Belated WOD Post...

Sorry I've been a little MIA lately, and unfortunately, this post will have to be on the shorter side. Graduate finals are such a time suck! But...everyone can use a study break now and then :)

Monday I continued with my "constantly varied workout" routine by joining a friend of mine at her Zumba class. It's essentially Latin Cardio Dance: dance and aerobic moves set to Latin music (reggaeton, salsa, mambo) for an hour-long class. I'll admit that I was a little skeptical about this one since it was supposed to be pretty heavy cardio and movement for an hour, something I haven't done in a long while since joining Crossfit and adopting that approach to working out.

But, there are definitely some positives to Zumba, despite the long cardio aspect (and the fact that I didn't really sweat or feel like I worked out afterwards). I especially liked what the instructor said at the beginning of class, something along the lines of "This is a place where we leave our inhibitions at the door...because there's a lot of butt-shaking and grooving, and we're just here to have fun!" So, I liked Zumba to the extent that it is a fun exercise outlet for people trying to get out of their shells and get comfortable with their bodies. It definitely helped that there were no mirrors in the room where we took the class - I felt really free to let loose and not give a crap about how dorky my arm placement looked.

Tuesday I was back at CFSP for my first workout since my "three-a-day" on Saturday. Our strength component was 2-rep front squats, 5 sets. I teamed up with Diana, who set the first record for the air squat challenge before I beat her. Her lower body is super strong, so I knew we would be challenging each other, our sets broke down:

85 / 105 / 115 / 115 / 120

We both agreed that 120# was tough, but do-able. We didn't fail or bottom out on any of the front squats, so we probably could have pushed ourselves a little more...next time!

The workout included some stuff we don't get to do very often: knees to elbows, lateral jumps, and my personal favorite, kettlebell swings!

For time:
20 Knees to elbows
40 Lateral jumps over the parallelette bar
60 KB swings (53# / 35#)
40 Lateral jumps
20 Knees to elbows

I got a 12" parallelette bar and kept it at that height, although some of my classmates put weight plates underneath to raise the bar. I wasn't quite sure if I was ready for that, but in hindsight I think I should have challenged myself more. I finished in 7:39 taking more breaks than I needed to (but mainly just during the KB swings). I had to drop from the bar on the knees to elbows a few times, but I didn't really stop to catch my breath - just enough time to jump right back on the bar! I wish I could say I did this "RXd," because I did use the prescribed KB weight, but I'm not sure if my jumping counted...

In the recipe corner this week, I've been messing with my CSA greens - spinach and field braising mix! It's been super simple braising this stuff and I've been experimenting with different combinations. Last night I sauteed a chopped shallot "clove" in some olive oil with some walnut bits and pieces. After about 3-5 minutes, I splashed in some apple juice (but I've used chicken stock in the past too) and 2 big handfuls of greens. Some salt and pepper on top and stir it all around until the leaves wilt. Voila! Dinner is served...with steak of course!