

Pullups, Unassisted, neutral grip - Alternating w/ Bent Arm Hangs
3 pull ups+ 6 scapular retractions on my fingertips
Bent Arm Hangs (90-degree bent), 20 seconds + 10 scapular retractions
3 pullups + 6 scapular retractions on my fingertips
Bent Arm Hangs, 30 seconds + 10 scapular retractions

Dips, unassisted
bodyweight/5 x 3

Alternating Overhead Press, starting at the top
15/8 x 3

Calf Raises
120/10 x 3

Commando Pullups, unassisted
bodyweight/4 x 2

Cardio Workout

20 Squats, 20 pushups, 25 crunches, shuttle runs
19 "
18 "
17 "
16 "

15 ", 50 barrier bunny hops isntead of shuttle runs
14 ", "
13 ", "
12 ", "
11 ", "

In other words, the first half of this workout I did shuttle runs as my sprint/plyo part, and the other half i did bunny hops over barriers.

The shuttle runs I set up like this: 5 bean bags and one riser at each end of the studio. I started at one end and shuttled one bean bag to the opposite riser, took a bean bag frmo that side and shuttled it back to the starting point, and back with another and back with another, etc. until i'd transferred five from start to finish and five from finish to start. does that make sense?

Finished it in 26:13

notes: i wanted to DIE.

[ivonne b.]

Callie, I'm gonna try this on sunday. Might make a few modifications...

Repeat the following circuit 3 times:

Squat Thrust - 30 seconds (like "burpees")
Step ups with 5-10lb dumbell curl at the top - 30 seconds
Jump Rope (speed rope) - 30 seconds
Tuck Jumps - 30 seconds
Repeat.

[Callie Marunde]

Good luck that drill!! Sounds hard!!! Just remember that which doesn't kill us makes us stronger!! who said that anyway??

[ivonne b.]

last week i strained my left quad doing something silly at work. yesterday i aggravated it trying to do my first o-course simulation workout.

now i'm out for the count for the next 7-10 days, except for stuff like cruches and pushups...

(cough)i'm an idiot(cough)

[Callie Marunde]

oh crap!!! :BB: take it easy!! you have a long time till nov, so rest up!!! it sucks being hurt!!!

Callie

[Jaquelyn Shanley]

I hope the you heal up fast, take it easy...Im sure you'll be back to training soon! :YR:

[ivonne b.]

Morning...

went to asphalt green to do some cardio/endurance stuff, but after running my first sprint i got kicked out because a summer camp starts at 8 am. this was news to me since i normally go to AG on weekends or VERY early in the morning... so i went to the gym, did 10 sprints at level 10 on the concept 2 rower. 30:30. longest distance, 124 meters. shortest distance 107 meters.

Afternoon...

circuits:

pyramid pullups
scapular retractions (hanging from my finger tips)
pushups with my feet on bench
reverse crunches on bench

went like this:

Circuit 1:
1 pullup, 15 scap retractions, 10 pushups, 20 crunches, rest 30 seconds
Circuit 2:
2 pullups, (everything else same as 1)
Circuit 3:
3 pullups, (everything else same)
Circuit 4:
2 pullups (everything else same)
Circuit 5:
1 pullup (everythign else same

in Circuits 2-5 everything but the first pullup was wiht a "jump" start. They were military style, not reverse grip. They hurt. I felt like a retard. It was great.

Following these circuits, I did three circuits of the following drills for my box jumps part of the competition:

30 seconds of squat thrusts (burpees)
30 seconds of step ups with 10lb dumbell curls
30 seconds of jumprope (speed jumps)
30 seconds of tuck jumps*
Rest 1 minute

*this actually came out to about 15 seconds each time because every time i would start jumping really high/hard, i had to pee SOOO BAD that i feared i'd pee my shorts, so i would stop.

After this stuff, I went to the squat rack and practiced some hang pulls... by myself. without p evaluating, or giving me pointers. i think I am finally getting it.

[ivonne b.]

Today was a weird day. Since the trainers' competition is over on thursday at 1 pm, i have been trying to post some numbers for some of the events, just so that my score card isn't blank all the way across. So in addition to my workout, I also completed some of the events in the trainers' competition today...

So far, this is what I have:

Studio run
(20 wind sprints, about 440 yards with 19 sharp turns basically-- the office girl is beating me by 2 seconds on this. I can repeat it and try for a better time, but i don't think i will.)
1:52

Barrier Hops, side to side
(did this today and the office girl is beating me by a few seconds on this as well... what the fuck! I WILL do this over tomorrow or thursday morning)
60 hops in 0:44

1 Mile run
(did this today -- this time is pathetic and embarassing)
9:13

Pushups, 25, for time
0:29 -- I'm in the lead for women so far.

Squats with 75% of my body weight, for reps
45 reps at 80lb -- I'm in the lead for women so far.

Deadlift, 1 repetition, max weight, from the floor
(did this today -- i could probably have done a good 180-185lb but i didn't want to be stupid so i stopped after i reached 175, since i'm the only girl so far who has done it)
175lb -- I'm in the lead for women so far.

Tomorrow or Thursday i will do the following:
Bench Press with 75% of my weight (80lb), for reps
Rower, 1000 meters for time
Versa Climber, 500 feet for time

I don't expect to do GREAT on any of these, but i want to post numbers anyway, just to add some points to my team's score. That's why i did the mile run.

[ivonne b.]

oh crap!!! take it easy!! you have a long time till nov, so rest up!!! it sucks being hurt!!!
I hope the you heal up fast, take it easy...Im sure you'll be back to training soon! :YR:

Thanks girls! I'm feeling better already, so I'm looking forward to beating myself up again soon! I feel like I have SO MUCH WORK TO DO to get even half-good for this competition! I get overwhelmed just thinking about all the obstacles, plus the bench pressing and the box jumps and all that... And the more overwhelming it is the more i'm compelled to DO IT.

The bikini round, though... I am still on the fence about it... :shrug:

[ivonne b.]

Trainer's Competition Portion of my workout:

25 pushups in 29 seconds
1 mile run in 9:13
Deadlift 1-rep maxed out at 175lb (there is more to the deadlift, as it was part of my workout and i worked up to that 175lb)

Workout:

Deadlift, from the floor
105 for warmup - 8 reps
working sets:
135/6 x 4
155/1
175/1 (also a personal record)
RI: didn't count it, just waited to feel ok to go again

Rope pulls, seated and standing, two arms and one arm
#10 on the cybex tower, high pulley, not sure how many pounds
RI 1:00

- 8 reps from a seated position on the floor, hand over hand four with right hand starting, four with left hand starting

- 8 reps from standing position, hand over hand same as above

- 8 reps from standing position, four reps mostly pulling with right arm, light assistance with left arm, and four reps vice versa

These were SOOOOO FARKING HARD! I was beet red and sweating and panting when i was done. That has got to be the heaviest I've ever pulled on that rope since i started these in my workouts a few weeks ago.

Bench Press, 2 sets close grip, 2 sets wide grip
65lb/8 x 4
RI 30

Superset: A) Hammer Curls -- B)Skull Crushers
A) 12.5lb/12 x 3
B) 25lb straight bar/12 x 3
RI 20

Calf Raises on 45-degree
120/20 x 3
RI 30

YTA's on ball, no support for feet*
(*as opposed to pressing my feet against a wall for balance)
12 x 3

Abdominals on Ball
20 Crunches, legs together, with Tempo 2/0/2
20 Twists, legs together, with Tempo 2/0/2
10 + 10 Crunches with one leg on the floor, other leg extended in front of me (10 each leg), with tempo 2/0/2
10 + 10 Oblique Crunches (10 each side), with tempo 2/0/2

[ivonne b.]

Warmup
rowing machine 5 minutes, light squatting (bar)

Workout

Squat
135/10 x 4
RI 1:30

Straight Leg Deadlift
105/10 x 2 (both of these sets staggered grip)
115/10 x 2 (one set overhand grip for first 7 reps before losing grip on left hand, then back to staggered)
RI 1:00

Pulls superset with Hang Cleans
(practice makes perfect, right? Right! not!)
45/5 and 45/5
55/5 and 55/5
60/5 and 60/5
plus 10 front squats with 60lb
RI 1:00

notes: i am finally starting to feel more comfortable with the bar, but the whole concept of letting the bar FLOAT and me just FALL UNDER IT is still a ways away. This is SO MUCH HARDER than it seems!!! JESUS!

Overhead Push Press superset with Dumbbell Scaptions
45/10 and 7.5/10
55/10 and 7.5/10
60/7F and 7.5/10
RI 0:45

Pullups (chins, really because i went underhand grip)
15 total over 5 sets
4, 3, 3, 3, 2
RI: as much as I needed but it never really went over 40 seconds at a time

Cable Tricep Overhead Extensions with Rope Attachment
20lb/10 x 3

Cable Rear Delt Pulls with Rope Attachment
(straight arm, starting position in front, pull out to the side and back)
5lb/10 x 3 each arm

notes: i saw someone else doing this last tiem i was working out and thought it would be a nice change from my usual rear delt/shoulder stuff.

Studio time:

Inchworms/Handwalks
1 time across the large studio - 14 hand walks total

Crunches on the ball
30

Twists on the ball
14

Scorpions
Cobras
Downward dogs
stretching in general

Cardio:

Jumprope
five sets of 100 speed jumps + :20 rest interval

[Callie Marunde]

Keep it up girly!! Is the quad holding up??
Callie

[ivonne b.]

Keep it up girly!! Is the quad holding up??
Callie


Thanks Callie.

The quad is doing great so far. no more pain. Been able to work out the last week more or less. I"m happy.

About to post my workout frmo yesterday. It's a long, verbose post, so probably nobody will read the whole thing! hahaha!

How are YOU doing? I'm going to the wtf camp again the weekend of september 23-25 with another trainer from my gym who wants to check out what this is all about.

[ivonne b.]

(Written on August 14, 2005)

Well, after resting my pulled quad for two weeks, somewhat, I finally got back out there at Asphalt Green at 730 AM today to try to run through the course one more time.

This time i went by myself.

Just me, the field, the cones and the hurdles. No one to coach me, no one to encourage, no one to say a word. I just needed to do this alone and pace myself and take my time. No pressure or expectations from anyone but myself.

The funny thing is, I keep finding mental obstacles (no pun intended) that I need to overcome if I am going to do this challenge in November.

I need to overcome these thoughts of, "oh but I'm not an athlete. I've never done this before. I suck at this. I have such a long way to go. I'm such an impostor. Who the hell do I think I am trying to do this? My body isn't built to jump hurdles. My body isn't built to climb ropes."

Enough already. I need to check those shitty thoughts at the gate and step onto that field OWNING that course. So I psyched myself up all morning as I made my breakfast, packed my bag and got dressed. Took a cab down there. Got there. Set up the cones, the hurdles. Warmed up.

Run #1: 1:27 seconds, including all three hurdles on my FIRST TRY! YAY! I'm owning! I'm owning! Right? Wrong?

Run #2: (no time recorded), made it through the first half of the course, finished my mountain climbers, forward roll, baton shuttle run, sprinted toward that first hurdle and.... came crashing down on it. What the fuck? I got all shook up. I almost started crying (yeah, again), and got really mad at myself. WHY did that happen? What the hell is my problem? I just did those hurdles not even four minutes before, perfectly (well ugly form, I'm sure, but i jumped all three that first time).

Here I took a break from the course and focused on trying to just jump the hurdles. I sprinted toward that first one, got ready to jump and then right as I got to it, I would decelerate and stop right in front of it becauase I felt I wouldn't make it over if I tried to jump it. This happened a few times. I got SO PISSED OFF AT MYSELF.

Then I just decided to run NEXT to them, simulating the jump, try to see what my timing was like? Jump 1, Jump 2, Jump 3, no problem, right next to them but not over them. Nice height, decent speed. I ran through this little hurdle-jumping practice like 10 times, I shit not.

After regaining some confidence, I decided to go for another try of the whole thing.

Run#3: (no time recorded), SAME DAMN THING. Got through first half ok. Sprinted toward first hurdle. Stopped like a retard right in front of it.

At this point I decided to just run the course without the hurdles, just jump on the side like when i was practicing. I did this a few times. Only timed the first one.

Run #1b: 1:27 exactly like the first try in which I'd cleared all three hurdles.

It started to get really hot (heat advisory today), so I decided to pack it up, feeling a little defeated and half-assed. As I was wrapping up my PVC hurdles, my favorite client showed up! I had invited her to the park today because she said she wanted to try what I'm doing (the WTF). So I gladly put everything back out, but only one hurdle (which I didn't push her to jump because I am no hurdle-jumping coach and wouldn't know the first thing about showing someone else how to do soemthign I can't even do right myself).

I did have her run through the course a few times with me (no hurdle, just jumping next to where each one would be). She did alright! 1:35!

I did two more runs through it, #2b: 1:17, and #3b: 1:14. OK so my time got dramatically better all of a sudden, maybe cause there WAS someone encouraging me, or just sharing in this wiht me. Maybe cause I wanted to do better because she was watching me. Maybe because I rested my legs a little bit and my hamstrings weren't so tired so my sprinting was faster. WHo knows WHY, but the time improved (still no REAL hurdles, just jumping).

Anyway... (if anyone is still reading this far)... I am going to take ONE hurdle to the gym and put it in the studio and just practice jumping that motherfucker until it starts wearing red lipstick and mini-skirts, crying for attention.

Overall, despite my wussedness, it was a good, honest try. I poured my heart out all over that workout.

[Callie Marunde]

Tomarrow is a new day.. Give your head a rest and bring it on!!! Dont let your training get the better of you.. Also remember that NO ONE ever has a perfect run, just try to minimize mistakes...

The first time I ran through the O course I totally fell flat on my face in the hurdles the first time, but not the second time!!!

CM

[ivonne b.]

Pullup Pyramid
1-2-3-2-1
RI: 10 seconds

Bench Press
65/8 x 3
65/6F
RI 30

Deadlift
115/8 x 2
125/8
135/8
RI 30

Rope Pulls, ONe Arm, Standing
#10 plate/8 x 4 each arm
RI 30

Skater Walking Lunges, holing 4lb Medicine ball overhead
48 steps x 2
RI 30

Face Pulls
17.5/15
22.5/15
25/15
RI 30

Sprints on the Rower
200m x 3 (48.9 sec, 48.4 sec, 50.1 sec)
RI : enough to catch my breath

Reverse Hypers off Bench
15 x 2
RI: quick pause to reset

Crunches
25
RI: 0

Crunches with One leg perpendicular to floor, other leg, straight and 2" off the floor
25 each side
RI: 0

Stretching

[ivonne b.]

Part 1: Trainer Competition Event at work

Long Jump:
6' 6"

Skateboard-Balance:
11 seconds (pathetic!)

Mini-Triathlon
(Versaclimber-250 feet, Rower-300 meters, Treadmill-1 mile):
12:32

Part 2: Studio Training

Hurdle Jumping

Well, in about 20 minutes i jumped it a total of four times. Better than ZERO times, I guess, but that is only about 1/8 the number of tries I gave it. I kept running at it and crashing or stopping right at it. Just like at the park. I will keep trying.

Jump Rope Intervals
15 minutes

This included 1-minute speed jump intervals, 1-minute high knees/alternating leg intervals, 1-minute butt kick/alternating leg intervals, bounding across studio while jumping the rope (one step per turn of the rope)

Box Shuffles, step with no risers
5 minutes

Box Jumps
10 minutes

Step with no risers: 50
Step with 1 riser: 50
Step with 2 risers: 50
Step with 3 risers: 50

I know, i know. Overkill. I need to work on my box jumps for the fitness skills part of the o-course competition in november. I have to do 50 for time on a 20-inch box. I have to stop being scared of box jumps. I have to learn to land on the boxes.

Pullups
"The only way to get good at pullups is to do pullups!"

I banged out four sets of two. Military style. Today for some reason i was so much stronger than on tuesday!!! WOO WOO!!


Abs
Had one of the new trainers work abs with me. It was fun.

Stretch...
15 minutes

[ivonne b.]

well, patrick kicked my ass again...

here goes:

Pulls - 16 reps total, 65lb
Cleans - 12 reps total, 65lb

I finally got one right, and there is a bright red mark on the middle of my neck to prove it.

Superset:
Squats
145/5 x 4

with

body weight jump squats
12 x 4

RI: 3 minutes

Superset:
Chin-ups, Unassisted
body weight/4 x 4

with

Stability ball hyperextensions
body weight/15 x 4
(two sets with legs apart, two sets with legs together

RI: 45

1-arm Dumbbell Clean and Jerk
20lb, 50 reps, alternating arms
max effort

Stretch

[ivonne b.]

Warmup
Versaclimber, 5 minutes
Active Stretching

Core
Rest Interval: 20 sec

Side planks, 30 seconds each side x 3
Oblique Crunch with Opposite Knee to chest, 12 x 2, each side
Single Leg Balance and Reach, 12 x 2, each leg

Reactive Training
Ice Skaters

Resistance Training

Pullups
Scattered throughout workout in between exercises. Total pullups 10.

Incline DB Press
20/10 x 4
RI :45

Step-Up to Balance on 18" box, with shifting dumbbell
15lb/12 x 3, each leg
RI: 30

notes: I would step up while holding dumbbell on the same side as leading leg, bring up trailing leg so my thigh is parallel to the floor, and balance. Once balance is achieved, i would shift the dumbbell to the other hand, while maintaining balance, and then step down, switch the dumbbell back to beginning hand and do it again.

Neutral Grip Pulldowns, standing
#12/10 x 4
RI :45

Superset
Lateral Lunge to Balance and Dumbbell Scaptions
no weight for lunges
10lb/12 x 3 for scaptions
RI :30

Hammer Curls
12.5/15 x 2
RI: 20

Dumbbell Skull crushers
12.5/15 x 2
RI: 20

Cardiovascular
Rowing Machine, 12 :30/:30 sprints
Jogging on Treadmill, 20 minutes
Total time: 32 minutes

Cool down/Stretch
Elliptical, 3 minutes
SMR/Static stretching