Pre-Open Grind

Workout date: 2/24/16

Unless Annie was being scheduled the day before KOP's first installment of Friday Night Lights, my plan was to treat Thursday as a rest day, making Wednesday's WOD the last one I would need to do prior to finding out what misery awaited us in Open workout 16.1.  As had been the case most of this week, the WOD wasn't one that particularly resonated with me.  My reaction to seeing it was more like "just go and put the work in".  Here's what was on tap for Wednesday night:

5 rounds:
3 minute AMRAP
3 power cleans (135/95)
6 pull-ups
9 air squats
*1 minute rest in between rounds

Having recently done Grace, I wasn't all that concerned about the power cleans using 135 pounds, especially since it was only 3 reps before moving on to the next movement.  And 9 air squats wasn't intimidating either.  No, this was once again going to boil down to pull-ups.  Let me mention a few things about where I stand on pull-ups at the moment:

• After practicing them religiously near the end of last year, I have neglected practicing them over the past few months.  Double under practice has become my new obsession.
• I'm still toying around with my grip, mainly because I have the grip strength of a small child and never feel comfortable whenever I'm doing any movement on the bar.
• At the end of this workout, I came to the conclusion that it is easier to string reps with a full grip on the bar, but easier to do single reps with the monkey grip.  I should probably start with the full grip, then transition to the monkey grip when I get tired.  It would have been helpful if this was running through my head prior to this workout.

For once, the scores early in the day were not traumatizing.  I thought that 3 rounds for every 3 minute AMRAP would be a good score and that was confirmed by the morning classes.  I wasn't expecting to get that myself (after all, that would work out to 90 pull-ups), but it was a nice goal to aim for.  My other goal for this workout was to be consistent.  There was built-in rest within this workout, always an unsettling thing for me to see.  That meant it was going to be more tiring than I expected.  My standard for consistency in this workout?  Make sure I completed 2 rounds for every 3 minute AMRAP.

There were seven of us in the 7:30 class.  I ended up working at a station between Cline and Chris D. There was enough space that I could use a high bar for my pull-ups, which would have been good if I had been able to string my reps together for more than one round.  Even though that ended up not being the case, I think jumping up to the high bar all of the time is building some extra cardio into my workout that may end up helping me in the long run.

Coach Jenna got us ready to go for the first 3 minute AMRAP and we were off.  I strung together 3 very quick power cleans and marched over to my bar.  It seemed like everyone else had decided on singles, so I had a slight head start on the pull-ups.  I did three sets of two pull-ups, then made my way back to my barbell to do air squats.  Got through 9 of those, then strung 3 more power cleans.  Back at the bar, I did an ugly set of two before transitioning to quick singles.  Moved on to the air squats and the power cleans again before getting back to the pull-ups.  There was less than a minute left and I was trying to move fast enough to complete round three.  Six singles later and I was rapidly moving through my air squats to complete my third round.  With less than 10 seconds left, I was done with round three.  I grabbed my barbell and got two power cleans before time was called.  First AMRAP score: 3+2.

As my 60 second break whizzed by, I came to grips with the fact that I would not be completing 3 rounds in any of the next 4 AMRAPs.  I had moved as fast as I could on the power cleans and the air squats and there was zero chance that I was going to become more efficient on the pull-ups in later rounds.  I'd keep trying for three rounds, but my focus from this point forward was going to be on ensuring I completed two rounds.

AMRAPs two and three were exactly alike.  I completed my first loop through in just over a minute.  As I stalled out at the pull-up bar during my second round, I began looking at the clock, growing concerned as to whether I was leaving myself enough time to finish the air squats.  Then when I got to the air squats, I remembered how quickly 9 air squats can be done.  I flew through 3 power cleans as time was running out, leaving myself about 10 seconds to run back over to the rig and get in 2 quick pull-ups.  Second and third AMRAP scores: 2+5.

With two more three-minute AMRAPs remaining, I was getting concerned.  A score of 2+5 may sound like I got through two rounds with time to spare, but the last 14 reps (9 air squats, 3 power cleans, 2 pull-ups) were being completed in the final 30-35 seconds.  If I fell off that pace by 10 or 15 seconds, I was in trouble.  And fatigue was starting to come into play.  My main concern was letting my pace slack off on the power cleans and the air squats, since my pull-ups had already become slow.  So when the fourth AMRAP began, I attacked the first 3 power cleans as though time was already running out.  Same thing when I got to the air squats.  I needed to free up as much time as possible for my pull-ups.  I had less time to do the second set of air squats than I had in the previous two AMRAPs, but I finished those, the three power cleans, and 1 last pull-up before time was called.  Fourth AMRAP score: 2+4.

That AMRAP took a lot out of me, but knowing there was only one AMRAP left gave me a little burst of energy to get through the final three minutes.  I was a few seconds slower yet again as I tried to complete my second round before three minutes elapsed.  As I finished off the burpees, I rushed to get through the power cleans so that I could get at least one pull-up to cap off my workout.  Unfortunately, I completely botched my third power clean (I may have began pulling before the barbell was above my knee).  With only a few seconds left, I chased my barbell as it rolled away from me, grabbed it, and got a final power clean in as time expired.  Fifth AMRAP score: 2+3.

None of those scores get the pulse racing, but it was another workout that I grinded through just to get the workout in.  The hope is that every little bit helps.  Heck, even the experience of struggling through those pull-ups gave me some perspective on what I need to do differently in future WODs.  Plus, I got 71 reps of pull-up practice in.  So it wasn't a great workout from a scoring perspective, but it should be something to build on.

There was no Annie on Thursday, so no workout either.  Dave Castro made the announcement of 16.1, a 20-minute triplet that included overhead lunges, bar-facing burpees, and chest-to-bar pull-ups.  Not exactly what I was hoping for, but at least I'd get to face my nemesis from the last two Opens right off the bat.  Bring on the chest-to-bars!

Friday preview: Open workout 16.1.  No one's butt will ever be the same.