Big Daddy D

Workout date: 4/7/17

My health finally took a noticeable turn for the better on Friday morning.  After coughing, sneezing, and feeling very congested for the last two weeks, I woke up feeling only mildly under the weather on Friday.  Was it all of the medicine I had been taking since I got home from Vegas?  Or was it because I went to bed with good thoughts in my head having seen what the Friday WOD was at 10pm on Thursday night?  I'm no doctor, but I'm pretty sure it was the latter.

What was this miracle cure-all of a WOD?  The main portion of it was strength-based and it involved my favorite lift: the overhead squat.  Last year, one of our benchmarks was finding a 15RM overhead squat.  That was okay, but it was a long, draining task where you were advised not to do more than two sets during the class.  We rarely do sets that big when testing back squats and front squats, and those two lifts are considered less difficult than the overhead squat.  I was looking forward to trimming down the volume and loading on the weight as I did overhead squats.  That was exactly what I got to do on Friday when we were tasked with finding a 1RM overhead squat.

Since it was Friday, I decided to visit my friends at the nooner.  This is usually Coach Aimee's class, but Coach Steph was filling in for her this week.  She had 9 people in her class.  Eight of them were either not pleased about having to do overhead squats or were simply okay with what was programmed.  One of them looked like this:

JOY!

After walking us through the finer points of the overhead squat, we were sent off to find our 1RM.  A few of the guys decided to share a rack, so the rest of us had our own individual racks for our lifts.  I set up shop down near the front of the gym.  While I got ready to go, I started thinking through how I wanted to attack this.  We were supposed to do at least 7 lifts (not counting warmup lifts).  I was going to do some reps with 95 pounds as my warmup, then move on to 115-135-155-175-195-215-230 for my lifts.  That seemed like a nice progression for me, and if all went well, I'd have a chance to top my current PR of 225 pounds during that final lift.

Oddly, my biggest moment of doubt during this class came as I warmed up with 95 pounds.  Having done an overhead squat with 225 pounds before, knocking out some reps with only 95 pounds shouldn't have been much of a problem.  Maybe I just wasn't fully warmed up yet, but 95 pounds felt heavier than I expected.  It wasn't a struggle, but it also didn't feel like an easy warmup either.  It's possible that I got a little unsteady while trying to zip through multiple reps.  Whatever the case may be, I began my "real" lifts with some hesitation.

That hesitation would melt away pretty quickly.  I guess I got rid of my butterflies during those 95 pound overheads because I had no trouble with 115 pounds.  The rep I did using 135 pounds was also smooth as could be.  Rich was walking by me to grab some more plates as I did it and as he walked back past me, he said to me "looking strong, Big Daddy D!"

A couple thoughts:

• I would have wagered a considerable amount of money on "never in my lifetime will I be referred to as Big Daddy D" if it were a prop bet in Vegas.
• The fact that this happened within a gym as I was lifting weights boggles my mind.
• The fact that the person who said this to me is affectionately known as "Pastor Rich" made the interaction that much more surreal.

The "Big Daddy D" comment got me laughing for sure, but it also might have amped up my confidence as I continued to add weight to my barbell.  The lift at 155 pounds felt easy.  I had no problems with 175 either.  It was after that lift that Steph came over and told me something interesting.  She pointed out that I was going almost too slow in my descent to the bottom of the squat.  That was a fascinating observation.  One of my biggest failures while doing heavy squats used to be that I would crash to the bottom too fast.  Once I had removed the barbell from the rack, I was in a rush to go down and up as fast as I could because I had no faith that I could hold the weight for more than a few seconds.  In essence, I was the "Mista Mista" lady:

When talking about the 5RM back squat workout we did earlier in the week, I mentioned how I wasn't afraid to take my time and reset between reps.  That was one indication that I felt more comfortable holding on to heavy weights for longer periods of time.  Slowly descending into my overhead squats was another indication.  For the second time in about 10 minutes, I had received a compliment that had boosted my confidence.  I was 55 pounds away still, but I was already feeling like that lift at 230 pounds was going to be a success.

As I moved up to 195 pounds, my biggest concern became jerking the barbell over my head.  Each of these reps were being taken from the rack.  You took the barbell off of the rack just as you would if you were performing a back squat.  The only difference is that you wanted your hands to be wider so that after you jerked the barbell, you'd be in perfect position for the overhead squat.  Because we don't do it that often, jerking the barbell from behind my head still feels a bit weird to me.  The good news is that you can usually jerk more weight from this position.  Steph explained to us that because you don't have to move your head out of the way (like you would do when performing a clean and jerk), most people are able to jerk heavier from the back rack position.  That seemed true.  It might have felt weird to perform the jerk this way, but the barbell did seem to go overhead easier than it did when I tried it from the front rack position.

The jerk at 195 went fine and the overhead squat that followed was very much under control.  As I loaded 215 on to the barbell, I really started to get excited (and nervous).  I tend not to get confident about anything because that's when things usually turn sour on me.  But I was doing really well on these overheads.  I'm not talking about the fact that I was successfully completing each lift.  I was handling every detail properly.  Getting my feet right, getting my breathing right, completing the split jerk, resetting, controlling my pace to the bottom of the squat, staying in my heels, keeping my knees out...I was completing the mental checklist without actually thinking about it.  That didn't change when I hoisted 215 over my head and then took my time performing a squat with it.

It is worth noting that this was the noon express, so as nice as it was for me to methodically go through these lifts, there were some time constraints in place.  There was still a cash-out to do after we were done with the overhead squats and about half of the class was putting their plates away to get ready for that.  Down at the far end of the gym, Rich, Panos, and Mike Sim were still lifting, so I didn't feel like I was behind everyone.  The four of us caught a break when Steph let us know that she was okay running two heats of the cash-out, allowing us to keep lifting while heat one was underway.

With the time pressure gone, I walked up to my 230 pound barbell feeling positive rather than worried.  That nagging thought that usually runs through my mind on a PR attempt ("you've never lifted this much before") was absent as I got ready to remove the barbell from the rack.  As I walked a few steps back from the rack with the barbell on my shoulders, I noticed how manageable it felt.  This wasn't some unbearable weight.  I could do this.  If I could jerk this weight overhead, I could handle the rest.  I performed the split jerk, brought my legs back together, and for a split second I was kinda impressed with myself for calmly standing there with 230 pounds overhead.  I told myself to do the squat just like I had done all my earlier attempts.  I did exactly that and the results were the same.  When I stood back up with 230 pounds still overhead, I had a new PR.

I didn't want to hold up the other guys, but I have to admit that the first thought I had after completing that lift was "I can do more than that".  Steph walked over, saw the look on my face, and said "you want to do one more, don't you?"  It was obvious.  The guys were cool with waiting on me a few minutes more as I added 10 pounds to my barbell.  Adding 10 pounds after hitting a PR was probably a bit aggressive, but I felt like I was in the zone.  I was going to get 240.  After taking a couple of minutes to recover from the lift at 230, I walked back up to my barbell again.  When I got it on my back, I had that same "it's not as heavy as I thought it would be" feeling.  My best jerk was 235 pounds...until I jerked this barbell overhead.  In my head, I was freaking out about jerking 240 pounds, but I was also trying to remain calm for the overhead squat.  Once everything felt right, I descended into the squat.  After I hit the bottom, I pressed up.  For the first time all day, my body did not comply.  I tried twice to push out of the sticking point, but it wasn't happening.  I reluctantly dropped the barbell.  Steph pointed out that I had gone really slowly into the squat again, probably too slowly.  That was a good problem to have.  And even though I didn't complete the overhead at 240, I finished this part of the workout confident that I could get it next time around.

I scrambled to put my plates and my barbell away, then sprinted over to switch from my lifters to my sneakers.  Rich, Panos, and Mike had been very patient waiting for me and I didn't want to hold up heat two of the cash-out any longer.  This cash-out was one of the events from last year's Masters Qualifier.  Here's what it looked like:

Master's Qualifier 16.1

21-15-9

Calories rowed

Thrusters (95/65)

There was no doubt that Rich and Mike were going to destroy this cash-out and I suspected that Panos would have little problem with it as well.  I thought I could keep up with them on the row, but they were probably going to leave me in the dust on the thrusters.  Mike felt bad that I hadn't gotten a break after my last overhead attempt, but once I was on the rower and my sneakers were tied, I let Steph know we could begin.  For the first minute, I stayed with the other three.  I was only a second or two behind them when I got off of my rower.  But I was no match for them on the thrusters.  I think all three of them did 21 reps unbroken.  I did 8 before dropping my barbell.  Not wanting to fall behind, I only took a break for a second before trying to get back into the thrusters.  I managed 3 more before realizing I needed a real break.  Bye guys!  I'll see you at the finish!

I went 8-3-7-3 on that first set of 21 thrusters.  How far behind was I?  While I was working through the round of 15 calories on the rower, Rich hopped on to begin his round of 9 calories.  Once again, I was getting lapped in a three-round workout.  Back at the barbell, I did 3 sets of 5 thrusters.  By the time I was done with that, the other three guys were all finished.  They came over to help me get through the end of this cash-out.  Pushing through 9 calories wasn't too bad.  The part I was not looking forward to was the last 9 thrusters.  I knew they weren't going to let me put the barbell down. So I screamed and grunted my way through those final 9 reps.  Final time: 7:37.  (Rich's time: 4:34.  Mike's time: 4:52.  Panos's time: 5:15.)

I felt pretty lousy about my performance on that cash-out as I laid on the floor recovering.  It wasn't until later that evening that I realized my time wasn't so bad.  In comparison to those three guys, it was abysmal, but Rich, Mike, and Panos put up some of the fastest times of the day.  There was no way I was ever keeping up with them in that cash-out.  Then again, they couldn't keep up with me on the overhead squat.  That was a nice feather in my cap as I got ready for a Crossfit-free weekend.

Tuesday preview: A visit from my parents causes me to miss a workout that I really wanted to do on Monday.  I finally pace a workout properly.  Summer isn't here, but I'm already sweating through my shirt before the workout begins.

Cartwheels: A Hidden Talent

Workout date: 4/6/17

<Rant begin>

April 6th marked the first day of the Endurance season at KOP.  I was all excited about this.  Even though I'm not very good at running, there is no class that I've enjoyed more than Endurance over the years.  Coach Tim preaches the mantra of "getting comfortable being uncomfortable", something that translates very well into regular Crossfit classes.  Endurance has definitely improved my ability to do metcons.  I tend to drop a few pounds during the Endurance season.  All those things are great, but the best thing about Endurance might be the fact that it is a class where you easily bond with others.  Class size ranges from 6 to 12 people on average and you see mostly the same faces from week to week.  Some of my closest relationships have come from Endurance classes.

That is why it was so disappointing to hear that the Upper Merion School District decided this year to try and fleece our Endurance group for money.  We've been using their track free of charge for years, but that would be changing in 2017.  Mind you, not everyone would be charged for using the track.  The track is still free to the general public.  But because we are an organized class with a coach, the Upper Merion School District figured they could hit us up for some dough.  Aimee accepted their terms to keep Endurance going, but had to pass on the cost to us.  On top of our gym membership fees, those attending Endurance would have to pay $10 per class, with a reduced rate of $5 per class if you buy in bulk (monthly or seasonal pass).  Not a member at KOP?  Endurance will cost you $20 per class, or $165 for a punch card good for 10 visits.

My initial reaction to this news was not positive, but I was willing to change my opinion based on the answers to the many questions I had.  Some of the other Endurance regulars had the same questions and they were posted on our FB page:

• Q: Can we move Endurance classes to another outdoor track?  (A: No.)
• Q: Can we move Endurance classes to a nearby indoor track?  (A: No.)
• Q: Can we have Endurance classes at KOP instead?  (A: No.)
• Q: Can we have Endurance classes along trails or in Valley Forge park since we hold some of our classes there anyway?  (A: No.)

Sounds like we're stuck at the Upper Merion track.  I guess I could be persuaded into paying if there was some perk to being a paid user as opposed to everyone else who doesn't pay a dime.  Was there?

• Q: Since we are paying to use the track, would certain lanes be reserved for us that would not be available to the non-paying general public?  (A: No, we'd be sharing the track with them.)

So those paying to use the track would have the same rights to the track as those not paying.  Remind me again why we are paying?  Because we have a coach with us?  That's insane!  There was one question that wasn't asked that I would have liked answered, but to be honest, I was firmly in the "bye bye Endurance" camp already.  That question was this:

• Q: Multiple times each year during Endurance season, we show up to the track for class and are told we cannot use it due to football or lacrosse games.  If we paid for monthly/seasonal passes to use the track, would we get refunds when this occurred?  (A: ?)

Because from the sound of it, it seems like KOP athletes are being charged to use a track open to the general public without getting lanes reserved for them or even having the guarantee that the track will be available to use.  That's total bullshit.  So as much as it saddens me to have to miss out on my favorite class, I will not be attending Endurance this year.

<Rant end>

If I wasn't going to Endurance, that meant I'd be at KOP for regular classes on Thursday nights and that's exactly where I was as the first Endurance class of the year was wrapping up.  I headed in for the 6:30 class with Coach Giulz, as did 12 other athletes.  Even if Endurance wasn't in the cards for me this Thursday, I'd still get my running fix in this workout.  Here's what was on tap Thursday evening:

Thursday's WOD:

21 deadlifts (225/155)

21 handstand push-ups

400 meter run

15 deadlifts

15 handstand push-ups

400 meter run

9 deadlifts

9 handstand push-ups

400 meter run

If this workout sounds vaguely familiar to you, it's because we have a workout called Diane which is everything I just listed sans the three 400 meter runs.  When I came up with my list of goals for 2017, I was torn between Diane and Elizabeth as the workout that I wanted to complete RX.  I mean, ideally I'd like to complete both of them RX, but I figured it was a stretch to even get one of them this year.  I opted for Elizabeth because one of my other goals was stringing 5 handstand push-ups.  If doing 5 in a row was going to be an accomplishment for me, completing 45 in a workout was rather unlikely.  It was probably more realistic to think of completing Diane RX as a 2018 goal.  My perspective did change a bit though when I started getting some handstand push-ups early in 2017.  I was able to scratch off the goal of doing 5 consecutive handstand push-ups in mid-February.  I can't claim that I've had a lot of success with them since then (see Open workout 17.4), but this workout seemed like an opportunity to test where I was at.

Our class began with a 400 meter run and when we got back, Giulz split us into three teams.  There were cones on the gym floor and each team member would be performing a mini-suicide.  Giulz would call out a movement and the team member would perform that movement out to the first cone and back, then out to the second cone and back.  Early on, the movements we did were typical Crossfit warmup staples like the bear crawl.  Giulz had something special in store for the finale though.  The last mini-suicide would involve cartwheels.  All of the girls in class seemed onboard with this idea.  I was hesitant, to say the least.  I began having flashbacks to my recent attempt at handstand walking, which ended with me doing a backflop (cousin of the bellyflop).  It was painful and mildly embarrassing, but at least it wasn't 3 feet away from the glare of a large class.  There was no hiding if I blew it this time.  I was the anchor leg for our team, so all eyes would be on me as I tried not to be the last one done.  Screw it, just attempt the cartwheels and hope for the best.

I can't be completely certain that the class wasn't just having a chuckle at the not-so-coordinated 210-pound guy who did one cartwheel after another, but I did receive some applause as I attempted them. Supposedly my form was good and I was told that it was impressive how I came down from one cartwheel and went right into the next one.  The truly impressive part was that I didn't stumble into any of the GHD machines when I was done.  All of those cartwheels left me very dizzy and it took me a minute or two to get my bearings.

Being kinda dizzy is not exactly the state you want to be in as you take on a workout where you are going to be upside-down frequently.  Was that the reason I would end up struggling with my handstand push-ups in this workout?  No.  (Although I do think I figured out the cause of my struggles once the workout was over.  I'll share that with you at the end.)  I simply haven't practiced this movement enough to develop consistently good form and this isn't something where I can get away with shaky form.

At least I was realistic about my abilities before the workout began.  I knew I wasn't going to be able to complete this workout RX.  I knew that I would need to use ab-mats eventually as my handstand push-ups went away.  I asked Giulz whether it was alright to start with no ab-mats and then add them in as I grew tired, but she recommended a different tactic.  She told me that I wasn't going to get better at full-fledged handstand push-ups if I kept falling back on the ab-mats as a safety net.  She said it was better to scale the reps and toss the ab-mats for this workout.  Not a bad idea.  Rather than go 21-15-9, I decided that I should try for 12-9-6.  I also made the decision to scale down the weight for my deadlifts considerably.  I'm not a big fan of doing large volumes of deadlifts and 225 pounds was just enough weight to put a hurting on someone of my ability.  205 pounds would have been reasonable for me, but I wanted to give myself the best chance possible of getting through that 12-9-6 sequence on the handstand push-ups.  I decided to go with 185 pounds, a weight that I figured I could move quickly without exhausting myself too much.

As we were getting ready to start this workout, Giulz gave us a time domain for the WOD.  This wasn't a strict time cap, but if we were still working beyond this point, then Giulz was going to question whether we scaled properly.  Giulz told us that this workout shouldn't take longer than 18 minutes.  That was 6 minutes per round.  I kept that figure in my head so that I could see where I was at the end of every round and make sure I wasn't behind schedule.

We got the first round underway and I immediately felt good about my weight selection for the deadlifts.  It was a weight where I probably could have done all 21 reps in a row, but I opted to stop after 12 reps for a very short break.  Why put unnecessary strain on my back if I was only saving a few seconds?  I got back to it and completed the final 9 reps.  I was one of the first people to get over to the wall for handstand push-ups.  When I got upside-down, I was able to do 3 handstand push-ups before coming off the wall.  Not too bad.  Three more sets like that and my version of the first round would be 400 meters from completion.  Unfortunately, that would be the last set of 3 I would do.  Not just in the first round.  For the entire workout.  On my next set, I did one decent handstand push-up and then one where I had to fight really hard to lock it out.  I was up to 5 reps.  If I could keep getting sets of two, I might still be on pace for a 6 minute round.  But that last difficult rep wound up being a harbinger of how my handstand push-ups would play out for the rest of this WOD.

I'm not sure how many more handstand push-up attempts I made in round one.  All I know is that none of them were successful.  Also, everyone else in class had either gone out for their first run or had returned from it.  I was dead last.  When it became clear to me that I wasn't hitting a 6th rep in this round, I headed out on a 400 meter run.  The run would give me a chance to shake out my arms and come up with a new plan for the handstand push-ups.  Maybe 12-9-6 could become 5-4-3.  That wasn't wonderful, but it would still be more handstand push-ups than I had ever done in a workout.  As I came back into the gym from the run, I glanced at the clock and saw that it was near 6:10.  I was a little behind schedule, but I could make that up.  Plus, I might finish up the handstand push-ups a lot quicker in round two now that I knew I only had to do four of them.

I broke up the deadlifts again, going 9 and 6 during my two sets.  I definitely made up some time at that station.  However, my struggle at the wall persisted.  It took several attempts before I got my first rep of round two.  Another series of failed reps followed.  I couldn't go off on my second run with only one handstand push-up completed in this round.  I needed at least two.  A sequence of 5-2-2 (or even 5-2-1) sounded much better than 5-1-1 or 5-1-incomplete.  Eventually I was able to make a second handstand push-up happen.  I didn't even bother going for a third.  I headed out on my second run.

When I got back, the clock informed me that I was still behind schedule, but still close to the 18 minute pace Giulz asked of us.  12 minutes and 15 seconds had passed, but this last round was probably going to be quick.  I could handle the remaining 9 deadlifts in one set (and I did).  And the high-end goal for this round of handstand push-ups was 2 reps.  I was also going to sprint at the end of the run, so there really shouldn't have been a time crunch.  That is, if I had any ability to do handstand push-ups.  After completing the 9 deadlifts, I embarked on another series of failed handstand push-up attempts.  My shoulders were exhausted and I was having a hard time convincing myself that I could even get one rep in this final round.  Finally it happened.  Did I run out the door to complete my workout?  Of course not.  I'm a stubborn idiot.  However, it didn't take long for me to realize that my attempts were becoming more and more pathetic.  5-2-2 wasn't happening.  5-2-1 would have to do.  I expressed my displeasure by punching the wall after my final failed attempt at a handstand push-up.  Then I ran out the door to complete my remaining quarter-mile.  I definitely picked up the pace on the last 200 meters.  That final burst not only kept me under Giulz's 18 minute time domain, it kept me under 17 minutes as well.  Final time: 16:58.

I had grander aspirations than going 5-2-1 on the handstand push-ups in this workout, but that was the best I could muster.  As I sat on one of the benches trying to figure out where I messed up, I thought back to the extra work I had done with Josh M on handstand push-ups.  That was when it dawned on me that I had ignored the one tip that he had said to me over and over again.  "Stay tight!" Every time I kicked up on to the wall, Josh had said that to me.  Did I focus on keeping my core tight as I did this workout?  Not at all.  Is that the reason why I wasn't able to kip up out of the bottom of the handstand push-up?  Probably.  When I do any type of squat at the gym, I'm very conscious of keeping my core tight so that my body stays solid under the weight as I move down and up.  This was no different.  My body was the weight.  I was going down then up (albeit upside-down).  If I wasn't keeping my core tight, then I wasn't staying solid through the movement.  I was simply using a bunch of energy to flail upwards with poor form.  If I wanted to get better at doing handstand push-ups in workouts, I needed to remember to keep my core tight.

Friday preview: A favorite strength workout of mine makes a rare appearance in the programming.  It's time to find a 1RM overhead squat!

When I Spread My Legs, I Go A Lot Further

Workout date: 4/5/17

I may have only completed 79 pull-ups in that horrendous Tuesday night workout, but my hands took a beating nonetheless.  Granted, they didn't look nearly as bad as Actuary Mike's hands.  I guess if you can string more than 2 pull-ups together at a time, it grinds away on your hands a bit more.  Mike has become a rock star on the pull-up bar and I'm sure he did big sets on his way to finishing under the time cap.  His hands paid the price for it though.  I was considerably wimpier in terms of hanging on to the pull-up bar during the workout, but my hands were still very sore.  I was hoping for a workout on Wednesday that was kinder to my hands and, for the most part, that is what I got.

Wednesday's WOD was a repeat of a benchmark workout that we had done in mid-January.  Technically, the benchmark aspect of it was finding a 5RM back squat.  However, the two cash-outs that would follow were exactly the same as the ones that we had done in January, so we had the opportunity to see if we had improved on those as well.  Here's what the entire WOD looked like:

Wednesday's WOD:

Find a 5RM back squat
Cash-out #1: 1 minute AMRAP of back squats using 70% of your 5RM weight
Cash-out #2:
15 KB swings (53/35)
20 KB snatches (53/35) - 10 on the left arm, 10 on the right arm
30 burpees

There were 8 of us in Coach Jenna's 6:30 class: 4 guys, 4 girls.  This workout was being done in pairs, so the demographics of the class were fortuitous.  Among the guys, TJ and Mike C were about the same size, so they worked together.  I paired up with my favorite strength partner, Matt B.  The Prodigy and Nicole formed one group of ladies, while Erika R and Steph C made up the other pairing.

My health hadn't improved much since Monday, so I wasn't banking on anything wonderful happening during this WOD.  I let Matt know that I would be going through what I consider my "usual" progression.  Start off with warmup sets at 135 and 185, before gradually moving towards my current 5RM (285 pounds).  My hope was that I could get a set of 5 reps at 275, but because I was feeling so blah, I got to thinking that I'd probably fail at that weight, winding up with a best set at 255 pounds.  Matt wasn't entirely sure what to aim for.  His best set of 5 reps in January was at 225 pounds, which seemed awfully low.  There's no chance that I can handle 60 pounds more than Matt.  He's a strong dude.  Matt's issue tends to be getting depth on his squats, so it's possible that he did more than 225 pounds in January, but didn't count it because he wasn't breaking parallel.

We got started with our warmup sets and neither of us had any difficulty with 135 pounds or 185 pounds (a sure sign that Matt could handle well over 225 pounds for 5 reps).  From there, Matt and I began to diverge on the weights we used for our sets.  Matt's progression from there was 215 pounds, then 235 pounds twice (he did the set over because he was told he didn't hit depth on the first set), then 245 pounds.  After successfully completing that set at 245, Matt decided he was done with this portion of the workout.

As for me, I moved from the last warmup set at 185 to my first working set at 225.  If I struggled at all at this weight, I could be certain that 275 wasn't happening.  To my surprise, I had some good spring in my legs and moved through this set rather quickly.  My next set would be at 255 pounds.  When I did this workout in January, I really struggled on the 5th rep at this weight.  We also had another workout in January where I did sets of 5 back squats at 255 pounds and I didn't give it the proper respect because I knew I had gotten a set at 285 pounds earlier in the month.  I wasn't going to make that same mistake here, especially since I was feeling under the weather.  Somehow I got through this set without much of a problem either.  For the first time all day, I began to think that there was at least a chance that I could hit a new PR.

When I got ready to do the set at 275 pounds, I knew I was going to have to reset after each rep.  It's a process that takes much less time than you might think.  Basically, when I hit the top of a rep, I'll pause to make sure my feet are where I want them and that my breathing is under control.  If they're good to go, I'll go right into the next rep.  If not, I'll take a couple seconds to adjust.  At no point am I standing there for a prolonged period of time with a ginormous amount of weight on my back.  These resets are important for me because having a setup that is even slightly off can be the difference between success and failure at these higher weights.  I thought I would also need to reset after each rep at 255, but surprisingly, I didn't need to reset after my first rep.  I simply went right into the second rep, which is unusual for me.  (I did reset before the remainder of the reps in the set.)

At 275, I calmly went through the process of completing a rep, resetting, then doing the next rep.  The first three reps felt fine.  The fourth rep was probably when I started to think about how difficult this set was supposed to be (something you should never do).  I got that rep, but I took a couple extra seconds before the last rep.  Then I went after it.  It felt heavy and my legs were tested much more than they had up to this point, but I stood up with it.  All things considered, I was very happy with a score of 275.  If I could manage a PR, that would simply be the cherry on top.

Matt and Jenna had been telling me how easy my sets looked up to this point, so they had more confidence than I did in my ability to get 5 reps at 290 pounds.  If I had been feeling 100%, I would have jumped up to 295 for this set (the weight snob in me hates putting on 2.5 pound plates and ending up at a round number), but I was feeling very congested and I thought my breathing might finally become a factor during this set.  Truth be told, I would have only gone up to 285 if that wouldn't have tied my PR.  (Tying your PR is a big no-no.)  I tried to feed off of Matt and Jenna's confidence as I took the barbell off of the rack.  The first positive sign was that it didn't feel unbearably heavy.  It wasn't light, but it wasn't so heavy that I began thinking "how the hell am I going to squat with this?"  The initial 3 reps went smoothly, but it's possible that I started worrying about failure at this point.  There was a slight hitch as I did the 4th rep, but I stood it up.  My reset before the 5th rep was on the longer side, but I was desperate not to blow this set on the very last rep. My feet felt like they were balanced and I drew in a big breath for the final rep of the set.  I hit the bottom and then got stuck as I began to rise up.  Crap!  I was still creeping upwards slightly as the rest of the class began screaming at me.  The fact that I was able to stand up with the weight was entirely due to them.  Had I been in a silent gym all by myself, I would have had to bail that barbell.  Their encouragement was the reason I got a new PR of 290 pounds.

My mind was already drifting to the cash-out with the KBs and the burpees when I was reminded that there was another cash-out preceding that one.  Oops.  I suddenly remembered how much the 1 minute of back squats sucked the last time we did it.  I was able to get a little bit of a breather as Matt and 3 others did the first heat of this cash-out.  When it was time for the second heat to go, I put 205 pounds on my barbell, the same weight I used in January.  Three months ago, I did 18 reps in a minute.  The only thing that changed during this attempt was that my pace was much more consistent.  18 reps in a minute works out to 4.5 reps every 15 seconds.  I looked at the clock after 5 reps and saw it was at 16 seconds.  After 9 reps, it was at 30 seconds.  After 14 reps, it was at 47 seconds.  I had to hurry at the end, but I made it to 18 reps when time was called.

The worst part of being in the second heat of cash-out #1 was that you got almost no break before doing cash-out #2.  We were all going at the same time in that one.  I should have remembered this from January.  Oh well.  I truly believed that I crushed my time from January when I completed it this time around.  The 15 KB swings were unbroken.  The 10 KB snatches on my right arm were unbroken.  I got through 7 on the left arm before needing a break, but then I took care of the last 3 and got into the burpees.  I didn't do a lot of crawling during my burpees.  The crawling that I did do took place in the middle of the 30 reps.  When I got to 18 reps, I made a concerted effort to push hard through the last 12 burpees.  Yet when I looked at the clock upon finishing, I saw my time was only 6 seconds better than it had been 3 months ago.  Cash-out #2 time: 4:22.

I stuck around afterwards mainly because I was tired.  But I also felt bad because Neil was taking the 7:30 class by himself.  I'm a big believer that Neil doesn't know how strong he really is yet.  He is steadily putting up bigger numbers when it comes to the weights he is lifting and I haven't seen him struggle a whole lot while he's been doing it.  As I watched him start doing five-rep sets of back squats, it was genuinely difficult to tell where his warmup sets ended and where his working sets began.  He was moving fluidly through set after set.

As Neil tore through sets of back squats, the only other people working out in the gym were Michal and Maggie.  The two of them were working on handstand walks.  From a distance, you might not have been able to tell them apart.  Both are short (they looked tiny in comparison to Neil).  Both were  sporting matching black outfits.  They were both making sure their hair didn't get in the way as they got upside-down to walk on their hands.  There was one stark difference between the two though.  When Maggie did her handstand walks, her legs stayed vertical and together as she took a very straight journey down the gym.  Michal started the same way, but once she got moving down the gym, her legs started widening apart and dangling to the sides.  This caused her to inevitably veer to the right, ending her walks over near where the rings are located.  I asked Michal why she let her legs do that and her reply was "when I spread my legs, I go a lot further".  I'm not sure what the original title for this blog was going to be, but it was instantly forgotten once I heard that gem.

When Michal was done with her handstand walks, she joined Neil for some back squats.  Michal eventually ended up with a PR of 190 pounds for 5 reps.  Neil, meanwhile, continued to blaze through his sets.  I mentioned how I needed to reset between reps when the weight got heavy.  Neil's set at 275 pounds looked like my set at 135 pounds.  He finally slowed down a little bit during his set at 295 pounds, but it was clear he had more left in the tank.  His next set would be at 305 pounds.  Neil did the first rep, then surprisingly bailed the barbell.  Jenna and I were both confused.  Neil told us that 305 was his new 1RM.  I think he only had designs on doing 1 rep at that weight, but I'm convinced he could have gotten all five if he stuck with it.

After Michal and Neil did a minute of back squats at 70% of their 5RM, they had some company for cash-out #2.  Kris and Jess C decided to take part in the KB and burpee party to end the night.  If wagering on this cash-out were allowed, I would have mortgaged my house that Jess would be the first one done.  A couple of years ago, I used to joke with Jess that she never went anywhere without a KB in her hand.  Every time I saw her at the gym, she was working with a KB in some fashion.  She was going to smoke through the KB swings and snatches.  And having done the burpee Advent challenge with her, I knew it wasn't going to take her too long to wrap up 30 burpees.  Michal ended up giving the former Queen of Prussia a run for her money, but in the end, Jess would beat her by 18 seconds.

Thursday preview: I abide by Giulz's time domains for the workout.  And I learn that I'm not terrible at cartwheels.

CAM

Workout date: 4/4/17

On Monday night, I took my first steps towards fighting off bronchitis.  I stopped at the store and picked up some Nyquil Cough Suppressant.  I was coughing a lot and I typically don't sleep well, so hopefully this would kill two birds with one stone.  I woke up on Tuesday morning feeling like the Nyquil had definitely helped on the sleep front.  I felt a little better in terms of the illness that had been plaguing me.  If I was operating at about 60% on Monday night, I was up to around 65% come Tuesday.

When I first saw the Monday WOD, I was slightly concerned about the difficulty of the bar muscle-ups.  That was child's play compared to what awaited me on Tuesday night.  The Tuesday WOD was going to be pure misery for me as it was chock full of pull-ups (still #1 on my list of "things I hate to do in Crossfit").  I used to cringe when I saw workouts that included 40-50 pull-ups in them, but now KOP has given their members complimentary upgrades on pull-up WODs.  My Tuesday night unhappy meal was super-sized to 105 pull-ups with a side of 105 power cleans.

Tuesday's WOD:
30-25-20-15-10-5
Pull-ups
Power cleans (135/95)

Bryan and I were sharing texts about this one a few hours before we came in to take this on.  There had been some sub-20 minute times in the earlier classes, but we both agreed that would be impossible for guys like us.  30 minutes seemed like a more realistic goal for this workout and even that might have been generous.

There were 8 of us in attendance for Dudes After Dark.  Joining me and Bryan were Cline, Noel, Actuary Mike, Esra, Julie Foucher, and Neil.  LC stayed inside the gym for the entirety of this workout as she coached this class.  Very strange.  One of the first announcements that we got from her was that there would a time cap on this workout.  Uh oh.  There wasn't any mention of a time cap on the blog.  I couldn't imagine the time cap would be any higher than 30 minutes, so I might have to meet the goal I had come up with earlier in the day if I was gonna finish this workout.  Turns out the news was worse than that.  The time cap would be 25 minutes.  I guess the silver lining in that news was that it was unlikely I'd have to do 105 pull-ups in this workout.

Ms. January was hanging out as we got warmed up and I let her know that I was none too pleased about having to do so many pull-ups.  I was testing out what weight I would use for the power cleans and the RX weight of 135 pounds didn't seem unreasonable.  It was probably going to feel a lot different after doing so many pull-ups, but as long as I could keep moving using that weight, it seemed like the right one to use.  Ms. January asked me how heavy I was going on the power cleans and I told her I was going with 135.  She then responded, "ahhh...you're going full HAM on this workout".  I had seen and heard the acronym "HAM" before, but I didn't know what it meant.  A lot of people in this situation will just play along and act like they got the reference, but I'm the awkward guy who blurts out, "what does HAM mean?"  Ms. January explained that it stood for "Hard As a Motherfucker".  Now that I knew what it meant, I was able to correct Ms. January.  I let her know that I would not be going HAM in this WOD.  I would be going CAM (Capped As a Motherfucker), because there was no way I'd be done in 25 minutes.

After getting a generous amount of ribbing from Maggie about my "cute little chalk bag", I took up residence at the portion of the pull-up rig that was nearest to the front of the gym.  The plan at the beginning was simple: do sets of 2 pull-ups at a time, remain calm, grind my way through this workout.  Attempting to knock out big sets at the beginning wasn't going to help me any.  If I could maintain my composure through the entirety of the first round (and if I was lucky, through round 2), then I might at least come close to staying under the 25 minute time cap.

The plan went fairly well.  I thought I could finish that first set of 30 pull-ups in 3 minutes if I kept an even pace.  I had 5 sets of 2 done after a minute.  When I finished the next 5 sets of two, only 2 minutes and change had elapsed on the clock.  As I came down from the high bar after finishing my 30th pull-up, the clock was closing in on 3 and a half minutes.  A little slower than I hoped for, but not too bad.  Plus I was still pretty calm as I moved over to my barbell.  Was I the last one to my barbell?  Of course, but I knew that was gonna be the case.

While I had a very clear picture of how I wanted to attack the pull-ups, I couldn't say the same when it came to the power cleans.  If I was feeling good, I could probably do 5 in a row before dropping the barbell.  I wasn't sure that was the best way to go though.  The pull-ups were already taking a toll on my grip.  Holding on to that barbell for larger sets was only gonna make it worse.  I gave consideration to doing quick singles to save my grip, but doing 105 singles seemed a little extreme to me.  I decided that I wasn't going to form a strategy until I picked up the barbell for the first time.  I did my first power clean, then tapped the floor before going into my second rep.  I got the second rep, but I could feel the effect of the 30 pull-ups I had completed prior to getting to my barbell.  Rather than continue on, I dropped the barbell.  I figured I could copy what I was doing on the pull-up bar, doing two reps at a time with the barbell.

That plan turned out to be short-lived.  I greatly underestimated how hard it was going to be to hold on to the barbell for even two reps.  When I completed my 5th set of 2 power cleans, I changed gears and went to singles.  I would do 5 quick singles, then take an extended rest.  When I got through 30 power cleans, I was even further behind the class than I had been at the conclusion of the 30 pull-ups.  The clock had just passed 7 minutes.

The good news was that based on my pace in round one, I would finish this workout in 24:30, 30 seconds under the time cap.  The bad news is obvious: there was zero chance I'd be maintaining this pace for the remaining five rounds.  When I began the round of 25 at the pull-up rig, I continued with my sets of 2, but they were fading fast.  I got through 4 sets of 2 with longer breaks in between sets before I gave in and went to singles here too.  Just like with the power cleans, I'd do 4-5 in a row, then take an extended break.  Those breaks included the dreaded squatting position.  It's my favorite way to rest, but it's also a sign that I'm in big trouble.  Ms. January kept encouraging me to get moving again when she saw me in that squat, but I knew I needed the rest.

When I got back over to my barbell for the second time, it was unclear to me whether the other members of the class were lapping me or on the same round as me.  Probably the former.  I continued to do the sets of 5 singles with long breaks as a reward for making it through that many.  I was tiring out quickly and as I looked at the clock, I began wondering whether I'd even make it through the round of 20.  It was that bad.  I had prepared myself for being time capped, but not making it through the first three rounds in 25 minutes?  That was pitiful.  As I moved through the last of the power cleans in the round of 25, I began slamming the barbell down to the ground after each clean.  It became therapeutic for me.

I was moving very slowly when I came back to the pull-up rig for the round of 20.  I got through 8 pull-ups before LC came over and offered some advice.  I had been jumping up to the high bar for all of my pull-ups and she suggested that I might save some of the energy in my legs if I simply used the low bar for singles.  In theory, this was good advice.  When I can't string toes-to-bar anymore, I go from the high bar to the low bar.  Why not do the same for pull-ups?  The simple answer is because I do terrible pull-ups on the low bar.  The toes-to-bar analogy isn't as good as the analogy I can make with my jump rope.  When a coach tells me to do single unders after I've been practicing double unders, I always mess it up.  I'll have the rhythm of doing double unders trapped in my head, so when I transition to single unders, my tempo is off.  That is kinda what happens when I go from the high bar to the low bar for pull-ups.  When I do stuff on the high bar, I move vertically.  When I do stuff on the low bar, I move horizontally.  That plays well for chest-to-bar pull-ups, bar muscle-ups, and single reps of toes-to-bar, but not so well with regular pull-ups.  As I tried to do single pull-ups on the low bar, I basically did the chest-to-bar variety each time.  I wasn't saving much energy by doing that.  I guess I couldn't make the switch in my mind to go vertically on the low bar.  As I struggled through those reps, Esra (who was done) stood by me and cheered me on, trying like Ms. January had to get me out of my resting squat.

After completing 12 semi-chest-to-bar pull-ups to finish the round of 20, I got back to the barbell.  There was still time for me to finish the round before the time cap.  I'd have to shorten up my breaks though.  As I pushed to maintain my habit of completing 5 singles before getting a break, my grunts became louder and louder.  (Neil would tell me after the WOD that he could hear me all the way in the back of the gym and that my grunts made him glad that he used 115 pounds instead of 135.)  I was still slamming the barbell down after each clean.  It was my way of accentuating the fact that I was one rep closer to finishing the round of 20.  After I slammed the barbell the 20th time, I took a peek at the clock and headed back to the pull-up rig.  About 35 seconds remained before the time cap.

With so little time remaining, it seemed pointless to me to continue on using the low bar.  I wasn't saving my legs for anything at this point.  So I went back to the high bar and completed as many singles as I could.  That added up to 4 pull-ups.  Final time: 25:56 (25 minute time cap plus one second for the 26 pull-ups and 30 power cleans that I did not complete).

Was there any chance that I could have completed this workout in 30 minutes?  Nope.  I'm not so sure I could have finished in 35 minutes.  Maybe I would have picked up some momentum as the number of reps in the final rounds got smaller, but I doubt my pace would have gotten a whole lot faster.  Should I have scaled this workout?  Well I thought about that, but I couldn't think of a scale that made sense.  Here were my options:

• Scale the pull-ups using a band: I think I'm at the point now where using a band for regular pull-ups would be a step backwards.
• Scale the weight for the power cleans: I thought about doing this in order to save my arms for the pull-ups and maybe that was the way to go.  But it seemed weird to me to scale the movement that I was proficient at in order to earn more time for the one that I sucked at.  It would be like using a 20" box to save time/energy on box jumps even though I'm perfectly capable of using the 24" version.
• Scale the reps for the pull-ups/power cleans: This option made the most sense to me, but with the time cap in place, isn't that what I ended up doing anyways?  If I scaled down from 105 reps to 75 reps, I would have finished around 24:25.  I would have beaten the time cap, but I would have basically done the same amount of work (actually 4 pull-ups less).  So why not just do as much as I could in 25 minutes?

It's no secret that I struggle when it comes to deciding on whether I should scale a workout.  Even when I do decide to scale, I'm not certain of the proper way to do so.  This workout was a textbook example of that dilemma.

Wednesday preview: Back squats galore!  Michal shares the secret to walking on your hands.

I Will Love You Forever

Workout date: 4/3/17

It's always hard for me to explain my trips to Vegas to people who aren't into handicapping.  Among my circle of friends, that includes pretty much everyone.  If I'm in Vegas for 5-6 days, they're thinking I was out there partying it up.  If I don't come home with a check from the contest, they doubt how good of a handicapper I am.  (Note: It's not unwarranted.  When I don't cash in these tournaments, I doubt how good of a handicapper I am.)  The truth is that I spend virtually all of the trip in my hotel room reading past performances and watching race replays.  And in order to get any money in these contests, you have to beat 90% of the field.  It's not as fun or easy as it sounds, although I imagine that if I ever won one of these tournaments, I would find it incredibly fun.

With all of that said, my experience at the Horse Player World Series put some things into perspective.  When I got off the plane on Tuesday night and walked through McCarran Airport, I wasn't as jazzed up as I usually am about arriving in Vegas.  I started thinking about how often I've made the trip recently and it shocked me.  This was my 4th trip to Sin City in 8 months.  That is way too much.  I'm pretty sure professional athletes and porn stars don't visit Vegas that often.  So I knew that I needed a break from the handicapping scene after this tournament unless fortune smiled on me. I had a lousy Day 1.  On Day 2, I mounted a comeback.  Heading into Day 3, I was in 123rd place out of 571 entries, with the top 60 getting paid.  My first 2 plays finished in second place, which added a small amount to my score.  Then I went cold for most of the rest of the day.  I don't know exactly where I finished, but it was probably around 200th.

I wasn't completely bummed by my performance.  I put myself into contention going into the final day.  And as alarming as 4 trips to Vegas in 8 months sounds, those trips were all paid for as part of packages I won in qualifying tournaments.  I often express in this blog how competitive I am in Crossfit.  You can double that level of competitiveness when it comes to handicapping tournaments.  I may lack confidence in Crossfit (and in life), but I fully believe that I can win every time I take part in these contests.  While it hasn't happened yet, it feels like I'm moving in the right direction.  It will come some day.  For now though, I need to take a break from handicapping and recharge my batteries.

One thing that didn't help me while I was in Vegas was having bronchitis.  There was one day (Wednesday) where I felt a little better, making me think that I only had a 24 hour bug or something.  Then I felt awful from Thursday through the flight home on Sunday night.  I was still feeling very congested when I came back to the gym on Monday night.  I was hoping for a workout that wasn't complex.  If it was light on cardio, even better.  Instead I got the following:

Monday's WOD:
12 minute AMRAP
2 bar muscle-ups
4 hang power snatches (95/65)
8 box jumps (24"/20")
12 overhead squats (95/65)

A 12-minute workout wasn't too horrendous, but I wasn't thrilled to see bar muscle-ups programmed. I thought back to the WOD where I managed 9 of them and remembered how each rep knocked the wind out of me.  Bronchitis was already limiting my ability to breathe, so I didn't need any help from bar muscle-ups.  The hang power snatches didn't sound too bad.  8 box jumps per round was nice because that was an amount that I could reliably rebound through without needing a break.  12 overheads per round was a lot, but I tend to enjoy overhead squats more than most, so I thought I might be able to get through them alright.

Coach Giulz had a dozen athletes in her 6:30 class.  Everyone needed space on the pull-up rig as well as room to operate with the barbell and to perform box jumps, so it was cramped quarters.  Giulz let us know that we'd be running two heats in order to give everyone more space.  The second heat would start 30 seconds after the first heat began.  Giulz walked us through the various movements in the workout, using Keithie as her muse for the bar muscle-ups and the pull-up related scaling options.  She then turned to LC to demonstrate box jumps and how the barbell movements should be done.  Giulz pointed out that the hang power snatches could be performed quicker if you only went to the high hang (about waist level) rather than the low hang (just above the knee) while cycling through reps.  You had to have a lot more power to only go from the high hang though.  I almost always go to the low hang, but because there were only 4 hang power snatches per round (meaning only 3 transitions between reps), I decided to try and go from the high hang in this workout.  Giulz also had some commentary on the overhead squats.  She told the class "I will love you forever" if you hold on to the barbell through all 12 overheads each round.  I was out to win her undying affection in this WOD.

I thought there was a chance that Bryan and I would be facing each other as we did bar muscle-ups in a workout again, but he decided to face-off with his wife during this workout.

 Love Springs Eternal

I was towards the back of the gym, between JP and Caitlyn.  JP and I were able to work next to each other because he was doing his bar muscle-ups on the high bar while I would be doing mine on the low bar.  I still haven't figured out how to do them on the high bar yet.  (Spoiler: It's mainly because I'm scared.)  I started telling JP that I was going to tire out quickly in this workout, partially because I had bronchitis and partially because I don't have much of a gas tank.  He claimed he was going to tire out quickly too, but I had seen him show much more stamina than me in workouts like this one.  I would try and hang with him for as long as I could.

JP and I were both in heat one.  Starting off with bar muscle-ups made me nervous.  During the warmup, I had a bad attempt in which Giulz told me that I was swinging too far forward and not pushing myself away from the bar enough.  I made the necessary corrections for my second attempt and did what was described as an "easy-looking" bar muscle-up.  Doing it in the warmup was one thing.  Doing it while the clock was ticking was another.  I had anxiety that I'd start missing on my attempts and fall way behind everyone in class.  In the bar muscle-up workout that I had done with Bryan, I got my first one and then missed a bunch of times.  If that happened today, I wasn't going to complete much of the workout.  I got 9 bar muscle-up in 10 minutes in that other workout.  Today I'd have 12 minutes, but I'd also have a bunch of other stuff to do, so I set my goal for this WOD at 3 full rounds.

Giulz started heat one and I attempted my first bar muscle-up.  It did not go well.  That was not the start I needed to boost my confidence.  I took a few seconds to regroup before trying again.  My second attempt was a success, although it was nothing like the easy one I did in the warmup.  I came back down and took my time before making my next attempt.  Meanwhile, most of the first heat had moved on to the power snatches.  JP must have missed on an attempt as well because he was still at the pull-up rig with me.  Right as I was about to go again, he did his second bar muscle-up.  I swung on the low bar and got my second in a row.  Two outta three wasn't bad.

I went right into the hang power snatches and using that quick transition from the high hang, I was able to catch up with JP.  Then I rebounded on and off of my box for 8 quick jumps, which moved me ahead of JP.  I got my barbell overhead to begin the squats, thinking I was going to continue to blaze through all of the non-bar muscle-up components of this workout.  I was surprised to find that the overhead squats were much tougher than anticipated.  I guess those box jumps were thrown in there to work your legs and make the overheads more difficult.  Not wanting to lose Giulz's eternal love in round one, I stubbornly held on through all 12 reps.  Somehow I had completed my first round before the reigning king had.

A decent breather was required before attempting the bar muscle-ups again, but having JP in front of me was motivation enough to keep me moving.  I did my first bar muscle-up, then he did his.  I made sure to complete #2 for he got his second one.  Couldn't let that lead go to waste already.  I was quick on my hang power snatches, bounded through 8 more box jumps, and held on through all 12 overhead squats again.  I had increased my lead on JP!  Better yet, the clock informed me that I had 7 and a half minutes remaining to complete round three.  Unless I completely fell apart on the bar muscle-ups, I was reaching my goal.

That decent breather turned into a long breather before the start of round three.  I wasn't intentionally waiting for JP to push me along, but as soon as I saw him drop his barbell to complete round two, I got on the bar for my first muscle-up.  For the second round in a row, we alternated bar muscle-ups.  That wasn't too bad for me because I had been going faster on the other parts of the workout.  I kept pushing through the snatches and the box jumps, but I had to pause at the overhead squats.  Somehow this had become the toughest part of this workout, something I never thought I'd say.  I got the barbell overhead and began my set, but I wasn't too far into it before JP began his overheads.  My lead was shrinking.  I finished off that third round before JP, but I sensed there was little chance that I'd still be ahead of him at the end of 12 minutes.

Huffing and puffing, I stood hunched over at the pull-up rig, trying to persuade myself to start round four.  JP didn't need any persuading.  He took a couple seconds after finishing his overhead squats, but he was on the bar performing his first muscle-up before I was.  We alternated for the third round in a row, but this time JP was the first one on to the snatches.  I was gasping for air as he got to his barbell.  I no longer had any faith that I could keep up with JP.  I had little faith that I could perform a bar muscle-up, despite having gotten my last seven in a row.  JP was moving on to the box jumps when I finally went after my second bar muscle-up of round four.  It was very ugly, but it was a success.  Time to try and catch the king again.

Not exactly poetry in motion...

...but it turned out okay in the end

The hang power snatches weren't a problem for the fourth round in a row, but the fact that I was hyperventilating at this point played a factor when I got to the box jumps.  I made it through 5 in a row before needing to stop on top of my box.  Aimee was doing a personal training session over by the rings and encouraged me to get moving again.  I got through the final three jumps of the round, but I was dreading my beloved overheads.  Since I was determined to hold on for all 12 squats, I didn't pick up the barbell right away.  JP had moved on to begin round five as I got ready for the last portion of round four.  Another look at the clock let me know that I had plenty of time to complete this round as long as I held on for all 12 reps.  I got the barbell overhead and slowly began my set.  I think I did about three at a time before needing to stop and reset at the top.  I wasn't going to let go of that barbell though.  With about 35 seconds remaining, I completed my 4th set of 12 consecutive overhead squats.

I could have run over and tried to get 2 quick bar muscle-ups.  If I did them fast enough, maybe I could have gotten the snatches done.  Or even some additional box jumps.  That was wishful thinking.  I decided to conserve my energy and make sure that I did one final bar muscle-up correctly.  I spent about 25 seconds recovering before I took one last swing on the bar.  This attempt was probably as ugly as the one captured in the photos above, but I tugged my body over the bar and then pressed out at the top.  When I dropped to the floor, there was only three seconds left, so that would be all for me.  Final score: 4+1.

JP made it all the way to the start of his overhead squats in round five, so I definitely fell off his pace at the end.  That was a little disappointing because there aren't very many workouts where I have a chance to beat him.  That being said...this was a workout with bar muscle-ups and I was ahead of the king for three rounds!  That is insane.  There's no way you could have ever convinced me that was possible.  I was taking away nothing but positives from this workout.  Except for the fact that it ended with me coughing up a lot of mucus in the men's room.  Could have done without that.

After the workout was over, Josh tried to convince me to go through that GHD/pull-up/push-up rotation with him, even though he had Giulz as his partner this week.  I declined, but he talked me into doing the strict pull-ups at least.  He wanted three sets of 5 in a row from me.  I had done that once in my life, so I told him I would try and get one set that way, but the remaining 10 strict pull-ups might need to be broken up into smaller sets.  I guess I was just in the zone on Monday night because I matched my best set ever when I did 5 in a row.  Then I did another 5 in a row.  And you know I wasn't going to be denied that third set after completing the first two.  I'm thinking the week off did me a world of good.

I did a little bit of double under practice with Actuary Mike to conclude my night.  Mike had never done more than 6 in a row before Monday night.  He did at least 26 in a row while we were practicing (perhaps it was everyone's night on Monday!).  I think he might have done a set of more than 30 as well, but I'm not 100% certain.  I did three sets ranging between 22 reps and 38 reps before deciding I had enough for the evening.

Tuesday preview: What do you get the guy who hates pull-ups?  NOT 105 PULL-UPS!  The time cap is in full effect at Dudes After Dark.

Battered

Workout date: 3/27/17

In early March, I won a trip to Vegas to play in this year's Horse Player World Series.  Before the National Handicapping Championship came to be, the Horse Player World Series was the premier handicapping tournament in the country.  It's probably the third most prestigious now (with the Breeders Cup Betting Challenge being #2), but it's definitely on the calendar of most serious handicappers.  I would be flying out to Vegas on Tuesday night for the event, so Monday's WOD was my last opportunity to get a workout in before my trip.

To be honest, I had little desire to show up.  I felt a cold coming on.  My body was an unusual shade of yellow due to all the bruises I had on various parts of my body.  And the workout was one that I wasn't especially fond of (3RM deadlift).  When Bryan texted me early Monday afternoon to see if I was coming to the 6:30 class, I gave a very wishy-washy response.  I told him I had been feeling lousy all day, but I was going to try my best to get to KOP.  Around 6pm, I started packing my gym bag and a little while later, I unenthusiastically arrived for class.  Bryan was nowhere to be found.  I asked LC where he was and she told me that it was his rest day.  Son of a...

Coach Giulz had 11 of us there ready to deadlift.  After we were done with the deadlifts, we were supposed to do some skill work.  I wasn't sure how many of us were ready for 15 ring muscle-ups (the listed skill work), but that seemed to be an ambitious way to end the evening.  Luckily for all involved, Giulz had a reasonable cash-out ready as a substitute.  Once we were done deadlifting, we'd take on this short sprint of a cash-out:

Monday's cash-out:
30 wall balls (20#/14# to 10'/9')
30 KB swings (53/35)
30 alternating lunges
20 wall balls
20 KB swings
20 alternating lunges
10 wall balls
10 KB swings
10 alternating lunges

Finding a 3RM deadlift comes up quite often in our gym's programming, so I had a very good idea of how I was going to approach my lifts.  My current best is 375 pounds, so the goal was to try and make it to 385 pounds if I was having a strong lifting day.  I've already told you that I felt like death much of the day, so I wasn't banking on leaving for Vegas with a new PR for my three-rep deadlift.  The progression to that number wasn't gonna change despite the fact that I wasn't feeling optimistic about hitting it.  I'd move through sets of 135-185-225-275 before getting to the harder sets starting at 315.  From there, I'd move on to 345, 365, and 385.  That was the game plan at least.

The sets at 135, 185, and 225 were easy enough.  Giulz watched me do my set at 275 and told me to put some weight on the barbell.  The set at 275 usually gives me a feel of how heavy I might go in my progression, so it was a positive sign that it went as well it did.  It gave me the impression that I might be able to get 365 tonight.  I'd be shocked if 385 happened, but the set at 275 made me think I'd  at least be taking a crack at it later on.

The set at 315 made me more pessimistic.  I didn't have a terrible struggle with that weight, but when I was done with it, I just felt like my energy levels were waning.  I also had a bit of good news/bad news during that set.  The good news was that I kept the barbell super close to my legs like everyone is taught to do when they're deadlifting.  The bad news involved my right shin.  It has gotten so beaten up over the years that rolling a 315 pound barbell up and down it repeatedly causes a decent amount of pain.  Even if I had the strength to do 2 or 3 more sets, I wasn't looking forward to the additional discomfort.

The set at 345 let me know that 385 wasn't happening.  I got through all three reps, but they were very difficult (not to mention painful!).  My next set at 365 was going to be my final set, whether it was a success or a failure.  I'll let you take a guess which it was.  I got into my setup for the initial rep at 365 and barely got the barbell off of the floor.  I didn't struggle very long before I dropped it.  It just didn't seem worth it on this night to fight for that set.  Final score: 345.

It wasn't until we had started putting away our plates and barbells that I learned about the cash-out substitute.  I grabbed a med ball and a KB and took up a spot between Cline and Mike C.  I knew this was going to be a fast one (or at least it was meant to be).  Stringing all of the wall balls wasn't out of the question.  Stringing all of the KB swings would be tougher, but still not impossible.  The lunges were the default rest station along the way.  You could move at a decent pace through those but still catch your breath as you did them.  If I was taking breaks during this cash-out, then I was going to fall way behind.

I took a bunch of breaks during the cash-out.  It started out promisingly enough.  Giulz started the clock and I held on through all 30 wall balls.  It was when I turned around and picked up my KB that things went downhill.  I've had my fair share of struggles with the KB, but this was something different.  "53" was written on the KB, but it felt like it weighed 153 pounds.  And every time I swung it overhead, my shoulders felt like they were on fire.  I got through 12 reps before needing to put it down the first time.  I followed that up with a set of 9 and then another set of 9.  Pretty much everyone in class was lunging by the time I finished my first round of KB swings.

The 30 lunges weren't a problem and I tried to do them faster than I would have liked to just to catch up with the class.  When I came back to the wall, I got 12 wall balls in my first set.  I shook out my arms and caught my breath before finishing the last 8 reps.  I was dreading the KB before I even picked it up.  That probably didn't help my performance.  I needed to put it down after 8 reps.  Feeling like there was no way I could get the remaining 12 in one set, I split the last dozen reps into two sets of 6.  I was very grateful to move on to the 20 lunges.  I believe Cline was finishing up the cash-out as I completed my second round.

I was gonna be really pissed at myself if I couldn't suck it up and do all 10 reps of all the movements in the final round.  The 10 wall balls weren't that bad.  There was a decent amount of grunting to get through the 10 KB swings.  Then I did the last 10 lunges as fast as I possibly could.  Cash-out time: 9:07.

After experiencing pain during the deadlifts and the cash-out, you would think I'd be bright enough to call it a night.  Nope.  Never been very good with peer pressure.  That was apparent again on this night.  A week ago, I did a supersized plank tabata with Josh M after one of our classes.  He was recruiting me for something different on Monday night.  He was doing a series of exercises and needed a partner to do them with him.  It started with 25 GHD sit-ups.  That was followed by 15 back extensions on the GHD.  Then we'd be doing 10 consecutive strict pull-ups before finishing things off with 25 push-ups.  I let Josh know in advance that I didn't have the ability to do 10 strict pull-ups.  The most I'd ever done consecutively was 5 and I had only done that once.  I was willing to try for 5 again, although they might need to be done over the course of two sets rather than one.

The 25 GHD sit-ups weren't so bad.  I tend to whip through them quickly and my form deteriorates as I go along, but I can usually manage 20-25 in a row when I put my mind to it.  I got through all 25 without needing a break.  I flipped over and faced the floor to begin the back extensions.  My quads were positioned on top of the pads.  I went to do the first rep and immediately noticed a problem.  The pain I experienced with my right shin during the deadlifts and with my shoulders during the KB swings was mild.  This pain was sharp.  I did 2 reps and then stopped.  It wasn't like I had a strain or something like that.  My quads must have been much more beaten up than I had realized.  I tried 2 more times to do a rep, but both times I felt like Steve Carell getting his chest waxed in the 40 Year Old Virgin.  Josh told me that it was alright to skip the rest of the back extensions, but I was stubborn about it.  It was only 13 more reps.  I could bite my lip for 13 reps.  I told myself to just go fast and zone out the pain.  I made it through 9 more reps before needing another break.  I told myself that I had a week to recover after this was done.  Then I completed the last 4 painful reps.  Maybe not the best choice I've made, but I survived.

At the pull-up rig, I did a set of 3 strict pull-ups followed by a set of 2.  Then Josh and I returned to the area over by the GHD machines.  I thought I'd have to go 10-5-5-5 to get through these.  It went better than that.  I guess seeing the finish line in my mind drove me through this last station.  I did 15 in a row before needing a break, but I stayed in a plank while I paused.  From there, I did small sets, refusing to come out of a plank when I wasn't doing push-ups.  Push-up #25 was shaky, but I got through all of them without giving my arms a rest.

I was done!  Or so I thought.  Josh let me know that we were supposed to go through that rotation three times.  Not this guy.  I told Josh to have fun with the last two rounds as I was done.  Maybe I'd try to get through three rounds of that on a night when my body wasn't so battered.  My plan was to head home, pack my bag, and get ready for my trip to Vegas.

Post-Vegas preview: I don't come home with over a quarter-million dollars.  I do come home with bronchitis.  A bunch of bar muscle-ups should clear out my lungs.

Simply Dead

Workout date: 3/24/17

On Thursday night, Dave Castro would announce the final workout of the 2017 Open.  We all knew thrusters would be involved somehow, but personally I was rooting for DB thrusters.  DBs had been prominent in this year's Open and it only seemed fitting that they would be in use during the last workout of the season.  I was going to struggle if DB thrusters were part of 17.5, but I knew many others were dreading DB thrusters more than I was.  If I had trudged through four lousy workouts to get to this point, the least Dave Castro could do was come up with a workout that favored me a little bit.  Hit me with the good news, Dave!

Open Workout 17.5
10 rounds:
9 thrusters (95/65)
35 double unders
*Time cap: 40 minutes

You'll notice that "DB" is missing before the word thrusters and that is because these thrusters would be performed with a barbell.  Bastard!  There had been speculation as to whether double unders or ring muscle-ups would accompany the thrusters and it turned out that ring muscle-ups would be saved for the superstar regional athletes.  The one thing I really appreciated about this workout was the simplicity of it.  Castro didn't need a chalkboard to poorly explain how this WOD would work.  There were thrusters.  There were double unders.  Lather, rinse, repeat.

I almost always come up with a goal for the workout I am about to embark on, but I found coming up with a goal for this WOD to be extremely tricky.  There were 350 double unders in the workout and I'm very inconsistent when it comes to those.  Some days I have them, some days I don't.  9 thrusters per round didn't sound awful, but that worked out to 90 thrusters for the entire workout.  The last workout of 2014 was repeated to conclude the 2016 Open and that WOD only had 84 thrusters in it.  And believe me, that workout was no picnic.  (At least there were no burpees in this WOD!)  When coming up with my initial guess for a solid time in this workout, I landed on 15 minutes.  During the announcement for 17.5, two of the best female athletes in the world completed this workout in less than 7 minutes.  I figured doubling their time was a good start in forming a goal.  Tack on an extra minute or so and you get to my initial goal.  That was what I came up with on Thursday night.  I was fully prepared to adjust this goal once I saw the early times on Friday.

That goal would be getting a severe upwards adjustment by mid-day on Friday.  The top athletes in the gym were putting up times in the 12-14 minute range, which meant there was no chance I'd finish in 15 minutes.  A goal of 20 minutes seemed much more reasonable for me based on their performances.  Further adjustments might be necessary when I saw the early afternoon times.  I knew I wasn't going to make it to the gym until 5pm at the earliest, so I'd have plenty of extra data to look at once I showed up for the workout.

I didn't actually make it to the gym until about 5:30, which was later than I had been arriving for Friday Night Lights.  I didn't think it would be that big of a deal though.  I might not get to go until about 6:15 or 6:30, but having 45-60 minutes to "warm up" wasn't the worst thing in the world.  I require a solid 30 minutes of procrastinating time and it takes all of 20 seconds for me to get warm in the gym, so that was more than enough time for me.  Just one problem.  When I got to the gym, all of the heats were filled up except for the last one and that heat was scheduled for 7:30.  Oof.  That was an awful lot of time to kill.

I began my two-hour wait by scanning all of the times that had been put up over the last two hours.  The times listed on the board left me confused.  There were people who I expected to beat in this workout who had gone sub-20 minutes.  There were people who I thought would kill me on this workout that had needed more than 25 minutes on 17.5.  I no longer had any grasp of what a solid time would be for me.  I decided to stick with 20 minutes for now, but I wouldn't be surprised if 25 minutes was necessary.

I received one request to act as a judge while I waited and that request came from Alicia-Marie.  She was going in the 6:30 heat, so there would still be plenty of time once I finished judging to get ready for my heat.  I asked Alicia-Marie if there was anything special she needed me to do for her during her upcoming ordeal.  All that she required of me was to keep her laughing during the workout.  I would do my best.  In return, I asked her not to mess up after 34 double unders in each round because I would feel like an ass telling her that she had to do just one more.  With our terms met, Alicia-Marie and the rest of the 6:30 heat got under way.

For the most part, Alicia-Marie broke her thrusters up into three sets of three.  She took care of all nine unbroken in that first set.  She also pulled off that feat in her final set as well.  I would say her performance in each round tended to improve from the second round up to the tenth round.  She definitely got stronger with the thrusters.  And she was much more consistent with her double unders.  Speaking of double under consistency, Alicia-Marie kept to her word of not breaking after 34 reps.  However, she seemed to trip up after 32 reps almost every single round.  She didn't seem to believe me after a while when I kept saying "three to go".  The funniest moment of her workout came somewhere around the eighth or ninth round.  As I would soon find out, your mind wandered as this workout dragged on.  Alicia-Marie was just beginning her double unders and got 7 reps.  When I said "seven", she turned to me and asked me if she only had seven left.  I delivered the heartbreaking news that she, in fact, had 28 more reps left in this round.  Ouch.  Alicia-Marie powered through the final few rounds and stopped the clock at 30:20.

As I got ready to go in the final heat, I watched Cline and Matt B take part in the penultimate heat.  I wasn't keeping track of what round they were in, but they both looked to be in considerable pain as they did the workout.  They also looked like they were taking quite a few breaks, something I was sure I would need to do as well.  I saw that Matt finished ahead of Cline, but I had no idea what their times were.

While those two were finishing up the 2017 Open, I did some thrusters and some double unders to warm up.  The thrusters felt heavier than I would have liked and I began dreading having to do 90 of them.  The double unders were a different story.  I did two sets of 15 reps in a row without a problem.  Doing more than that in the warmup seemed like a waste of energy to me.  It felt like this was a day where I had double unders.  Not sure if I had 350 of them, but it didn't seem like a day where I'd be unable to do more than 5 at a time once the workout began.

At last, it was time for the 7:30 heat.  I positioned myself up towards the front for two reasons:

1. I have a bad habit of hopping backwards while I jump rope and if I was near the racks on the pull-up rigs, I was bound to hit them with my rope.
2. LC and Michal were in the back row.  They were going to destroy me on this workout.  LC is the queen of thrusters.  Michal is the queen of double unders.  This workout consisted solely of thrusters and double unders.  Better to position myself away from them so it wasn't so obvious how badly I sucked in comparison.

Becky volunteered to be my judge and I was all set to go.  I was still aiming for 20 minutes for my time.  20 minutes of pain and I wouldn't have to hear about the Open for another 11 months.  Seemed like a fair deal.  The clock was started and I dug into the appetizer of this 10-course feast of Crossfit gluttony.

That first round couldn't have gone any better for me.  I strung all 9 thrusters.  I calmly walked to my jump rope and began twirling.  5...10...15...20...25...30...35.  Completed all 35 in a row on my first try.  Round one was in the books and less than a minute had elapsed on the clock.  For one round, I had kept pace with LC and Michal.  You will not be surprised to learn that our paths diverged in rounds two through ten.

Even I wasn't crazy enough to believe that I could string all of my reps for ten rounds, so I began to chop up the thrusters to save my legs a bit.  I began doing a set of five and then a set of four.  I would love to tell you I chopped up the double unders on purpose, but the truth is that as my heart began racing more and more, my ability to remain calm started to waver.  I was still managing smaller sets and that kept me on a decent pace.  When round four ended, the clock showed just over 6 minutes.  That meant I was just beyond a 15 minute pace if I could keep it together for the next 6 rounds.

I did not keep it together for the next 6 rounds.  I would say that I barely kept it together for 2 more rounds.  My thrusters were now being done in three sets of three.  During the double unders, someone told me to pick a spot in my line of sight and just keep focusing on that.  It worked for rounds five and six, although I was definitely having more moments where I was hitting myself with the rope without accumulating a single rep.  At the end of round six, the clock was closing in on 12:30.  My average time for those 2 rounds was about 3:10.  If I kept that pace for the next four rounds, I'd be close to 25 minutes.  So much for that 20 minute pipe dream!

As I began round seven, I was extremely wobbly.  I slowly made my way through the thrusters, but the double unders were now a big problem.  My legs were so tired that I failed over and over again in my attempt to jump high enough to clear the rope.  I started to wonder what the heck I would do if I couldn't jump over the rope any more.  It was at this point where I started to take extended breaks.  I knew that if I could get the first double under in a set, I could knock out a bunch of them.  I just needed to be calm enough to get that first rep.  So after a longer break, I got back into it and made my way through 35 reps (not consecutive).  Same thing in round 8.

I was no longer paying any attention to the clock.  My legs were like jello and I was simply hoping to finish.  I had started each of my sets on the thrusters with a squat clean.  I've done a 235 pound squat clean at the gym.  This barbell weighed 95 pounds.  Yet when I began round 9 with a squat clean, that weight was too much for me.  I caught it and my legs failed to support me as I tumbled backwards.  Crap.  It was bad enough when the double unders started to go away, but now I was worried that I no longer had the energy to do the thrusters.  I took another long-ish break and then started in on my sets of three again.  I got through those and then slowly worked through my 35 double unders.  Only one more round to go.

I tried to be a hero and go right into the thrusters once I had dropped my rope to end round nine.  The result: one whole thruster before I needed to drop the barbell.  My next set was an amazing two thrusters.  I finally managed three thrusters on my third try.  I held on for three more after that and the thrusters were done.  Just had to get through 35 double unders.

I picked up my rope hoping that I could find the energy to do the last 35 double unders in a row the same way I had done it way back in round one.  Instead I hit myself with the rope.  Then I did it again.  And again.  And again.  Actuary Mike was trying to encourage me by standing next to me, yelling about the pizza that awaited me in the lobby.  Michal was trying to encourage me to stay calm.  I was trying to focus on that one section of the gym leaderboard that I had been entranced by since round five.  There was yelling and cheering, but it was all a big blur.  I took a long break again, determined to get that first rep and then turn it into a big set.  On my 5th try at getting my first double under of round 10, the rope passed safely under my feet.  I was desperate to get all 35 in a row because that first rep of each set was causing me so much trouble.  I made it to 10, then 20.  I twirled the rope faster and faster because my legs were screaming at me to stop jumping already.  I got to 25, then 30.  This is the part where I'm supposed to triumphantly tell you that I got all 35 to conclude my 2017 Open.  Except I fell 4 reps short.  Still, 31 in a row was a miracle at that point.  And I was done a few seconds later when I managed to immediately get the last 4 in a row.  Final time: 27:47.

This photo may have been taken 10 minutes after I finished

I was definitely not happy with my time.  I was disappointed that my body seemed to fall apart on me again.  But maybe 27:47 was simply the best I could do on that workout.  (That's what I told myself over the weekend when the part of my brain that hides all the crazy began floating the idea of doing this workout a second time.  F that.)  There was no reason for me to get caught up in the Open hysteria.  I didn't have anything to prove to anyone.  I didn't need to try and improve my standing in the gym competition.  A better time from me wasn't going to vault my Black team over Tequila Sunrise in the team competition.  And even if I cut my time in half, I wasn't going to crack the top 60,000 men in the world.  The book on the 2017 Open was closed.  Time to go enjoy pizza and beer.

If I had to give an MVP for Week 5, I would give it to Andrew.  I didn't witness his workout, but he put up the fastest time in the gym, finishing 17.5 in 11:09.  Almost 17 minutes faster than my time.  He might be in better shape than me.  Not only did Andrew post the best time for this workout, he also took top honors in the individual competition in the gym.  We haven't had anyone seriously challenge Aimee for the top spot since I've been doing the Open, but Andrew actually found a way to beat her.  That is a pretty amazing accomplishment.

That wraps up the 2017 Open.  Goodbye competition, hello training.

Monday preview: Despite not feeling well, I come in for one last workout before my trip to Vegas.  I probably should have stayed home.