Power Walking

Workout date: 1/6/16

The week of awkward workouts continued on Wednesday.  At least this was one I could actually do.  It was very simple in nature:

1,000 meter row
3 rounds of 10 hip extensions and 10 GHD sit-ups
1,000 meter row

There was even a nice little cash out afterwards where we did a 5 minute EMOM of 3 back squats at 80% of our 1RM.  All very simple.  Yet still awkward.

Before we get to that, I have to start off with an update on my double unders.  As I had done the day before, I got to the gym about 20 minutes early so that I could practice double unders with a smaller jump.  Keeping that small jump isn't too much of a problem early on in sets, but as I get tired, I do tend to resort to leaping as I lose all of my self-control.  This session was similar to Tuesday's.  Several medium-sized sets.  Didn't feel the need for extensive rest after those sets.  My best set for the day was 36 reps.  Planning on making double under practice a part of my normal routine.

Okay, now we can get back into the WOD.  The 7:30 class has really blown up as there was a record-shattering 4 people in attendance!  Clearly the word has gotten out: the 7:30 class is where it's at!  I kid, I kid.  The small class size is beneficial for workouts like this one because there is a limited amount of certain equipment at the gym (GHD machines, ropes for climbing, etc.).  It was inevitable that people were going to end up on the GHD machines at the same time in this workout and there were only 5 machines available to use, so we got lucky in the 7:30 class that we didn't need to share equipment or stagger the workout.

Why am I describing this workout as awkward?  The best way for me to explain is to recap the workout itself.  The class was made up of Olan, Julie, and Mykel.  Olan has been doing Crossfit at KOP for a while, but I rarely see him.  In fact, I'm not sure if I've seen him since last year's Open.  I believe Julie is a newer member.  I think I have worked out with her once before.  And Mykel was a drop in from another box.  So this was a new group for me to be working out with.  I didn't have a good sense of who might be going faster or slower like I normally do in class.  (Spoiler:  The rest of the class is usually going faster.  I am usually going slower.)

We began with the first 1,000 meter row and, due to the smaller class, I didn't feel the typical pressure to row faster that I tend to experience in larger classes.  I had a nice controlled pace going that would have me off the rower in a little under 4 minutes.  I completed the first 500 meters in around 1:50 and I felt comfortable doing it.  That pace slowed a little bit on the second 500 meters, but my main focus was on remaining composed.  I had about 50 meters to row when Mykel hopped off of his rower and headed to his GHD.  I was the next one off with Olan and Julie following soon after.

The next part of the workout was the aspect I would describe as awkward.  My GHD was alongside of Mykel's and I hoped that I could make up some time on him during the GHD movements.  After all, he had already proven he was a faster rower, so if I was going to catch him, it would need to be here.  Except there was no catching up on the GHD.  10 reps was a reasonable number of reps for each exercise such that you could string all of them, which is precisely what Mykel and I both did.  Mykel was about 2-3 hip extensions ahead of me when I began working on my GHD.  When he finished his set, I had 2-3 hip extensions left.  Then I was 2-3 GHD sit-ups behind him.  You get the idea.

The best analogy I can give for how things went on the GHD is power walking.  Have you ever seen the walking event at the Olympics?  The athletes are trying their best to go as fast as they can, except they are limited because...well, because they are walking.  They're pumping their arms and they're wiggling their butts, but in the end, they're still walking.  My experience on the GHD was kinda like that.  Mykel and I were moving as fast as we could through our reps, but we were also trying to maintain good form.  There is only so fast you can properly do a hip extension or a GHD sit-up.  The only real opportunity for making up time was by flipping your body over on the machine quickly as you transitioned from the hip extensions to the sit-ups, or vice versa.  I was on my 8th GHD sit-up in my final round when Mykel headed back to his rower.  We spent about 3 minutes on the GHD machine, yet Mykel and I had moved in sync nearly the entire time.  I'm not sure I can think of another time that I've been at the gym where something like that has happened.

With Mykel back on his rower first, I knew I'd never catch him.  The GHD movements had made my legs a little sore, so it was more likely that he'd put more distance between the two of us.  And that is exactly what happened.  My final row wasn't horrible, as I completed it in about 4 minutes, but Mykel went from 2-3 reps ahead of me to finishing 17 seconds before me.  My final time: 11:23.

The GHD movements had taken some of the starch out of my legs, but that final row left my legs feeling a little wobbly.  We were given about 10 minutes to recover from the WOD before we did the cash out and I needed it.  I shook out my legs for a few minutes.  Then I did some back squats at 135 just to loosen up.  80% of my 1RM would be 265 pounds, but that seemed ambitious for the cash out.  255 sounded more reasonable.  Except when I did another warmup set at 225, I struggled more than I would have liked.  Maybe 255 was ambitious.  I decided to trim back even further to 245 for the cash out.  (Note: Mykel decided to use 255 pounds for the cash out and had the rack next to me.  If you don't think this gnawed away at the competitive side of me for the next 5 minutes, then you know nothing Jon Snow.)

The cash out was going to be a one-song affair or at least so we thought (apparently Baby Got Back is only about 3:55 in length).  It would be quick, but not entirely painless.  In fact, I really got worried when my first set of 3 back squats at 245 didn't go smoothly.  However, it turned out that my legs just needed to stretch back out after the WOD.  The first rep of round two was a bit shaky, but the other two reps were fine.  And then the third through fifth rounds were borderline easy.  Why didn't I use 255???  Wimp!  It was probably the right call to go with 245 based on how I felt at the beginning of the cash out, but I think I would have handled 255 just fine had I been stubborn and stuck with it.

Thursday preview: Pistol work!  Sounds perfect for me!  Unless they're gonna make me do handstand push-ups as well.  And they will.