gym shooter

Did you all hear about this news story? In Pennsylvania, a guy opened fire at a gym, killing three women and then killing himself. Apparently, he wrote about it in a blog that he kept. Some scary stuff!

In lighter and brighter news, Laura Ling and Euna Lee are back home. I'm happy that Bill Clinton and Al Gore, the first presidential duo I ever voted for are still awesome. Yea.

Warm-up
Row a slow 500 meters

CrossFit One World WOD
You have one hour to establish your max weight attempt at five reps of back squat. This means you do five reps without dropping or reracking the bar at the highest possible weight you can. Take your time getting there. Rest at least three to five minutes between attempts. If you only get four reps, it is not your best 5RM (you will not believe how many people don't get that.....)

Joanne's Max Weight - 153#
What the weight progression looked like: 53/73/103/123/133/138/143/148/153 (note: I did five reps at each weight, making it a total of 45 heavy back squats)

Notes (to myself) about this workout: I'm a fan of the back squat. As Eric and Jason K. (kudos!) mentioned, by body is naturally made for this kind of lifting. Coming in, I told myself that if I could break 150#, I'd be happy. My stretch goal was 160#. To hit 153# was a total gift. Toward the end I could feel my form breaking and my back wasn't as upright as I would have like it to be. That's why I stopped. I think with some extra training and a focus on my core and lumbar curve, I could have hit more weight. I felt like I had at least another 10#-15# in me. Oh well. That's what next time is for. Eric suggested that for the next time, after I do some warm-up reps, I should go heavy from the get-go. I think this is sound advice and I will try to start my actual weight somewhere in the 130# range.

Right now, some KUDOS are in order. Tonight was just one of those great nights where everyone really pushed their limits and it was so great to watch.
First off, there's Jerry L. who is pictured here with one of the coaches of the night, Eric G. (Kudos for staying late to help us out, Eric!) I don't know what Jerry L. ended at. But I will say that with any WOD, he's 100% heart. Jerry L. is one of those rare CrossFitters who I feel truly competes with himself and no one else. It doesn't seem like he's driven to beat other people's times and weights. For him, it's about his WOD and his results. This is one of the many reasons why it's so great to share the floor with him Kudos, Jerry L.!

I also wanted to pay my respects to Lori and Settie for their performances tonight. I was SO PROUD to watch Lori reach a 105# 5RM. She was so afraid to hit 93#, but she had so much in her. It was amazing! Of course, Settie did great as well. Right when we thought she was done at 98#, she pulled through and hit 100#. Then, she did 105# for two reps. Amazing work ladies!