Basketbald

Workout date: 7/3/16

There was a WOD programmed on Saturday that looked right up my alley (clean and jerk AMRAP with increasing weights, starting at a relatively light weight).  That would have been a nice way to get a weekend workout in, but I couldn't make it to that class having other stuff to do that morning.  That meant I was going to hit up the gym on Sunday.  The Sunday WOD was certainly more extreme than the Saturday workout, but it still included elements that I typically enjoy doing.  There were rope climbs (one of my faves), thrusters (one of those odd things I like that most other people hate), and box jumps (good as long as I'm not careening into the box too much).  This was a partner WOD, but not one of those where one teammate works and the other one rests.  That was because this partner WOD was also a Hero WOD.  It was going to be long, painful, and offer no rest along the way.  The workout is known as the 31 Heroes WOD and here is what the RX version looks like:

"31 Heroes"
31 minute AMRAP
Partner 1 works on:
8 thrusters (155/105)
6 rope climbs (15')
11 box jumps (30"/24")
While Partner 2 runs 400 meters with a (45/25) pound sandbag
Partners switch when partner 2 returns from their run
*Score is how many rounds "Partner 1" completes

It had been a while since I had run with a sandbag, something that would become abundantly clear once I had to do it in this workout.  When I read that the sandbag would be 45 pounds, I thought to myself "oh, that's not bad".  Wrong.  Trust me, it was terrible.  Much worse than having to do all that other stuff.

I got to the gym a minute late for class, but everyone was still stretching when I walked in.  There were seven ladies and Chris D getting ready for the workout.  Chris laughed and came over to tell me that he knew I'd be in class because the WOD included rope climbs.  (Have I become that predictable?  Yes.  Yes I have.)  Chris and I were going to be partners for sure, while the 7 girls divided themselves into 3 teams (1 team used a twin).  The two bald guys in class lobbied for a continuation of Coach Jenna's warmup where we got to play basketball, but Coach Rachel denied our requests.  Guess we'll have to wait until our next Jenna class to resume that game!

Rachel put us through a warmup in which everyone was supposed to get a light medicine ball.  I grabbed a 14 pound ball because I normally use a 20 pound ball, but going even lighter than 14 pounds would have been wiser.  In this partner warmup, one person shot wall balls, while the other ran 200 meters carrying their medicine ball with them.  I started on the wall balls and discovered that the slow 200 meter run meant I'd be shooting a lot while Chris was gone.  So I did a lot of work with my arms, then had to run while carrying my ball once Chris got back.  On the first run, I tried to balance the ball on my head as I jogged, with my right hand on the ball to keep it in place.  This did not cause much strain on my arms, but it was an awkward way to run.  On the way back from the 200 meter mark, I switched to carrying the ball normally.

We had to each do two rounds of this, so back to the wall I went once I ran through the gym doors.  I didn't think the 14 pound ball would bother me much on the wall balls, but I've been having some recurring pain in my right knee that was flaring up a lot as I did the wall balls.  Not sure if a lighter ball would have helped a whole lot, but it couldn't have hurt.  I didn't hesitate to let the ball drop while Chris was out on his run.  Pretty sure I let it drop twice while he was gone.  Oh well.  Wasn't blowing out my knee during the warmup.  (That's what the WOD was for!)  Chris came back and I decided it would be better to try and run fast while carrying the ball.  It would be less time spent holding it in that position, plus Chris wouldn't have to do a ton of wall balls.  I picked up the pace and got back as fast as I could.  Warmup over.  I was already sweaty and a little out of breath.  This Hero WOD was gonna be trouble.

Chris and I decided on a weight for our barbell.  We knew it should be heavy, but I didn't want to get to the point where either of us got stuck and couldn't complete a thruster.  Chris thought we might want to do 135, while I suggested 115.  125 was an easy compromise and we went with that.  Both of us were fine with climbing the rope and using a 30" box for the box jumps.  We found what we assumed was a 45 pound sandbag.  (Note: We later weighed it and were relieved to find out that it indeed was 45 pounds.)  We were ready to go.  All that was left to decide was who would run with the sandbag first.  There was little doubt in my mind that Chris was the better runner and would have more stamina in general so I was more than happy to let him do the sandbag run first when he volunteered to begin with that.

As we warmed up, Chris asked me how many rounds would constitute a good score.  My guess was that 6 rounds would be a very solid score and that 7 rounds would be an outstanding score.  (Boy, did I overestimate how far we'd get in this workout!)  I probably should have known we were in trouble when Rachel got us started and I almost immediately began questioning whether I could string all 8 thrusters.  I did manage to hold on for all 8, but I had to talk myself through it.  It was a helpful experience though.  Every time I did the thrusters in this workout, I realized that they never feel good, but that they can be done with a little mental fortitude.  I walked over to the rope I was going to use, hoping to knock out as many climbs as possible before Chris got back so that he could avoid doing them.  I was finishing my 4th climb when Chris came back in with the sandbag.  He was even nice enough to bring it all the way over to the rope for me.  (Another learning curve moment: it was much better to dump the sandbag at the door entrance when you finished your run.  We did that from this point forward.)

Everyone had the same idea when it came to running with the sandbag.  Throw it over your neck area, distributing the weight over your shoulders evenly.  Piece of cake.  Or not.  It was tough running with it in the beating sun, but there was an additional consideration which I had not even thought about.  To hold the sandbag in that position, you needed to reach your hands up and grab the loops of the sandbag with your fingers.  That meant your arms were working the whole time.  More importantly, your arms were working in a flexed position the whole time, sapping your bicep strength.  Why was that a problem?  Because those were the muscles you needed for the rope climb.  When I got back to the gym, Chris told me that he had finished the remaining two rope climbs, all of the box jumps, and all of the thrusters.  I think he had done 1 more rope climb as well.  So the majority of my second round indoors would be climbing the rope with tired out biceps.  No bueno.

It was slow going, but I got through all of the remaining rope climbs and even started working through a few of the box jumps before Chris returned.  It would have been really embarrassing to have him come back with me still on the rope, so I was glad I at least finished that off.  I headed out for my second run in bad shape.  Initially I tried to balance the sandbag on my shoulders without using my arms to support it.  I jogged along slowly so the sandbag wouldn't fall, but when I hit the turnaround point, I knew I had to change things up.  So I threw it over my right shoulder and ran with it that way.  About halfway back, I stopped and threw it over my left shoulder.  I was cutting down on the amount of arm strength I was wasting on the run, but I was also taking much more time than I had on my first run.  When I got back, Chris had finished off the box jumps, the third round of thrusters, and four rope climbs.

I made sure to go heavy on the chalk so that I wasn't struggling with my grip on a day when I was doing a lot of rope climbs.  I was concentrating on bringing my knees as high as I could to lessen the number of pulls I would have to do.  And somewhere along the way, I accidentally pinched the rope with my knees giving me more stability than I typically have.  (It's always great when totally exhausted Dave stumbles upon a helpful discovery.)  From that point forward, I started doing it on purpose.  Add all that together and I was moving up the rope pretty efficiently.  The only problem was that I was tired.  We were more than halfway through the workout, but everyone had that "how much longer do we have to do this" look on their faces.  I had spent a lot of time on the rope when I wasn't toting around that sandbag, so I wanted to get the remaining two climbs done quickly so I could do more of the box jumps and thrusters.  I did the two climbs, then tried to do 11 fast box jumps.  I did 5 before doing my customary trip and fall over the left side of the box.  I paused to get my composure back, then took care of the last 6 box jumps.  I moved over to the barbell and got ready for the thrusters.  This is where fatigue really messed with my mind.  I did 2 reps, then dropped the barbell.  That was terrible.  I couldn't afford to break these 8 reps into 4 sets.  Even 3 sets seemed weak.  I told myself to hold on for the remaining 6 thrusters.  Each time I pressed the barbell overhead, a part of me wanted to drop it rather than hold on to it, but the more I kept moving, the easier it got.  The thrusters were done and I headed back to my rope.  As I squatted trying to get my breath back, another girl came over to use the rope I was going to use.  Fair enough.  You can't have dibs on a rope if you're just sitting next to it.  I moved to a different rope, chalked my hands, and got a tap on the shoulder.  Chris was back.  Back to some quality time with my friend, the sandbag.

The third run became the third walk.  I was jogging so slowly that there was little difference between that and a fast walk.  So I began walking parts of the 400 meters.  Was I the only one walking?  No.  Was I walking the most?  Probably.  At the turn around point, I shifted the sandbag again, alternating which shoulder I was carrying it on.  I wasn't as concerned about wearing out my arms now because simply walking back to the gym with this sandbag had become a Herculean effort.  I was very grateful when I left the sunny parking lot and found the shade inside the gym.

Chris had just finished our fourth round of rope climbs.  I wrapped up round 4 by doing all of the box jumps.  I was a little better on the barbell this time, splitting up the 8 reps into two sets of four.  I wasn't convinced I could do all 8 at this point, so dividing it into two equal sets seemed like the way to go.  As I came back to the rope, I began watching the door to see if Chris was back.  I knew he was sick of climbing the rope.  I also knew this was my last round inside as there were less than 3 minutes remaining.  My workout was going to end with the sandbag.  So I wanted to make one last push on the rope climbs.  I got two done and was about to start my third when Chris came back in the door.

I knew I couldn't finish the run in the time remaining, but I was going to do the full 400 meters anyways.  It was another slow jog-fast walk combo for the final round, but I tried my best to just keep moving, like when I'm crawling through burpees in a workout.  As I got near Frosty Falls (100 meters to go), Chris came out and met me.  He offered to take the sandbag from me, but I wanted to finish off my round.  Since he had come out to support me, I felt that I needed to make the effort to jog the rest of the way.  I was able to jog the last 100 meters and I dumped that sandbag as soon as I was back inside the gym doors.  Chris had done 3 more rope climbs before time had elapsed.  Final score: 4+13.

My lower back was definitely hurting.  My knee didn't feel great.  My hips were sore.  The 31 Heroes WOD was a beast meant to be taken on by people in better shape than I am.  I enjoyed working out with Chris though.  How could I not like partnering up with a bald guy who enjoys basketball?  Even at the end of this brutal workout, Chris still had a smile on his face and seemed like he was having fun.  I wish I had been in such good spirits at the end of this!

Monday preview: The Friends and Family 4th of July WOD is completely different from the 31 Heroes WOD.  This workout is only 30 minutes long.  Whatever was not sore due to the Sunday WOD is fried by 11am Monday morning.