The Open Bet and the Outfit of Shame

Workout date: 2/17/15

I swear that my birthday is over.  Come and gone.  There is no reason to be scared of birthday burpees.  Clearly that fear is still lingering as I arrived at tonight's 7:30 class and discovered that I would be working out with...myself.  That's awkward.  At least I wasn't running around doing some crazy metcon by myself.  Tonight's workout was purely strength and skill.  First up would be a 3 rep max of back squats, followed by some chest-to-bar pull-up practice.  And by chest-to-bar pull-up practice, I mean learning the basics behind kipping standard pull-ups.  So far behind on that learning curve...

I didn't know exactly what my 3RM for the back squat should be given that my 1RM is 275, but I thought somewhere in the neighborhood of 245-255 was about right.  Luckily there is a handy chart on the wall that tells you these things.  255 it is.  I got started with a warmup set of 135, while Personal Trainer Keith told me that the 5 actual sets should be about 75% and higher.  135 was very light, so for my next set I got up to the 75% mark and did 205.  I took my time and got through that set easily.  From there I went to 225 and that wasn't bad either, although I did feel another twinge in my calves on the last rep.

I took Keith's advice to stretch my calves out before moving on to my next set, which I did at 245.  Set #4 was at 255.  Whenever I read that the workout calls for a certain amount of sets, I try to hit my goal on the second to last set, with the last set being either a) a pleasant surprise as I go higher than I thought I could, b) the set where I fail, indicating that I measured things out just right, or c) my scale back set, because I had the unpleasant surprise of failing on the second-to-last set.  The reps were definitely slower at 255 and I was up on my toes for rep #3, but I had at least met my goal of 255.  My original plan was to do the last set at 260, but Keith uttered the magical words ("that set looked easy"), so I went with 265 for the final set.  I took some time before attempting 265, after all, it wasn't like I was holding anybody up in the empty gym.  When I grabbed the bar, I did a terrible first rep where I didn't keep my core tight, then did a very solid second rep, finishing up with a slow, but successful third rep.  The chart says that if I can do 3 reps at 265, I should be able to do 1 at 285.  I'll have to test that out another day.

Before even making an attempt at a chest-to-bar pull-up, I had a discussion with Keith about where I am when it comes to pull-ups.  Can manage a few strict ones, but can't kip for the life of me.  So tonight we spent the time working on my kip.  What I discovered is that I have two big problems: 1) I think too much in everything that I do.  This explains why I set PRs at Festivus, as the alcohol shuts off my brain for a bit.  2) I am not an aggressive person.  My attempts at mimicking Keith's aggressive kick left a lot to be desired.  But at least it's in my head now and I can think about it.  (That's progress...right?)  Eventually, I did get some good kips in, but stringing the pull-ups is going to take practice (like everything else).  And at some point I am simply going to have man up and deal with the hand pain that comes along with doing a lot of reps on the bar.

While it was a quiet night at the gym, the moment I have been waiting for happened earlier in the afternoon.  Rachel finally signed up for the Open, meaning that our Open bet was officially on.  Why am I making a bet against a girl who tied for second at last year's King and Queen and has only gotten better since?  (Wow, when you read it typed out like that, it really makes no sense)  Well even if my prospects are bleak, I love a good challenge.  I find myself competing against Rachel a lot in class, so why not face that test over the course of five tough workouts?

The bet?  First person to win three Open workouts gets bragging rights.  One re-do is allowed per workout if either participant desires.  And did I mention the Outfit of Shame?  That's right, the winner will pick out a wardrobe for the loser to wear to class one day, which includes the winner's alma mater as part of it.  I have heard whispers that I will be wearing a Penn State bra in the near future.

Am I a big underdog?  Yup.  But once upon a time, this happened:

Time to re-create that magic.  Game on Rachel!