I hadn't taken a full day off in a week (let's call what I did on Friday "active recovery"), so I didn't even consider taking class on Sunday, especially with it being in the annex. I was more than happy to let my old bones recover in anticipation for the next WOD on Monday. When the KOP blog displayed what we would be doing, I was pleasantly surprised. The class was one part strength and one part metcon cash out:
Strength:
1RM Snatch
Cash out:
AMRAP in 8 minutes
20 wall balls (20#/14# to 10'/9')
200 meter run
Why wasn't this workout causing me to cower in fear? Two reasons:
- I had practiced the snatch on Friday night and even though it didn't go particularly well, I shook off the rust a bit. After failing with 135 pounds (my PR is 175 pounds), I remembered you could always squat underneath the lift (duh!). That helped a little bit, but my timing was still off. I got 135, took a few tries to get 145, then gave up after failing at 155 on a couple of attempts. I felt like I had a real shot at getting 155 on Monday after practicing on Friday.
- Sets of 20 wall balls with a "sprint" afterwards would be a good test of my cardio and my willpower. My improvements with wall balls had come about in large part once I learned how to control my breathing doing them. Could I still control my breathing after darting out to the 200 meter turnaround point and back? How many rounds could I do while stringing all 20 reps? 8 minutes was right in my preferred range in terms of workout time, so this was a really good setup for me.
I got to the gym for the 5:30 class and...oh yeah, you're probably wondering why I decided to go to an earlier class than normal. Well, KOP was starting their "New Year, New You" program on Monday night. It takes place on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at 6:30. A few months ago, KOP hosted the "Holiday Head Start" program at 6:30 on those nights and I was silly enough to sign up for WODs at that time. It can get fairly crowded in the gym during a typical 6:30 class, but it becomes extremely claustrophobic when half the gym is cordoned off for an intro program. Having learned my lesson, I was avoiding the 6:30 class at all costs.
Anyways, we were still 15 strong at the 5:30 class. And Aimee surprised us by letting us know the cash out was more of a cash in since we'd be doing the wall balls and running metcon as a way of warming up. On one hand, that didn't sound so bad because it would definitely warm us up and I wouldn't have to think about what awaited us after we were done with the snatch. On the other hand, I did have some concerns that this might tire out my arms, causing me to struggle when snatching afterwards. I didn't think about it for too long though. The order we were doing this in had been decided and that was that. We all grabbed a spot next to the wall and I ended up right next to Laura A. There was a really good chance she was going to crush this workout, but I was going to try my best to keep up with her.
Aimee sent us on our way and I would have been very embarrassed if I didn't get the first set of 20 wall balls unbroken. Laura was a little faster than me, heading off on her run while I still had one rep to go. As I turned to go out the door, Josh M and another guy who I haven't met were just in front of me. Those two went about the same speed as Laura on the run, but I was not interested in going that fast. To me, wall balls were all out about breathing. If I was panting from sprinting on that first run, I'd end up dropping the ball well short of 20 reps during my second round of wall balls.
I came back into the gym, jogged over to my ball, picked it up and got going. My breathing had accelerated from the run, but I calmed it down a little bit during the first few wall balls. From that point on, I didn't have much doubt I'd be able to complete all 20 reps. Back out the door I went again, with the same triumvirate out in front of me. When I got back to my station, Laura had increased her lead on me to several reps. I was totally focused on my own reps, but it was during this round that I kept hearing balls hit the ground. Was it Laura, Josh, or the other guy? I had no idea. I'd find out when I finished my 20 reps.
I made it to about 12 reps in the third round before wanting to drop the ball, but I was determined not to drop. Really Dave, you can't make it 8 more reps? I told myself to hold on until the end of the round. I was breathing pretty heavily, but I made it through 20 more reps in a row. As I went out the door, I saw Laura up ahead, but not Josh or the other guy. Turns out Josh was right behind me and he passed me soon enough. But if I had caught him on that round of wall balls, he must have dropped the ball. I might be able to get ahead of him if I could hang on through round 4.
As I began round 4, it was clear there was no catching Laura. I thought if I went unbroken through the wall balls, I might finish a fourth round before time was up. I hadn't snuck a peek at the clock, but I estimated 20 wall balls plus a mediocre 200 meter jog would take me close to 2 minutes per round. I tried to control my breathing, telling myself that this was the last round of wall balls. Just 20 more reps that I needed to hold on for. As I proceeded through the round, the issue of my breathing took a back seat. I had been holding my arms over my head to throw and catch this 20 pound ball repeatedly and now my shoulders were becoming noticeably sore. You know, the shoulders that would be integral to the snatches I would be doing imminently. My mind began trying to reconcile whether it was worth it to hold on for 20 consecutive wall balls when it might cause me to drop 155 pounds on my head later on. I decided I'd worry about that later. I completed rep #20 and headed out the door. A look at the clock let me know I had about 50 seconds to run the next 200 meters.
Knowing there wasn't much chance I'd get back in time to do anything else, I tried to pick up the pace on my run. And then I heard Josh behind me. "Pick it up Nichols! Get back before time is up!" Josh is always good about pushing me, although I'm not nearly as good at taking that encouragement and finding a second wind. I did during this run though. On the way back to the gym, he was starting to catch me, but I lengthened my stride and made it back through the doors before him. Only one problem. Everyone who was in the gym was laying on the floor. I looked at the clock only to see it read 8:15. I didn't pick up the pace enough and the last 200 meters meant nothing. Final score: 3+20.
Well now that I'm out of breath and my shoulders are sapped, let's do some snatches! I was less than thrilled about wasting so much energy on that final sprint, but I'd have some time to recover as Aimee walked us through the finer points of the snatch. My plan was to go 95-115-125-135-145-155-165 for my seven lifts. All I really wanted was to get 155, but I threw in 165 at the end in case things went better than planned. And it wasn't like 165 was some pipe dream. I had gotten 175 once upon a time. It was just a really long time ago.
Snatch warmups. Pretty sure my hip crease is below my knees. #weirdo
While we were going through our warmups and our initial lifts, Samson was snapping pictures like the one you see above. I think I did my lifts at 95 and 115 before I turned and saw his camera lens pointing in my direction. Trying to create a slightly more entertaining picture than the typical "struggling Dave staring at the ceiling" pose everyone is used to, I hammed it up a bit. Samson took the photo, looked at it, and then declared that I was "wonderfully awkward". I've been called worse.
Even with those lighter lifts at 95 and 115, I tried to recall what I learned on Friday, going into a full squat and pausing at the bottom before rising up with the barbell. It wouldn't be good to pause at the bottom with heavier weights, per se, but sometimes you get stuck in the bottom with those heavier weights and you need to have patience in standing up with it. If I could teach myself to remember that while not being in trouble with these lighter weights, I'd have a better chance at succeeding later on.
The lifts at 125, 135, and 145 all went smoothly in my first attempt at each. That was certainly an upgrade from Friday night when 135 and 145 were extremely difficult for me to handle. It wasn't until I got to 155 that I had problems, but that was expected. What wasn't expected was having success at 155 in my second attempt. I got under the barbell fine, but then I didn't stand straight up out of the bottom, causing me to have to chase forward after the barbell. Luckily I didn't have to run too far (tight quarters!) before getting it under control.
I had made it to 165, but I didn't have high hopes because that lift at 155 was a bit suspect. Attempt #1: I got under the barbell but couldn't control it, requiring me to dump it behind me immediately. Attempt #2: See attempt #1. Attempt #3: Perhaps I was trying to do my best to keep the barbell in front of me, but I let the barbell arc out in front of my body and I was unable to get underneath it.
While contemplating whether it was worth one last attempt (it was almost 6:30), I looked over and watched Giulz attempt her last lift. I had no idea how much was on her barbell or whether it was an important lift to her. And then this happened:
That is what a PR looks like.
Damn Giulz! Now I feel like I have to get this lift. As I got ready to go, I got some encouragement from Alejandra. Then Matt B came over, confused about why I hadn't lifted 165 yet. (I believe his comment was "you should be able to lift 225...easy.") I tried not to overthink things. I got a grip on the barbell, lifted my chest up, and went for it. A second later, I was deep in the bottom of a squat holding 165 pounds over my head. Now I just needed to stand up with it. I was a little shaky as I rose with the weight, but I did manage to stand it up. I definitely need to practice my snatch more, but getting 165 at the end of the class made me believe for the first time in a long time that I could get 175 once again.
After class, I decided to play crossing guard for the 6:30 class as they did their cash out. You have to cross a street while doing the 200 meter run and no one enjoys getting hit by a truck in the middle of their cash out. Once that was over, I packed up and headed to the annex to do my second installment of shoulder press as part of the Wendler program I am using. The main gym wasn't the only packed house, as all the racks on the pull-up rig were taken when I got down to the annex. There was still a portable rig available though, so I moved that against a wall and grabbed a barbell. Michal was in the annex as well and she was looking very serious while doing her back squats. Except she wasn't doing sets. She was only doing one rep. Wait, I know what this is! I motioned over to Faby and asked if this was her test day and it was. Michal was going after 200 pounds on her back squat, with her previous PR being 185 pounds. As I tried to whisper to Faby, he tried to whisper back to me. What was with all the whispering? Michal didn't know how much weight was on her barbell.
That might sound strange, but it usually works out very well. When Michal completed a squat, Faby would tell her which weights to put on the barbell for her next lift. If he had told her "that's 195 pounds on the barbell", then she might have begun thinking about the fact that she had never squatted that much and failed. But by keeping her in the dark, she could simply go up and give her best shot every time not knowing whether it was a weight she had been successful on in the past. When me and Faby had this initial exchange, it was right before Michal attempted 190 pounds. Looked easy. She had a new PR. And I couldn't congratulate her. In fact, I began treating her like a pitcher who has a no-hitter going. She'd complete her lift and then I'd say nothing to her as she walked back to where she was sitting between lifts. I'd just go over and do my shoulder press sets. (For the record, I did 3 reps at 105 and 115, then knocked out 6 reps at 120.) After a new PR at 190, Faby had Michal add 10 pounds and move to 200 (little did she know). She went through her setup and then did another strong squat. She got 200! Still can't celebrate or even smile.
Faby had her add 5 more pounds before her next lift. And when she began rising from the bottom of her squat, it looked like Michal had 205. But then her legs began shaking and she had to bail the weight. Faby asked her if she wanted to know how much she had gotten and then told Michal after she replied yes. Except now she knew 205 was on the barbell. Did that play a part in her next two attempts where she had to bail almost immediately? Maybe. But at least I could smile now and congratulate her on a huge milestone!
At 7:30, most of the folks in the annex moved back up to the main gym to continue Open Strength. While I was there, I ran into Kelly, one of the first people I got to know at KOP. She was doing the "New Year, New You" program along with JNa and Sharon, two other alumni that I used to work out with. After catching up with Kelly, I practiced some pull-ups. Got 10 in a row kipping, although I did have to come to a dead hang a few times along the way. I practiced my double unders, tying my PR for consecutive reps with 53 in a row during one set. And then I practiced push-ups, with my focus on keeping my elbows in close to my body. That concluded a long day at the gym, but it was a very productive one.
Tuesday preview: I've been practicing efficient double unders for the last few weeks. Would the work pay off? A WOD that begins with 150 double unders (and a time cap!) awaits.
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