Becca Borawski’s Blog

7:00am – Yoga at Yogis Anonymous, with Virginia

Yay! Back to yoga this morning after a couple super busy weeks.  It felt both horrible and good.  We had a total of 4 people in class, as well, which was cool.  Since it’s so new we’ve only had 1-2 person classes up to this point.

We did a lot of planks and side planks.  I have a feeling I’ll be experiencing some pretty sore obliques!  It was fun, though. We did a few things I’d never tried before.  Also did a lot of hip stretching of course, which always just leaves me achy.

12:00pm – CrossFit, Advanced

I was excited for this one today!  I’d never done Quarter Gone Bad before, and despite the presence of thrusters, it looked like a fun one.  Something different!

For anyone not familiar with the story, John Welbourn and Greg Glassman came up with this one while talking about the metabolic demands of football.  In the spirit of Fight Gone Bad replicating the demands of an MMA fight, they wanted to create something that replicated football’s demands.  And here’s what they came up with…

“Quarter Gone Bad”
5 rounds for total reps of:
15 sec – Thrusters (95#)
45 sec rest
15 sec – Weighted Pull-ups (14# – weight vest)
45sec rest
15 sec – Burpees
45 sec rest

Scores:
Round 1 – 4/5/6
Round 2 – 3/4/6
Round 3 – 4/5/6
Round 4 – 4/5/6
Round 5 – 4/5/7

Total: 74

Thrusters were the worst part of this, by far.  Bringing that weight down onto my body between reps was rough.  I finally started, after a couple rounds, just going right down into the next squat as the weight came down.  It meant I had to move faster (which was both good and bad), but I didn’t have to take the impact.

On pull ups I used my weight vest with 14# of plates in it.  The first couple rounds I was super strict about not kipping.  About half way through round 3 I started doing some kipping.  So, on rounds 3, 4, 5 it was a mixture of half dead hang and half kipping.

Burpees!  I really don’t mind burpees so much anymore.  Which is saying something, because I used to be SO SLOW at them and I really hated them!  Today I consistently got 6 on the first 4 rounds.  I tried a couple times to do more and got a half rep.  I was beginning to think it was physically impossible to cycle fast enough to get 7.  Then on the final round I just went crazy and managed to get 7 and then slam into the ground on what would have been the 8th when the buzzer went off.

I don’t know why, but this workout was FUN.

7:00am – Yoga at Yogis Anonymous

My second week at Yogis Anonymous and had fun this week, too.  Some of the poses are definitely challenging, so it’s very cool.  The class was small again this week, just me and one other person, as the school has only been open a couple weeks.  So anyone who wants to join me in a cozy class next week is welcome!  It’s donation based and you can just drop in.

12:00pm – CrossFit, Advanced

Noah Marble came up with this week’s Fight Gone Bad variation…

“Fight Gone HEAVY…and TABATA”

In this version of “FGB,” scale the weight up! …and do it in Tabata intervals.

Class A – 95# sumo deadlift high pull & push press, 24” box jump, 20# wall ball to 11.5′ target
Class B – 75# sumo deadlift high pull & push press, 24” box jump, 16# wall ball
Class C – 55# sumo deadlift high pull & push press, 20” box jump or step up, 10# wall ball
Class D – 45# sumo deadlift high pull & push press, 20” box jump or step up, 10# wall ball

Two rounds of:
Wall-ball
Sumo deadlift high-pull
Box Jump: 20″ box
Push-press
Row

In this workout you spend 2 minutes at each station — this two minutes is broken into 4 Tabata intervals of 20 seconds work followed by 10 seconds rest. On the call of “rotate”, the athletes must move to next station immediately for best score. One round consists of 2 minutes on each of the 5 exercise stations, for a total of 10 minutes. There is no additional rest between rounds. The entire workout is 2 rounds, or exactly 20 minutes long. One point is given for each rep, except on the rower where each calorie is one point. Your score is the total number of points earned on all exercises.

I did weight class “B” – 75# sdlhp & push press, 24” box jump, 16# wall ball

Score: 204

I wasn’t sure how to strategize on this one!  I joked about aiming for five on every interval, and that actually turned out to be about right.  I could have gone harder earlier on, I just wasn’t sure how it was going to feel.  I wouldn’t mind do this one again in the future to aim for a better score.

7:00am – Yoga at Yogis Anonymous

Yogis Anonymous is a new yoga place at 2nd and Arizona that just opened up this week.  Ally Hamilton, from Brian Kest’s, heads it up.  Their website isn’t quite functional yet, but they do have a schedule: http://www.yogisanonymous.com/ The studio is donation based and has a full schedule of classes seven days a week.

I have been looking for an hour long, Friday morning 7am class, for a long time and I think I finally found it!  I had a great time in class and remembered WHY it’s good for me to do yoga—I need balance and flexibility.  I’m all wobbly and my hips are tight.  I’m strong and can get in positions, but my hips and hamstrings don’t cooperate…and I fall over a lot. lol!

The instructor, Virginia Weiss, was very cool and sweet and I enjoyed the class.  I plan to go again next week!

Funnily enough, I only heard about Yogis Anonymous because one of the lululemon ladies at the Grand Opening mentioned she was going to their Grand Opening, as well.

Then today, on my way back to the gym I stopped at the Co-Op and happened to run into an acquaintance who told me about ANOTHER new yoga place in Santa Monica called YogaCo, on the Promenade.  So I may check them out as well.

So, strange coincidences and lots of good info as a result!

I will also be doing my 50 wall ball, from yesterday and today, later on this afternoon.

7:15am – CrossFit, Master Class

I was feeling not so hot this morning because my stomach was still cramped up from Friday night’s pizza party for Team Ocho.  Ugh!  Team-member Jennifer, aka Jen-Detta, had us over her apartment for a pizza party.  I had four slices and felt my stomach seizing up before I even finished them.  Then I had a cupcake and got really dizzy. LOL!  I’m not in condition for junk food anymore!

Despite my stomach still not feeling good on Saturday morning, my energy actually felt alright.

3 Rounds:
300 Single Unders
30 Dumbbell Burpee Deadlifts (25# d-bells)
30 Box Jumps (20” box)
15 Pull Ups
15 Weighted Sit Ups (25# d-bell on chest, other 1 used as anchor)
27:38

I feel that my strength on these sorts of workouts is being able to maintain my speed throughout.  I don’t start off like a bat out of hell, but I start off strong and try to never slow down.

The single unders I told myself I was only allowed to stop if I missed – no resting otherwise.  Burpee deadlifts I did in sets of 10-5-5-5-5 each round.  Box jumps I did in 10-10-10 each round.  Pull ups were usually 3 sets and sit ups were all in 1 set.

7:00am – Yoga Naga

Two weeks in a row of great yoga class!  We had 6 people in class this morning and did the first 28 movements a few times and then worked on a bunch of partner drills.  The drills all worked on twisting the torso and opening the hips, which are two things I need work on in particular.  It was painful but good!  My upper back felt GREAT after we did all the twisting exercises – I’ll have to remember this when I feel it get tight in the future.

12:00pm – CrossFit, Level 2/3

Strength workout followed by a mini-metcon.  I normally really dig these days, but for some reason I just wasn’t feeling “on” today.  I didn’t sleep well on Wednesday night and last night I slept really hard, but woke up feeling exhausted.  Going to get lots of rest this weekend to even things out.

Did some warm up sets of front squat, and then…

Front Squat 3-3-3-3-3
1. 135#
2. 145#
3. 145#
4. 145#
5. 145# (1x)

The last set nothing really went wrong with the squat, I was just tired.  My five rep weight the last time I did front squats was 135-140, so I thought I’d be able to do more weight at 3 reps.  But, that was also back when I was lifting heavy every Monday.  Darn.

5 rounds or AMRAP in 12 min:
14 pull ups (chest to bar)
21 squats
14 push ups
3 rounds, + 14 pull ups, 21 squats and 13 push ups

My chest hit the ground on my 14th push up as Stanwyck said time, so I didn’t count it.  A half rep shy of finishing 4 rounds in 12 minutes.  Darn again.

I really want to do this little workout again in a couple weeks once the Games have passed and do it with normal pull ups.  I would crank on this little bugger.

7:00am – Yoga Naga at InFocus Wellness Institute (aka Shakti’s)

I haven’t been to Yoga Naga at Shakti’s (or InFocus Wellness Institute, as they are known now) in a couple weeks due to travel last week and being a grumpy pessimist the week before.  Going this morning reaffirmed for me all the reasons that are GREAT about classes there.  That’s what keeps me going back – I’ve been frustrated in the past when the schedule gets messed up or instructors get switched around, but when I go and Nisha or Z is teaching and the class has energy it’s by far the best yoga class I’ve ever been to.  This morning was great and I got a lot out of it and had a great time.  Here’s to class continuing in that fashion and ME bringing my own positive energy to class with me as a contribution each time as well.

8:30am – Visit to Dr. Marc

Visited Dr. Marc Golub, who has donated his chiropractic services to the Affiliate Team in preparation for the Games.  He worked on my neck, which is permanently tight.  Felt much more mobile afterward.

12:00pm – CrossFit, Level 2/3

When Andy emailed me the week’s workouts on Sunday night, I saw today and simultaneously was excited and nauseous.  I was excited because I’m enjoying running lately and I know these sorts of workouts are so good for achieving my fitness goals, and nauseous because, well….that’s self explanatory.

Hill Sprints – 6x Franklin Hill
1. :56
2. :58
3. 1:02
4. 1:03
5. 1:03
6. 1:05

I know from my Garmin that Franklin hill is an 80 foot rise and I’m told it’s about 225m long.

This was one more sprint than the last time we did hill sprints on May 6th.  Tanya and I are fairly certain that Andy is slowly going to work us up each time until we’re doing like 8 of them.  UGH.

I am really happy with my times today though, my times on May 6th were all slower—1:06, 1:02, 1:03, 1:02, 1:00.  I felt really disgusting, nauseous and had a massive headache right after the workout…but I WAS FASTER.

I also felt like I stayed lighter and taller longer on each run compared to last time…which I’m sure is not unrelated to my being faster.

7:00am – Yoga Naga at Shakti’s Elements

I went to Shakti’s this morning to get my once a week yoga class in.  The regular instructor, Nisha, was not there.  I was disappointed not to have Nisha, as she and a yoga teacher I had a couple years ago, Garth Hewitt, are my two favorite yoga instructors as of this point in my yoga experience.  One of the reasons I like them both is because they are really particular and will physically put you in the right position so you can feel it.

The class did give me a chance, though, to get to know one of the other instructors, Kim, a little better and get a sense of his teaching style.  It was just me and one other person in class.  So, it was a nice quiet start to the day and I know it does my body good to work on balance and range of motion.

This morning I took my first Yoga Naga class at Shakti’s Elements in a long time.  I had taken a break due to scheduling issues and trying out other yoga studios.  But, as anyone who read my Power Yoga entry knows, I have as of yet to find a place with the quality of instruction as Shakti’s.

This morning I went to the Advanced Yoga Naga class, and while I’m not advanced, I was able to remember enough and pay enough attention to keep up. Nisha, the instructor and co-owner, helped remind me of things and scale the movements that were indeed more advanced.

It felt good to be back in yoga, specifically a style where I can really feel a difference and where the instructor cares to teach proper details.  I could feel how tight my hips were and how much it helps my spine and posture.  I plan to continue to go there once a week, maybe more once the CrossFit Games are done.

6:15pm – YogaHop

After hearing ravings for quite some time from a variety of students, and Greg W. giving me a free pass, I decided it was finally time to check out this YogaHop thing!

I got there early, as I’d heard horror stories of classes selling out and being crowded.  The set up was a little different than I expected.  There were two separate rooms full of students and the instructor had a headset and walked back and forth between the rooms.  The “hop” part of YogaHop comes from the music—the class is timed out to the music.  So, during the first half, the “strength” part of the workout, the music is more upbeat and intense.  During the second half, or relaxation and stretching part, the music is down low key.  The theme for tonight’s class was 90s music, so there were lots of cool retro songs playing.

Matthew, one of the owners, introduced himself to me before class and said Greg had told him I was coming.  It was nice that he knew who I was and walked around the room to greet everybody.  He explained to me and the girl next to me (who was also new) how class would work.  He described the class as Power Yoga set to a good mix to make the time go by quicker!

What I liked about the “strength” part was actually the balance and coordination required.  I could feel that I was out of practice with yoga as I was very wobbly and it wasn’t because of strength.  It was my flexibility and balance in certain positions. I wish there’d been a little more instruction and I was glad I knew the basic movements, but I think there’s probably other classes they offer that are more focused on that.  Or maybe if I’d looked totally lost, Matthew would have rescued me—he was very good about checking in on all the new people and asking how we were doing.

I enjoyed it, though I’m not sure if it’s quite what I’m looking for.  It was fun, and had lots of good static holds and stretches, although I don’t really like having to get to class early, especially if the class is already an hour and a half long (too long for my schedule).  It’s just too much time to dedicate.  But, I would consider going back from time to time and I’m glad I checked it out!

7:00am – Yoga Class

I am in an exploration process of finding a new place to practice yoga.  The place I trained last year, Shakti’s, was having some trouble with their business and their schedule and I haven’t had a place to train for a while now.  I can tell that my body is feeling it.  So, I’m trying out different schools.  All things said and done I may end up back at Shakti’s as they have reorganized themselves recently and there is one class that may work for me.  But, I want to explore before I decide on a place to stick to for a while.

So my first venture was this morning…and the place shall remain nameless since this is the internet and I don’t have much nice to say.

I had a feeling I was in trouble when the instructor showed up late and then spent 5 minutes rummaging through the cupboards, all while telling us that we should be sitting and thinking about why we’re waiting for him and why don’t we just do yoga on our own.  And he wasn’t saying that like he had something to teach us, but rather, he thought we should have stayed home!

It was supposedly a beginner class, but there was no instruction on the poses.  Instead, we were told repeatedly to be “okay” with not doing things correctly or not knowing the movements and “find our bliss.”  I almost rolled up my mat and left about 10 different times during the class.

We were instructed on one pose—he asked us to do this new one with him, “reach the corners of your mouth as high up to your earlobes as possible.”  UGH.

We were instructed to repeatedly to be “okay” with whatever we were feeling, including, he said, “being angry with the instructor and thinking the instruction is bad.”

Towards the end he put on the song “Cruisin’” up loudly and we were asked to dance around with our eyes closed and sing along.

It’s quite possible I may have nightmares tonight.