I thought there was a real chance that my scale would show me the number 206 for the first time in a long time when I went to weigh myself on Monday. I had worked out five times during the week. Aside from Lady Day on Saturday, I hadn't gone out drinking. My food choices were...average. It's not like I was eating a salad for lunch everyday, but I wasn't hitting up Burger King either. That should have been good enough to drop a pound over the last seven days, right?
Original weigh-in: 213.2 pounds
Last week's weigh-in: 207.8 pounds
This week's weigh-in: 208.8 pounds
Or I could gain a pound. Apparently 207 has become the floor for how low my weight could go. The ceiling? Well, I was only three days away from a holiday trip to Mexico and Alabama, so my weight was almost certainly going to be trending upwards over the next two weeks. I might make some iffy choices at home when it comes to food selection, but that was going to seem downright healthy compared to what I'd likely be eating at a Mexican all-inclusive resort and in a kitchen in Alabama.
The scale was depressing, so let's move on to the WOD instead. The 6:30 Monday class has been filled to capacity in recent weeks, but the turnout this week took things to another level. Sometimes we don't have enough equipment for class, like when we do rope climbs or use the assault bikes. There are instances like last week when there's not enough space on the pull-up rig for everyone. However, it is extremely rare when we run out of wall. With 22 athletes at the 6:30, we needed to get creative so that everyone could do the wall ball segment of the workout. Here's a look at the full WOD:
Monday's WOD:
42 wall balls (20#/14# to 10'/9')
21 power snatches (95/65)
30 wall balls
15 power snatches
18 wall balls
9 power snatches
We can cram a lot of people along the wall where we typically do wall balls. There is room for 3 people along each section of the wall. You can even do wall balls at each of the columns that separate the different sections of the wall. I can only remember doing one wall ball workout at the gym where there wasn't enough room for everyone on the wall. During that workout, I volunteered to shoot my ball at the beam above the area where the rings are located. Rumor has it that the beam is 10 feet from the ground. Despite struggling during that workout, I made the decision on Monday night to volunteer and shoot at the beam once again. This wasn't a WOD where I was super concerned with my results. And part of me wanted another shot with the beam. It would be a good test to see if I had learned some control since the last time I did wall balls on it.
The beam provided a solution in terms of creating room for everyone to do wall balls. As for the snatches...well, that was another story. Everyone was gonna have to get nice and comfy with their neighbors. This workout would not be for the claustrophobic. I was down at the far end of the gym (where the beam was located), working between Mike C and Marissa. Mike had someone behind him and the three of us faced the front of the gym so that we could see Coach Giulz as she coached us through the warmup. Marissa and everyone behind her were facing the back of the gym. That left Marissa and I in one of those awkward situations where you're working very close to someone else, facing them, and trying not to stare directly at them because that makes thing even more weird. Photographic evidence of what this was like? Here ya go:
Plenty of space, right? (Not really!)
Also in that photo: the beam I'd be sharing with Cline and Matt C for wall balls. It's right in the top center. You can also see the size of the medicine balls on the floor underneath it. It was a pretty thin target that required a lot of precision. If you didn't hit it flush, you were likely to lose momentum in the middle of a set. A shot on the low side would hit underneath the beam and come straight down. Too much oomph and the ball would go sailing over the beam into the section where the rings were. That was the big difference from the wall. There was no penalty for shooting too high on the wall, other than having to wait a little longer for the ball to drop back down to your hands. Shooting too high with the beam meant you'd have to go chase your ball and start your set all over again.
The workout was too long to run two separate heats and having everyone start at the same time was asking for trouble, so Giulz staggered the start. One group of people would start two minutes after the first wave began. Matt and I were among that group that was kicking things off. Mike, Marissa, and Cline were all giving us a 120 second head start. That first set of "beam balls" turned out pretty well. As I accumulated reps, I began to think about whether it was worth it to go for all 42 reps in a row. A lot of the times from earlier in the day were in the 10-12 minute range and that gave me the impression that trying for all 42 was a bad idea. There was still a lot of work to be done after this first round of wall balls. Better not empty the tank right off the bat.
I did 25 wall balls in my first set before wimping out in set #2 with 8 reps (weak!). That left me with 9 reps in the third set. I took care of those and came over to my barbell, relieved that I'd have some space to operate for at least a minute or so. I went right into the first set, but it might have been a good idea to catch my breath first. I could only hold on for 3 reps. That was my worst set during this trip to the barbell. The remaining 18 reps were split up into 4 sets (4-5-5-4). It got tight during those last two sets as Mike and Marissa had started their snatches. I was concerned that I was hopping backwards during my lifts, encroaching on Mike's space. I was also worried about the barbell bouncing forward into Marissa at the end of sets. Having 22 people in class lends itself to a lot of workout anxiety!
The snatches (or perhaps the anxiety) sapped me of my energy. I only did 5 reps of wall balls when I came back to the beam. On the next set, I shot my 4th rep too high, so it teetered on top of the beam for a second before plummeting straight down. I caught it and was able to heave it back up one more time, but I decided to end the set after that. I took a longer break after that episode, determined to do more than 5 reps in my next set. It helped as I held on for 12 reps in set #3 of this round. That gave me the confidence to complete the remaining 8 reps in the next set.
Please hit the beam flush. Please!
The next round of snatches developed in a strange fashion. Pumped from regaining my form on the wall balls, I was able to get 5 snatches on my first set. Two more sets like that and I'd be on to the final round of the workout. Or I could mess up. On the next set, I lost my balance on the second rep. Yes, Marissa was only about an arm's length or two away. I stepped forward and controlled the rep, but I couldn't continue my set in my new location. That would have been dangerous for me and her. So I put the barbell down and moved back to my little designated workspace. With 8 reps left, I split the work into two sets of four.
I was soaked in sweat as I came back to the beam for one final encounter. It took a lot of energy to complete the first set of 7, but at least I knew I could get through these last 18 wall balls in three sets. I did 6 reps in the next set, then 5 to complete that part of the workout. Just 9 snatches to go. I broke those up into 3 sets as well, 3 reps at a time. Kept the breaks fairly short between those sets. Final time: 12:00.
Decent workout. Wasn't expecting great things while using the beam. Only had one screw-up at each station. Even though I almost stumbled into Marissa at one point, I succeeded in not interfering with anyone else's workout, which tends to be my #1 goal in huge classes like this.
The Advent challenge was a max L-sit hold. An L-sit hold involves holding yourself over the ground while clutching to a set of paralettes. Your body is supposed to resemble an L when doing this hold properly. I am certain that I did not look like an L when I did this, but I was able to maintain the hold much longer than I thought I would. I was convulsing like I was being electrocuted the whole time, but I made it 23 seconds before my feet touched the floor. Mike had the best time in our class, holding on for a very impressive time of 45 seconds.
Tuesday preview: One last shot at redemption with a benchmark workout that has had my number all year long. Fourth times the charm?
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