Kirsten Captures

Saturday, December 15th

Starbucks certainly knows their way to my heart. I mean I spent almost two months using their lovely (sometimes loud and crowded) shop in Shanghai as an office so of course they know how to pull me in. First it was the seasonal drinks. Nope, no pumpkin spice latte in China but toffee nut latte?? Yes please.

Now it is the adorable snowman cookies. I mean how cute is this?

It was so cute that I promptly ate it Saturday morning. Nom. Determined to put all that sugar into good use, I hit the gym a few hours later for a quick WOD. My mom and I had plans to see the movie Argo that afternoon so I had only an hour to spare. Good thing The Traveling WOD provides an arsenal of WODs ranging from simple to complex and short to long. I chose short and simple with an emphasis on core work today:

WOD

10 Superman

10 Hollow Rock

10 Push Up

10 Sit Up 

6RFT

After a quick warm-up I busted this WOD out in 12.12. It was perfect! I really should focus on strengthening my core a bit more so I can improve on my big lifts. Maybe a strong core will make squats suck a little less. Eh, I doubt it but it’s worth a try.

As for seeing Argo, we made it just in time and absolutely loved the movie! We were on the edge of our seats the entire time.

Sunday, December 16th

Sunday I spent the morning and most of the afternoon wrapping presents while catching up on Once Upon a Time. I was a bit distracted which made wrapping go pretty slowly but it made for a more enjoyable experience.

Before the sun set I made sure to take my bike out for another ride to the gym. It is my favorite time of the day to go biking. This is why:

Winter sunsets are always the most beautiful. I was in absolute awe. As a result, I was in a great mood and decided to tackle my nemesis… squats!

Strength

Squats- 5×5- 100 lbs.

Tricep Cable Extensions- 3×10- 32lbs. 

I even did my squats on the Smith machine (which I hate) with a lot of people in the gym (feeling awkward). However I was so glad I pushed through and did them anyway. Sometimes we hate certain lifts or movements in the gym because they are our weakness. That is a perfect reason why we should do them more!

WOD

Plate Ground to Overhead- 25lbs.

Burpee

K2E

32, 24, 16, 8 

I did this killer WOD in 27.46. Lordy, this was really hard. I did this same WOD plus a 600meter run back when I first started Crossfit  (read my post here) and had a similar time. However, this time I did only full burpees!! Success! Back when I started I had to modify with burpees on my knees because my chest was too weak. I am stronger!

The best thing about Crossfit is that you can really track your improvements. It is so motivating. A little bit of competition with yourself is always a good thing. Next time I know I can finish in an even better time. I find it really challenging to push through burpees so they always take me forever.

Next time I will be better! Just wait and see.