Twenty Minute Workout

Workout date: 2/21/16

Doing the WOD on Sunday was likely not one of my wisest decisions.  The workout on Friday had left me sore for Saturday.  So I showed up on Saturday and made myself even more sore (sorer?).  Sunday was the opportune time to take a rest day.  Except I was almost certain that I wouldn't be able to make it to the gym on Monday and taking two rest days in a row is sacrilege.  The workout on Sunday looked horrible as it was filled with movements that I struggle with, but it seemed like a WOD that I could grind my way through and still be alright.  Here's what it looked like:

Sunday WOD:
800 meter run
42 KB swings (55/35)
21 pull-ups
400 meter run
30 KB swings
15 pull-ups
200 meter run
18 KB swings
9 pull-ups

The only part of that WOD that didn't sound awful to me was the run, but it has been a while since we've done a lot of running in a workout due to the wintry weather.  Part of our warm-up ended up being an 800 meter run, which I was grateful for because it got rid of any doubts I had about a half-mile run out of the blue inducing cardiac arrest.  Adding to my comfort was the knowledge that I wasn't going to have to blaze through Bridgeport during these runs, as they were clearly the recovery phase of this workout.  Running good, rest of workout bad.

The KB swings were a concern because they tend to tire me out quicker than they tire out other people (probably due to bad form on my part).  With my forearms and shoulders still feeling the burn from earlier in the weekend, there was no part of me that was excited about having to perform 90 KB swings.  My hope was that I could hang in there and complete each of the three rounds of KB swings in two sets.  Obviously that would be tougher earlier on, but my logic was that I would be fresher earlier on as well, which would even things out.

As for the pull-ups...well, those have fallen apart again, at least as far as my ability to string reps is concerned.  This is what happens when you don't practice them regularly.  I had very low expectations on how I was going to do on the pull-up bar.  I figured this would be where everyone passed me.  My goal was not to fall too far behind the class as I tried to get these done.

There were 10 of us in class and Doctor Coach Sommelier VP Giulz sent us out to the barrier to get started with the 800 meter run.  As I walked past Giulz, I told her this was gonna be a twenty minute workout and she replied "yeah, I'm afraid so".  My remark wasn't meant to indicate that it would take everyone twenty minutes to do the workout.  The 9:00 class proved that wasn't the case as all of their times were in the 13-17 minute range.  No, I was only speaking for myself.  Let's stay within 3 minutes of the class and I'll chalk it up as a win.

I've grown used to Cline leading the class whenever we do a run, but we had some other strong runners in class on Sunday.  Kyle used to do some of our Endurance classes with a weight vest on and still beat most of us during the runs.  Laura P didn't name her son Miles for nothing.  Her and Coach Tim have done tons of running while preparing for triathlons.  So it wasn't all that surprising to see Kyle and Laura lead the way on the first run, with Kyle setting a very fast pace for the group.  Cline was behind those two, while Alona and I jogged along behind him.  As we got back into the gym, I grabbed my KB and hoped for the best.  I didn't have a set number in mind.  Rather, it was more like a range.  That first set of KB swings wasn't feeling too bad, so I made it all the way through 24 swings before putting my KB down.  That was a good set for me all things considered.  The next set? Not so much.  I could tell I wasn't going to get through the remaining 18 reps, so I stopped after 10, thinking that was a nice split of what I had left.  After one more break, I picked up the KB and completed reps 35-42.  On to the pull-up bar.

I didn't think my first round of KB swings was that bad, but it seemed like everyone had moved on to the pull-up bar as I moved over there.  I wasn't expecting to lose time to the class until I got to the pull-up bar.  Uh oh.  I started off with three sets of 2 reps before realizing that it was going to be singles the rest of the way.  I could have called them fast singles, but on this day, that would have really been stretching the truth.  I would try to do three singles in a row before breaking, but it was obvious that I was not moving quickly.  One by one, the other members of the class headed out for their second run, while I slowly chipped away at my pull-ups.  Eventually I got through rep #21 and headed back out the door.

Shortly after I went out the door, Laura P went blazing by me.  Yes, once again, I was getting lapped in a three-round workout.  Go me.  Twenty minutes was supposed to be a conservative goal for myself on this WOD, but now I wasn't so sure.  I came back from the 400 meter run and got to work on the KB swings, knowing I needed to get moving.  I did 20 reps to start off, then took care of the last 10 reps in set #2.  Not too bad.  Until I got back to the pull-up bar.  Sets of three singles, try to keep the breaks to a minimum.  I saw most of the class leave for their third run.  I saw most of the class return from their third run.  I wish there was a way I could have done those pull-ups faster, but my arms had very little strength left in them.  It was a shock that I wasn't no-repping during those sets.  Every now and then I looked at the clock and it was telling me a story that I didn't want to hear: twenty minutes probably wasn't happening.

I forgot to look at the clock when I finished my 15th pull-up.  I dropped from the bar and tried to hurry out the door.  While running the 200 meters, I thought to myself that if I got back with about two and a half minutes remaining, I could finish in under twenty minutes.  So I wasn't brimming with enthusiasm when I got back to my KB, looked up at the clock and saw 18:15 staring back at me.  Crap.  There was only one way I could crack twenty minutes now.  I began to swing the KB and had only completed a few reps when the cries of "don't put that down!" began coming from the members of the class who were done with the WOD.  I knew I could get about 12, but the remainder was going to require lots of unfortunate grunting.  The grunting commenced and I held on all the way through rep #18.  Halfway through the final sprint.

As I got to the pull-up bar, there was less than a minute to go.  In a perfect world, I could have done three sets of three singles, following the routine I had used in rounds one and two.  But that was not going to get me under my self-imposed twenty minute time cap.  This needed to be a legit set of nine fast singles.  One by one, I swung on the bar and elevated my chin over the top of it.  After three reps I was ready for my break, but I kept going.  By 5 reps, I wanted to stop and shake out my arms, but I kept going.  By 7 reps, I was determined not to stop, despite feeling really lousy in that moment.  As I got my chin over the bar for the final time, I looked over at the clock.  Final time: 19:49.

I had made it!  Hooray for small victories, I guess.  I was proud of myself for the final push, but the rest of the workout left a lot to be desired.  At the time, I was happy that I came in and got the workout done instead of staying home and doing nothing.  But the next day, I was incredibly sore and had second thoughts about how smart it was for me to do a heavy shoulder/arm workout when that part of me was throbbing in pain to begin with.  I did rest on Monday, but I'm not sure how things will go on Tuesday night at Dudes After Dark.

I did stick around for a little bit after the WOD to root Lindsey on as she deadlifted.  Then I watched Cline devotedly work on double unders, so I grabbed my rope and got some practice in as well.  Did a set of hand release push-ups (they are part of WOD #1 for the Festivus Games).  And then I packed my bag and headed home.

Tuesday preview: How will my shoulders and arms respond to muscle-up practice and burpees?  Plus, a preview of the 2016 Open.