Squat Success, Cardio Catastrophe

Workout date: 9/1/15

I've never gotten a prescription from her, nor have I tried a wine that she has recommended, but when Doctor Coach Sommelier Giulz gives me some advice concerning my training, I tend to listen to her. When I got back from my trip, she pointed out that my back squat program would be more beneficial to me if I did my back squats prior to doing a WOD rather than after the fact.  This is a little difficult to pull off because open strength is typically the last class of the day at the gym, with Tuesday and Wednesday nights being the only exceptions.  9/1 marked the first day I would make a concerted effort to do strength prior to any WODs.

When I hit pause on my back squat program, I was essentially at the mid-point of it.  Here's what was remaining:

6x6 @ 235
6x2 @ 235
5x5 @ 250
6x2 @ 235
4x4 @ 265
6x2 @ 235
3x3 @ 280
6x2 @ 235
2x2 @ 295
6x2 @ 235
1x1 @ 310 (we hope!)

As you can see, the 6x2 days are a bit of a break along the way (if I can handle 6x6 at that weight, 6x2 must be a break).  So my plan was to still do those post-WOD on Thursdays.  But on the tough days, I needed to hit open strength prior to any WODs.

Despite testing out my back squat the night before, I was a little anxious about attempting 6x6 again.  The twinge was in my head and having it happen a second time would really mess me up.  I did my warmup set of 6 reps at 135 and 185 like I had 24 hours earlier before taking on my first set at 235.  I handled the first set fairly well, although my form wasn't wonderful.  Probably the most disappointing part of my injury scare two weeks earlier is that I was having my best back squat session ever prior to the twinge.  When I started this back squat program, I was routinely rocking back and forth on my feet while doing my squats.  On the day I had to stop, my form was solid, with my weight in my heels the entire time.  Sadly, I was back to rocking on my feet again.  Hopefully I can fix that as I make my way to testing out my 1RM again in a few weeks.

Caution was key for me as I made my way through the 6 sets, taking several minutes between each set, even if I was eager to pick up the barbell again.  This wasn't for time, so there was no need to rush.  I also used it as an opportunity to get used to my new weightlifting belt that I had purchased earlier in the day.  It's bad enough that I'm sucking wind regularly when I'm in the gym, but now I was going to wear something that cut down on my oxygen supply even more.  I bought a velcro belt in case I ever want to use it during a WOD, but something tells me it will take a lot to get me over that mental hurdle.  Doing 6 reps of a heavy back squat isn't nearly as taxing as some 18:28 metcon though (we'll get there), so it wasn't all that bad having to wear the belt.

When I got to the 4th set, my anxiety level increased even further.  This is where I stopped last time.  Could my back handle it this time around?  Thankfully the answer was yes.  The 5th and 6th sets were tough when I got to the last two reps, but I hung on and finished all 6 sets.  It was definitely a relief to get through the whole thing with no physical issues.

I packed up my gear and headed over to the gym for the 6:30 class.  It was probably ambitious to take on this WOD after doing a heavy squat session as the workout was leg-intensive, but I gave it a shot anyway.  Here's what I was facing:

4 Rounds:
4 Overhead Squats (115/75)
6 Push Press (115/75)
8 Toes-to-Bar
10 Sit-ups
20 Walking Front Rack Lunges (115/75)

I thought I could handle 115 pounds for this workout, but I tried to show some decent judgment by only using 95 pounds given the fact that I had just done all those back squats.  In retrospect, I'm not sure what weight I could have used to get through this workout quickly as my cardio issues would rear their ugly head.

Early on, I was trying to keep up with Alison and Laura A.  I knew both of them would tear through this workout and I thought I might be able to do the same with only 95 pounds on the bar.  I ripped through my overheads and push presses before moving to my toes-to-bar.  I did quick singles on the low bar, then got to my abmat for sit-ups.  Was pretty quick there, then got ready for the pain, as the lunges were sure to be the killers in this workout.  I broke it up into two sets, finishing round one in just over 3 minutes.  That pace would be sustainable for exactly one round.

The next three rounds were completed in about 5 minutes each.  The overheads and push presses were never a problem.  But my toes-to-bar began to fall apart as quick singles simply became singles.  Let's be honest: eventually they were slow singles.  Sit-ups were fine, but felt like work after that first round.  And the lunges were broken up into three sets during rounds two and three before I managed to hold it together in the final round, only needing two sets.  As Alison and Laura left me in the dust, I tried my best to hang with Alona, but she would leave me behind in the final round as well.  Most people over the course of the day had finished this workout in about 15 minutes, but I was not even close to that.  Final time: (you guessed it) 18:28.

Feeling completely drained at the end of the day, I decided that it would be a good idea to sit one out on Wednesday, before getting back to it on Thursday.

Thursday preview: a PR and one of the low points of the year.  All in the same workout.