Wednesday would be my last class before a nearly two-week absence from KOP. Jenn and I were spending Christmas with her mom and sister in Alabama. Jenn also had a business trip in Miami from the 12th to the 14th and recommended that we bridge the two southern trips with a week in Mexico. The wintry cold of Philly was never going to win out against the opportunity to swim everyday in Playa Del Carmen, so we booked the trip. Not long after we made our plans, it was announced that Festivus would be on December 15th, the day of our flight to Mexico. I'd be missing my favorite KOP event of the year. Sigh. The least KOP could do to make up for this scheduling fiasco was give me a final Advent challenge that I would really enjoy. And they did.
Coach Jenna started off her 6:30 class with the Advent challenge, something I appreciated because there was lots of heavy lifting on tap in this class and I would need all of my strength for the challenge. The Advent challenge involved atlas stones and I'd be taking on what I would unofficially call goal #11 for 2016. At the beginning of the year, I came up with 10 goals for myself. Had I remembered my battles with the 215 pound atlas stone, I almost certainly would have included getting that stone to my shoulder in my top 10 list. However, the stones aren't brought out very often, so it slipped my mind and didn't make it on my list. Conquering the 215 pound stone remained a high priority for me though and when I saw that it would be Wednesday's Advent challenge, I got a little giddy.
Jenna had the stones in two different locations. The three largest stones were on a mat near the front of the gym, while the rest of the stones were laid out on a mat in the rear of the gym. All of us started at that location. The various stones weighed 35 pounds, 50 pounds, 70 pounds, 90 pounds, and 110 pounds. Everyone tends to be shy about the atlas stones at first, going lighter than they need to because they don't have the technique down. Once they figure out the technique and see how easily they can get the stone up to their shoulder, they're willing to take on bigger stones. Our class of 8 people seemed to be milling around the three lighter stones. I decided to go over and begin the line at the 90 pound stone. I brought it into my lap, then popped it to my shoulder with ease. Josh and Rob made their way over and duplicated my effort. It wasn't an all-guys club though. Raj, Ashley, and Danielle got the 90 pound stone up to their shoulders as well. We each tried the 110 pound stone next. I don't think Danielle got that one up to her shoulder, but the rest of us were able to.
I tried to convince Raj to join me and the other guys in attempting the 140 pound stone at the front of the gym, but she was reluctant. (Spoiler: She can totally get that 140 pound stone, even if she doesn't know it yet.) The three guys took on the 140 pound stone and we all got it to our shoulders. Only two stones left. The 175 pound stone is where you have to be really deliberate if you are going to move it up to your shoulder. Josh and Rob tried, but couldn't make it happen. I wrapped my arms around the stone and drew it up into my lap. I sat there patiently until I was ready to drive up and roll it up to my shoulder. The hip pop got the stone most of the way there and I used my momentum to roll it the last part of the way to my shoulder. One stone left.
Because the atlas stones qualify as an oddball item at the gym, it shouldn't be too surprising that I show some ability with them. Other characteristics involved in lifting atlas stones that benefit me:
- It's a very deliberate movement that you can split into parts
- You can rest in a squat
- There is no time component
Throw in that I've been obsessed with them ever since I watched just about every World's Strongest Man competition end with atlas stones and you had a recipe for success. I wouldn't truly feel like I had conquered them though until I held the largest stone in the gym on my shoulder. The most imposing stone we have at the gym weighs 215 pounds. It is so large in circumference that I am unable to fully wrap my arms around it. When I attempt to lift it, I squat real low and give it a big bear hug, hoping that my grip doesn't slip during the lift. Twice in the past I've been able to get that stone up into my lap, but I've never gotten it up to my shoulder.
As I got ready to take on my old foe once again, I saw Samson hanging out over by the wall. I could have asked him to take a photo of my attempt, but it seemed presumptuous to think that I was gonna get this stone up to my shoulder just because I had a camera lens trained on me. (Mistake!) I gave the stone a bear hug, but when I went to lift it into my lap, it slipped out of my arms. The stone rotated when it came out of my arms and the way it landed was almost a sign from the Crossfit gods that they were going to allow me to lift the final stone today. There was a small circular indent in the stone and it was now positioned exactly where the tips of my fingers reached as I hugged the stone. By getting the tips of my fingers into this area of the stone, I was able to improve my grip substantially. I went to lift the stone into my lap and was able to do it without much of a problem. The real challenge was going from sitting in a squat with a 215 pound stone in my lap to standing with it on my shoulder. I sat there for probably 10-15 seconds, unconcerned that I was tiring out. I knew I could sit like that for a long time if I needed to. I psyched myself up, knowing I needed to explode out of that position if I was going to get enough momentum to roll the stone up to my shoulder. Finally, I went for it. My pop out of the bottom was strong and the stone was nearly at my shoulder as I stood up. I needed to roll it a bit, but I got it to my shoulder. I'm not sure of the last time at the gym when I was as excited as I was in this moment. And because I didn't ask Samson to take a photo of my attempt, I don't have a pic of my accomplishment. (Moron!) Samson did take a photo of Ryan A lifting the 215 pound stone earlier in the day, so at least you can take a peek at that and get an idea of what the accomplishment looked like.
Ryan A showing how it's done!
(Note: You could also choose a lighter stone and do as many reps as possible in one minute for the Advent challenge. I decided to take my chances on lifting the 215 pound stone once instead.)
There was still more strength to come today as the WOD was heavily (see what I did there) focused on clean and jerks. Actually, the main part of the workout involved doing a clean and a double jerk. That wasn't a movement I was used to doing. I think I've seen Faby do it at Open Strength a bunch of times, but that's about it. This workout would come down to how much you were willing to bruise your upper chest because when you were transitioning from the first jerk to the second one, you were going to have to catch that heavy barbell with your body. Luckily for me, I have almost no regard for my body.
With a clean and jerk PR of 225, I was shooting to get 205 for this part of the workout with the expectation that I'd likely fail at 215 if I got there. I began with 115 pounds for my first lift. Wasn't too bad, so I jumped up 30 pounds to 145 for my next attempt. That went up without a hitch as well. The barbell was still light enough that I could control it without crashing it on to my body between jerks. I moved on to 165 from there and that was the first time I had to let my chest take a beating as I brought the barbell down from my first jerk. There would be a lot more of that to come. I took care of the second jerk and moved on to 185.
I had drifted off to my own little world as I progressed through the lifts. The people working closest to me were Josh and Alexis and I had never worked out with them before. They were having their own conversation, so I just kept to myself. It wasn't until I got through the lift at 185 that I overheard Josh say something. "He's making it look light over there" was the line that I heard and my natural instinct was to look around to see who he was talking about. It didn't seem like anyone else had just finished a lift. Then the light bulb went on. I looked over at him and he confirmed he was talking about me. That was one of the cooler things I've heard someone say to me at the gym.
I had been doing a squat clean for all of my attempts so far even though I didn't really need to. The downside of always doing a squat clean is that it requires more energy. The upside is that you're getting a lot of practice at a movement that is necessary when you're going after PRs. My next lift at 205 was the first one where I really needed to squat clean. I have the ability to do a power clean of 205 pounds, but I'd likely end up in an awkward stance from doing so and that wasn't going to do me any favors when I proceeded to jerk that weight twice. I grabbed the barbell and performed the squat clean. I caught it the way I would have liked, but it was tough to stand up. The earlier squat cleans may have caught up with me. I eventually stood up with the barbell and got ready for the jerks. The first jerk was fine and I braced myself for the 205 pounds that was about to hit my chest. It didn't feel wonderful, but I kept the barbell in the proper position for the second jerk. I launched the barbell back overhead and passed my test at 205.
Based on the difficulty I had with 205, I didn't think I stood much of a chance with 215. Weightlifting can be strange sometimes though. You can struggle at a lower weight, then feel like a million bucks at a higher weight. When I tried 215, the squat clean went much smoother. The first jerk felt better than it had at 205. It still sucked when I caught the barbell with my chest in between jerks, but my second jerk was an upgrade from how the second one I did at 205. Suddenly I went from "I'll give 215 a try just for the hell of it" to "I might be able to get 225!". As is often the case in situations like this, reality set back in. I tried twice to squat clean 225, but couldn't make it happen. No worries, I was more than satisfied with 215.
I had gotten so excited about getting 215 that I fell behind the rest of the class. Jenna let me give 225 a couple of tries while the rest of the class began the cash out. There weren't enough assault bikes for everyone anyways, so the unofficial staggered start worked out for the best. Here's the cash out we took part in:
Wednesday's cash out:
10 clean and jerks (135/95)
30/20 calories on the assault bike
10 clean and jerks
It was gonna be quick and it was gonna make your legs hurt. That's all I knew as I stripped my barbell down to 135 pounds. My plan was to go fast (not all-out) on the first 10 clean and jerks, saving my legs a bit for the bike. Same idea with regards to pacing on the assault bike. Didn't want to get back to my barbell with no legs left. I'd empty the tank on the last 10 clean and jerks.
For the first set of clean and jerks, I decided to string reps, doing 4 sets (3-2-3-2) along the way. Less than a minute had elapsed as I got on the assault bike. Probably should have went harder on the bike than I did, but my pace was still fast. Then I did quick singles for the last 10 clean and jerks. Final time: 4:07.
It was time to say adios to KOP for a couple weeks. I'd be missing Festivus and the 12 days of Christmas workout, but I'd be back for a few WODs before 2016 came to a close.
Holiday preview: Another attempt at the flight simulator, this time south of the border. A visit to Crossfit Huntsville in Alabama. That constitutes all of my holiday exercise, unless you include daily intoxicated swimming.
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