Roxanne, By The Band Queen

Workout date: 1/12/16

Tuesday nights mean 7:30 classes.  And 7:30 classes mean Dave, crickets, and tumbleweed.  (The part of "crickets" would be played by Sir Chris Cline, while "tumbleweed" would be portrayed by Matt E.)  After a Monday night where every building on the KOP campus was filled to capacity, there was just a smidge more room to maneuver on Tuesday night.  The three of us were taking on a workout that was more complicated to explain than actually do:

150 double unders
21 hang power cleans and push jerks (115/75)
42 box jumps (24"/20")
15 hang power cleans and push jerks (115/75)
30 box jumps (24"/20")
9 hang power cleans and push jerks (115/75)
18 box jumps (24"/20")

The 150 double unders were essentially a buy-in to the workout.  Once those were done, it was on to a couplet of clean and jerks with box jumps.  Except the cleans were to be done from the hang rather than from the floor.  And the jerks needed to be push jerks, not split jerks.  And the capital of Djibouti is Djibouti.  Got all that?  Good.

Before we got going with this daunting workout, Coach Rachel had a fun warmup in store for the three of us.  It was based on a song with repeating lyrics.  When someone sang Pee Wee's secret word of the day, you had to stop running and do a burpee.  The song being referenced (according to our coach): Roxanne, by the band Queen.  Cline and I then needed to be revived with smelling salts.  That wasn't all though.  As much as we might like Roxanne (by the band Queen) and running, that combo could not hold a candle to an obstacle course and the song Shots (by the band LMFAO).  The warmup included bunny hops through a ladder lying on the floor, high knee skipping, med ball cleans, bear crawls, and burpees whenever someone said "shots" in the song.  For those not familiar with the song, it happens frequently.

I wasn't terribly excited about transitioning from a bunch of burpees to a test of my double under skills, but it was time to get ready for the workout.  Rachel asked about our double under abilities.  She had a decent idea of where Cline and I stood, but not as much clarity when it came to Matt.  I told her that he was better at double unders than I was, which he backed up by doing 20 consecutive double unders in the warmup.  (Cline and I also got 20 in a row during the warmup.  There is magic in the air at the 7:30!)

My goal in this workout was simple.  I've written many posts about my gas tank hitting empty while doing double unders.  And while I've been hoping that my practice with smaller jumps will bring me ever closer to 100 consecutive double unders, the main reason I've been trying to get more efficient is so that I can get through WODs like this one.  150 double unders is still a lot for me.  I expected they would tire me out, but there were still 45 clean and jerks and 90 box jumps to be done once the double unders were completed.  So I couldn't take forever doing the 150 double unders and I couldn't wildly jump around during them, depleting the energy I would need for the back half of this workout. My goal: finish the 150 double unders in less than 5 minutes.

Apparently that goal was not ambitious enough for me.  Rachel let us know that there would be a time cap within the WOD (my first experience with such a setup).  At the end of 4 minutes, we would move on from double unders whether we had completed 150 reps or not.  Revised goal: finish the 150 double unders in less than 4 minutes.  Gulp.  That was roughly 40 double unders per minute.  I didn't have time to mess up and I didn't have time to rest.  Efficiency was no longer an option, it was mandatory.

We did some warmups on the clean and jerks and the box jumps, but then it was time for the moment of truth.  Rachel started the clock and we were off.  My first attempt at a set of double unders: zero reps.  My second attempt at a set of double unders: zero reps.  Not such a good start.  My third attempt at a set of double unders: 32 reps.  That's more like it.  I needed a breather after that set, but not a long one, and my calves weren't throbbing.  I was able to get a couple of sets in the 15-25 rep range without wearing myself out and I was at 89 reps after two minutes of jumping rope.  Ahead of the pace I needed, but 61 reps was still a long way to go.  I couldn't depend on keeping up the same pace.  After all, sometimes double unders just go away.  I needed to put together a few more large sets.  At the 3 minute mark, I was beyond 120 reps, still ahead of the pace I needed.  At about 3:15-3:20, Cline dropped his rope and headed to his barbell.  I was at 134 reps.  40-45 seconds should have been plenty of time, but what if I hit a skid and couldn't get more than one at a time.  I needed one more big set.  The rope didn't hit me as I did my first rep and I focused on using the same controlled jump that I had utilized for the last three minutes.  After 6 reps, I had 10 to go.  Gotta hold on and get all 10 in this set.  I was petrified of messing up as I did reps 146, 147, and 148.  For some reason though, once I got to 148, I felt confident that I wouldn't mess up the last two.  I completed double under #150 with 3:36 elapsed on the clock.  I really could not have cared less about the rest of the workout.  I was extremely happy about not getting time capped.  And the best part was that my legs didn't feel shot.  At least not yet.

I joined Cline over at the barbells and got to work on the clean and jerks.  I did a very wimpy set of three to begin.  Perhaps I was more tired than I realized.  Or maybe I was still celebrating the double unders and not focusing on the new task at hand.  After that first set, I did two sets of 5 and two sets of 4 before heading over to the box jumps.  I was the first one there, although Cline and Matt weren't far behind me.  I began by trying to rebound off the floor and back on to the box, but that method did not feel very safe as my legs began to tire.  Maybe with a break I would have felt better about it, but instead I decided that I would simply step down after each of my box jumps for the rest of the workout.  I tried to keep things balanced in terms of which leg I came down on by doing a set of 4-5 where I came down on my right leg followed by a similar set where I came down on my left lag.  42 box jumps in a row is tiring and at a certain point feels never-ending.  But towards the end of the round, I picked things up again.  With 30 jumps completed, I did 2 fast sets of 6 before walking back to my barbell.

I tried to be a little less wimpy in the second round, taking care of my 15 clean and jerks with 3 sets of 5 reps.  More rest was required between these sets, but I tried not to crouch alongside of my barbell for too long.  I came back to my box and tried to grind through as many reps as possible, but this workout was draining.  Somewhere near the end of my 30 jumps, I managed to hit my foot on the box and tumble over the left hand side of it.  My legs were starting to feel heavy, so I focused on swinging my arms during my jumps to give me more boost.

I had made it to the last round and I was going to push with whatever I had left so that I could be done with this workout and lay on the ground in peace.  Cline and Matt were still working on their second round of box jumps and I wanted to get back to my third round of jumps as quickly as possible.  I only did 3 clean and jerks each set, but I shortened my breaks between sets.  I got back to my box as Matt was completing his second round of box jumps, with Cline not far behind him.  I told myself that 18 box jumps wasn't a lot, but my legs weren't agreeing.  I kept a decent pace until I took a second header with about 5 jumps to go.  I shook off the latest mistake and hoped that I'd have no more mishaps jumping on the box.  One by one, I did clean jumps on to the box.  I did my 18th jump for the final round, turned around, and looked at the clock.  Final time: 17:21.

Matt and Cline completed their 9 clean and jerks before working through the final 18 box jumps.  When they were finished, they both seemed to have the same look on their face that I had: relief that the workout was over.  This workout was definitely a grind to get through.  But in the end, I didn't really care about my final time all that much.  I was psyched about getting through the 150 double unders.  And it was a huge boost to my confidence to know that I could do that many double unders and not completely exhaust myself in the process.  Maybe there is hope for me yet.

Wednesday preview: Some atrocious-looking workout named Chelsea that I have never done before.  Part of the gym benchmark series.  A 30-minute workout featuring pull-ups and push-ups.  I think we all know how this is gonna go.