Workout date: 6/14/17
Jenn and I planned our June trip to St. Lucia nearly a year in advance. Jenn's sister had her heart set on a specific resort there and we agreed to go with her and her husband. I'm not sure I can remember booking a vacation as far in advance as we did this one and we discovered pretty quickly why this wasn't the norm for us. Soon after we booked our stay at the resort, I found out that one of my close friends would be getting married the weekend that we were due to come home. He asked me to be in the wedding, so we needed to shift the dates of our trip. (Thankfully we hadn't booked our flight yet!) That explains why we were leaving and returning on a Thursday rather than on a weekend.
Before boarding my plane on Thursday morning, I made the decision to drop by the 7:30 class on Wednesday night with Coach Jenna. It was a replay of the week before as Bryan would be the only other person joining me for class. What made me interested in one last WOD before vacay? Well, this workout had some rope climb options that intrigued me. Here's a look at what we'd be doing on Wednesday night:
Wednesday's WOD:
21 thrusters (135/95)
2 rope climbs (legless to 15')
15 thrusters
2 rope climbs
9 thrusters
2 rope climbs
I'd only done 1 legless rope climb in my life, but part of that was because legless rope climbs don't get programmed in workouts all that often. I believed it was possible that I could get through 6 legless rope climbs in this WOD. After all, I only had 1 bar muscle-up under my belt before I somehow did 9 of them in a WOD. Why couldn't I duplicate that magic with legless rope climbs? (The answer: Because even though I only had one bar muscle-up at that point, I had dozens of recent near misses. I hadn't so much as attempted a legless rope climb in 6 months, if not longer. Sometimes I don't fully think these things through.)
Jenna had Bryan and I start off our warmup over at the ropes where she showed us the S-hook and the K-hook. (Update: Keithie wasn't all that enamored that I had dubbed his rope climbing style the X-hook. So I told him I would call it the K-hook going forward. The new name honors the guy who showed it to me. And X's and K's don't look all that different from one another, especially when you're forming those letters with your feet.) I urged Jenna to perform a legless rope climb for us, but she resisted the peer pressure. She let us know that we were more than welcome to try the legless version if we so desired. I actually was quite interested in trying it, thank you very much.
The one time I successfully completed a legless rope climb to the 15' mark occurred in the annex. Jill A and I kept getting very close to the mark before losing our grip and having to slide back down the rope. We each must have missed three to four attempts, but then we both got to the mark on back-to-back tries. Neither of us had any desire to make any additional attempts once we got a taste of success. My takeaway from that day was that you needed to go as quickly as possible up the rope because your grip went away fast. With regular rope climbs, you can take your time. If your feet are clasping the rope properly, you can even hang out on the rope while letting your arms recover. But with legless climbs, once your grip was done, you were done, making climbing speed much more essential. As I got ready for my practice run alongside of Bryan, I reminded myself to go as fast as possible.
I made sure to get myself a nice head start by jumping as high as I could. Then I began pulling myself up the rope with urgency. I was closing in on the 15' mark when I felt my arms starting to tire. Just a few more pulls, come on! It really didn't look like there was much further to go, but I was beginning to doubt that I would make it. If I had good technique, I would have kipped myself up for those last few pulls, but I don't have good technique. I lunged upwards a couple times to get within swatting distance of the 15' mark. Just when it seemed like I was all done, I was able to get one more pull in. It was enough to let me slap the 15' mark. Once I did that, I locked my legs on to the rope and slid back down. (Note: You only have to complete the climb up without your legs. You can use them on the way down.)
While I was excited to say that I had completed my second legless rope climb ever, I wasn't so swept up in my achievement that I was going to make a stupid mistake. There was no way I could make 6 legless climbs in this workout. I'm not entirely certain I could handle 2 in the same day. I was switching to an alternative. The blog stated that if we could not do the legless climbs, we could climb (using our legs) to the 20' mark instead. I was definitely onboard for that. The climbs to the 20' mark require nearly twice the amount of climbing that you do when heading to the 15' mark and I was up for a challenge today.
(You might be wondering how the 20' climb is twice as long as the 15' climb. Is that new math or something? Well no. Someone my size can touch about 9' up on the rope when they jump and extend their arm upwards to begin the climb. So you're only doing about 6' of climbing. To go to the 20' mark, you climb an extra 5'. One foot higher and you would be doubling the climb. At least that's how I see it.)
If I exhausted myself on the thrusters, I wasn't getting up to the ceiling and tapping the 20' mark six times in this workout. Thus, I decided to scale back the weight on my thrusters. 115 pounds would be plenty for me. Jenna wanted us to try and keep this workout under 15 minutes and I thought it was very realistic for me to do that with 115 pounds on my barbell. Jenna watched Bryan and I perform some practice thrusters with the weight we had settled on and then she got the workout underway.
This was the rare WOD where I paced myself very well. I should probably always have my back to the clock during workouts because it seems like I pace myself better when the clock is not in my line of sight. I don't think I looked at the clock at all during this WOD, at least not until I completed my final rope climb. I felt like my breaks were reasonable and that I kept my breathing under control as I moved through the thrusters and the rope climbs.
In round 1, I went 9-7-5 over three sets to get through 21 thrusters. I took a moment to chalk my hands before I did my first climb to 20'. The K-hook served me well as I methodically made my way up to the ceiling and then slid back down to the floor. I didn't rush getting into the second climb, but I made sure not to waste a lot of time either. I wasn't breathing heavy yet, so I knew I should keep moving. I've developed some confidence in climbing the rope even when I'm tired, so if I was okay enough to jump up on to the rope, I'd be okay enough to get to 20'.
Back at the barbell, I went 5-5-5 to complete the round of 15 thrusters. Five reps felt like the perfect amount per set. I was getting solid work done without exhausting myself. The breaks between sets were probably longer than they were in the round of 21, but it wasn't like I had to take a knee or go into my resting squat position. When it was time to climb the rope again, I used the chalk bucket as an excuse for productive rest. I wanted a breather and I could justify it by spending my break time chalking up my hands. I think I was equally efficient on these two rope climbs as I had been during round one, but I could definitely feel that my grip was waning. It was almost like the sensation I experienced at the end of the legless rope climb during our warmup. My grip wasn't completely gone, but I didn't have much left. Hopefully I had just enough left for 9 more thrusters and 2 long rope climbs.
There was no point in breaking the tradition of stopping after 5 thrusters, so I did a set of 5 before finishing work at the barbell with a set of 4 thrusters. I shook out my arms and headed to the rope. The second to last climb was much more of a struggle than the first four climbs had been. Keithie would not have been proud of the K-hook I was using. I wasn't drawing my knees as high as I should have been, partly because I was concerned about my fading grip. I didn't want to hold myself on the rope very long using nothing but my arms. I was in a hurry to lock my feet back on to the rope after every pull. I completed my 5th climb and slid back down to the floor. At this point, my arms and hands had a very clear message for me: hey, we're tired, stop climbing this stupid rope! I got the message, but I decided to ignore it. There are just way too many times where I get to the last rep of something in the gym and fail. It drives me nuts. In this instance, I knew I could climb the rope tired. I knew that if I locked my feet in, I could remain stable on the rope even if my arms were starting to fail me. I was going to complete this workout. I just needed to overcome the fear that I would lose my grip 17' above the floor, fall, land on my back, and end up paralyzed for the rest of my life. That's all.
I chalked my hands one final time and jumped on to the rope. With proper K-hook technique, I should have had my top hand at the 15' mark after two pulls. I was barely at that mark three pulls in. I couldn't afford to go for big pulls anymore. I was using short ones and then making sure my feet were securely clasping the rope. It was slow, but effective. I inched past the 15' mark and drew closer to the ceiling. My forearms were really burning now, but I was almost there. A couple short pulls later and I was able to slap the black metal hanging just below the ceiling. Final time: 13:03.
I'm not known for making great choices when it comes to the barbell weight I use in workouts, but I think I did alright on this one. I might have been able to go up to 125 pounds while keeping my final time under 15 minutes, but then again, maybe I fail on that final climb if I used a higher weight on the thrusters. I wasn't going to beat myself up too much about it. It was nice finishing under the threshold that Jenna gave us with time to spare.
It was time to pack my bags and head to the beach! I'd be back at KOP in a week.
Post-vacation preview: I was only gone for a week, but rumor has it that I was on the beach for two weeks. Sitting in the sun may have affected my ability to determine pace. My classmates are dubious that I know how to read the monitor on my assault bike.
Friday, July 28, 2017
Spinning Samaritan
Workout dates: 6/10/17 and 6/13/17
Some of the goals that I put on my top 10 list for 2017 were ones that don't sound particularly Crossfit-related. I have a goal of rowing 2,000 meters in 7:15 or less. And I have a goal of running a 5K in 25 minutes or less. If I was finding life in the gym frustrating, that didn't mean I had to stop pursuing some of these small benchmarks that I had set for myself. I could easily go after them outside of KOP. So when I got home on Thursday night, I started looking through some of the e-mails that the Bryn Mawr Racing Company had sent me. I'm on their mailing list because I've participated in the Midsummer Night 5K series in years past. As I looked at the upcoming races they had listed, I saw that there was one in Malvern on Saturday morning called the Good Samaritan 5K. I wasn't all that familiar with where the run was taking place, but it wasn't too long of a drive from my house. I decided to sign up for it and see if I could improve on the 5K I did at the end of April.
I didn't know that this was the inaugural running of the Good Samaritan 5K, but I have to say that they did a really excellent job with this event. It was very well organized. When I arrived at the race location, I saw a bunch of smiling faces. There was lots of upbeat music playing. Everyone looked like they were having fun. I walked over to the registration table and gave my name to one of the volunteers. Usually you have a number assigned to you already, but the lady at the table simply picked up the next numbered bib in the pile (9602), scanned the bar code with a device, and told me I was all set. I also received a pretty nice t-shirt. Sometimes you'll get the t-shirt for these local 5K's and think "when will I ever wear this again?", but I've had good luck with the t-shirts I've gotten at my two races this year. Two for two in the clothing department.
When I showed up for the 5K in April, my back was sore and I had spent a good portion of the day before consuming alcoholic beverages. Somehow I still managed a respectable time and ended up with a medal. There was no sore back to deal with this time around and I had laid off the booze the day before. The only thing not in my favor on this day was that it was considerably warmer, but all other signs were pointing towards an improved time. If I was really lucky, I might just end up with another medal. I was quickly becoming the Michael Phelps of neighborhood fun runs.
After the national anthem was played, it was time to line up for the race. I took my customary position towards the back of the field. I had no idea how fast any of these people were, but I didn't want to be blocking the path of someone who could run much faster than me. We received some final directions about the course and then a horn was blown. A bunch of weekend warriors began to slowly chase the police car in front of them.
At my last 5K, it felt like I went out too fast because the last mile (or what I assume was the last mile given that there were no checkpoints indicating the end of miles 1 and 2) was agonizing. I was sluggishly trotting along, hoping that I'd see the finish line around the next corner, only to find out that I was trapped in some cruel suburban labyrinth. My plan was to be a little more conservative at the beginning of this run. There were more middle school/high school aged runners in this field and it would have been easy to chase after them as they tore off on the first half mile or so of this race, but I tried to focus on the pace that felt most comfortable to me.
There were no mile markers on this course either, so I didn't have clarity on how far we had gone when I started to reel in those who had pushed a little too hard at the beginning, but I assumed it was right around the mile mark. When you are that far into the race, you start to get an idea of who you will be running with for the next 2 miles or so. There was a gentleman dressed in black who appeared to be around my age that I locked on to. He had been up ahead of me, but I was slowly catching up to him as we ran through the streets of Malvern. Eventually I caught up to him, but he didn't seem keen on letting me go by. We ended up running next to each other for a while before he slowed down to hydrate at a water station on the side of the road.
Right as we passed the water station, a lady yelled out that we were about halfway done. That was helpful, assuming that it was accurate. (I don't think it was accurate.) Up ahead, I could see a right turn and then a prolonged downhill section. Downhills are supposed to be the fun part of these runs, but really they are the areas where everyone goes screaming by me. Then on the uphills, people love to walk and I slowly go by them like The Little Engine That Could. As I hit the long downhill, I tried to lean forward and let gravity do all the work. It didn't seem to help all that much. I could hear the stampede coming. A group of teenagers went sprinting by me. Then the guy in black left me in the dust. Maybe I should have stopped for that water.
The only thing I knew about the course was that there was some ominous hill awaiting us at the 2 mile mark. Someone posted online that you knew there was about a mile left when you got to "the big hill". After completing that downhill, we ran about a quarter-mile and then headed back in the direction we had come from. This was the big hill (or so I thought). I had run two miles in increasingly warm conditions and now I had to deal with this ascent ahead of me. I kept my arms and legs pumping. One by one, I slowly plodded by all those folks who had zipped on by me during the downhill. Yes, they were walking, but I caught them. Let me enjoy my small victories!
As I got to the top of the hill, I saw the guy in black walking. He was wearing earphones, but it sure didn't look like the tunes he was listening to were easing the pain of this hill any. As I passed him, I patted his left shoulder to get his attention. He looked at me and I gave the universal sign for "come on, start running again". The two of us went over the crest of the hill together.
Or did we? After going over what I thought was the top of the hill, we ran along a small curved road before coming to another hill. Another hill??? Or was this the same hill? Why hadn't the guy who left the comment on Facebook been more specific about the big hill at the end? My new pal had opened up a small lead on me during that brief flat portion, but I passed him again as I took on that last incline. When I hit the top of that hill, I began searching for the finish line in earnest. I must have gone another half-mile before I turned on to the road where the finish line was located. I could see it off in the distance, but it looked really far away. The hills and the heat had taken a lot out of me and now it was my turn to consider walking. As I started to slow down, I got a pat on my right shoulder. "Come on, let's finish strong!" The guy I helped get up the hill was returning the favor. It certainly wasn't speedy, but the two of us picked up the pace and passed a few runners as we closed in on the finish line. We crossed the line at basically the same time. 5K chip time: 27:49.
Based on how brutal that last mile was, I knew that I wasn't breaking 25 minutes. I didn't realize I was so far off of my goal, but as I chugged a couple bottles of water while sitting in the grass, it occurred to me that I probably didn't appreciate the effect the heat had on me during the run. In the end, I wasn't bummed about my performance. I kinda liked the fact that two old guys were able to push each other through some tough spots on the course. That made the experience worthwhile.
(Another medal would also have made this experience worthwhile, but I wasn't even close this time. I think I might have to wait two decades again before I win another medal.)
I took rest days on Sunday and Monday. My streak of laziness ended on Tuesday. Was it time for Dudes After Dark? Well no. A buddy of mine was getting married in a couple weeks and the two of us had agreed to attend a mutual friend's spin class before he got hitched. We thought she taught classes a few nights per week, but then we heard her schedule changed and she was only doing Tuesdays. I was headed on vacation at the end of the week, so 6/13 was the last Tuesday before the wedding where I could go to her spin class. I signed up. Did the groom go? Of course not. I will get my revenge on him by making him flip tires one day.
I drove out to Northeast Philly and found the gym where my friend Diana's spin class was taking place. While I was checking in at the front desk, they informed me that I needed to buy a seat cover for the class. (If they only knew what awaited, they would have made me buy a cover for the entire bike.) One of the ladies then escorted me back to the room where the class was. When she brought me in, she said the following to Diana: "Hi Diana, this is Dave, he says he knows you?" The hell? Apparently I looked creepy enough that she was concerned I had made up a story about being friends with the spin coach. Diana laughed and confirmed that she knew me.
The class took place in a small room with about 10-12 bikes in it. In the middle of the room were two bikes that everyone else seemed to be avoiding, so I did as well. I asked if anyone was using the middle bike along the left wall and I was told that it was free. I was the only guy in the group, although one more would show up right before class started. (Okay, I get it. Some guy randomly drops in for a nearly all-female class. The front desk lady was probably right to check on me.)
I was nervous as we got ready to begin. I had only taken one spin class before in my life and that was back in college. The coach of that class was this extremely high energy lady who kept shouting things like "position 1!", "position 2!", and "position 3!". I had no idea what those positions were and because we kept transitioning so fast, I was always one step behind everyone else. I had told Diana in advance about my fears and she assured me that I wouldn't experience the same trauma in her class.
The best part about this spin class? It was taking place in an air-conditioned room. Hell yeah! I had suffered through the ever-present thick humidity within the KOP gym for the last few weeks and this was a welcome reprieve. Diana told us to start pedaling as she darkened the room and uploaded the pop playlist we'd be riding along to over the next 45 minutes. Diana's directions made way more sense than the ones barked at me by that lady from my college days. She would tell us when to ride seated and when to ride standing. She would tell us when to turn the blue knob in front of us to either increase or decrease tension. She also let us know that we would be doing a series of sprints and climbs lasting 30 seconds each initially, before increasing to 45 seconds in the middle of the workout, and topping off at 60 seconds apiece in the last segment.
We pedaled our way through those 30 second segments while Ed Sheeran crooned to us about the Castle On The Hill. As that was happening, a weird thought entered my mind. What if I didn't sweat during this workout? I had warned Diana about how sweaty I was, but she gave me the standard response that it was normal and that she (as well as others in class) would also sweat during these workouts. But maybe I wouldn't have to worry about being so sweaty for once. I had no idea that I'd be getting the benefit of A/C. I began to dream of the end of class, thinking that I'd simply tell everyone thanks for letting me drop in and heading on my way instead of hanging around for 10 minutes to clean up some mess that I'd made. Why couldn't KOP have air conditioning? This was perfect!
Turns out that the air conditioning only delayed the inevitable. By the end of the 30 second section, I could feel droplets falling from my head. As I pedaled like crazy during the 45 second section, the sweating became more constant. When I went all-out during the 60 second section, I was the equivalent of a dog who had just gotten out of the pool. The class ended and the lights came back on. I looked down to see sweat all over the floor and all over my bike. Apparently it ended up on other people's bikes as well. The lady who was on the bike to my right informed me that I should really have shields surrounding me if I was going to take this class again. Thank you for that.
When I try to explain the level of spiciness that Jenn enjoys in her meals, I always hear people say "I like spicy food too". Then we'll go out and people realize that the inside of Jenn's mouth must be covered with that material that allows the space shuttle to re-enter the atmosphere safely. There's "spicy" and then there is "Jenn spicy". I'm starting to think there is "sweaty" and then there is "Dave sweaty". Diana's spin class understands this phenomenon now.
Wednesday preview: I sneak in one more class at KOP before heading to St. Lucia for a week. Just when I thought I was out, rope climbs pull me back in.
Some of the goals that I put on my top 10 list for 2017 were ones that don't sound particularly Crossfit-related. I have a goal of rowing 2,000 meters in 7:15 or less. And I have a goal of running a 5K in 25 minutes or less. If I was finding life in the gym frustrating, that didn't mean I had to stop pursuing some of these small benchmarks that I had set for myself. I could easily go after them outside of KOP. So when I got home on Thursday night, I started looking through some of the e-mails that the Bryn Mawr Racing Company had sent me. I'm on their mailing list because I've participated in the Midsummer Night 5K series in years past. As I looked at the upcoming races they had listed, I saw that there was one in Malvern on Saturday morning called the Good Samaritan 5K. I wasn't all that familiar with where the run was taking place, but it wasn't too long of a drive from my house. I decided to sign up for it and see if I could improve on the 5K I did at the end of April.
I didn't know that this was the inaugural running of the Good Samaritan 5K, but I have to say that they did a really excellent job with this event. It was very well organized. When I arrived at the race location, I saw a bunch of smiling faces. There was lots of upbeat music playing. Everyone looked like they were having fun. I walked over to the registration table and gave my name to one of the volunteers. Usually you have a number assigned to you already, but the lady at the table simply picked up the next numbered bib in the pile (9602), scanned the bar code with a device, and told me I was all set. I also received a pretty nice t-shirt. Sometimes you'll get the t-shirt for these local 5K's and think "when will I ever wear this again?", but I've had good luck with the t-shirts I've gotten at my two races this year. Two for two in the clothing department.
When I showed up for the 5K in April, my back was sore and I had spent a good portion of the day before consuming alcoholic beverages. Somehow I still managed a respectable time and ended up with a medal. There was no sore back to deal with this time around and I had laid off the booze the day before. The only thing not in my favor on this day was that it was considerably warmer, but all other signs were pointing towards an improved time. If I was really lucky, I might just end up with another medal. I was quickly becoming the Michael Phelps of neighborhood fun runs.
After the national anthem was played, it was time to line up for the race. I took my customary position towards the back of the field. I had no idea how fast any of these people were, but I didn't want to be blocking the path of someone who could run much faster than me. We received some final directions about the course and then a horn was blown. A bunch of weekend warriors began to slowly chase the police car in front of them.
Only 4,998 meters to go!
At my last 5K, it felt like I went out too fast because the last mile (or what I assume was the last mile given that there were no checkpoints indicating the end of miles 1 and 2) was agonizing. I was sluggishly trotting along, hoping that I'd see the finish line around the next corner, only to find out that I was trapped in some cruel suburban labyrinth. My plan was to be a little more conservative at the beginning of this run. There were more middle school/high school aged runners in this field and it would have been easy to chase after them as they tore off on the first half mile or so of this race, but I tried to focus on the pace that felt most comfortable to me.
There were no mile markers on this course either, so I didn't have clarity on how far we had gone when I started to reel in those who had pushed a little too hard at the beginning, but I assumed it was right around the mile mark. When you are that far into the race, you start to get an idea of who you will be running with for the next 2 miles or so. There was a gentleman dressed in black who appeared to be around my age that I locked on to. He had been up ahead of me, but I was slowly catching up to him as we ran through the streets of Malvern. Eventually I caught up to him, but he didn't seem keen on letting me go by. We ended up running next to each other for a while before he slowed down to hydrate at a water station on the side of the road.
Right as we passed the water station, a lady yelled out that we were about halfway done. That was helpful, assuming that it was accurate. (I don't think it was accurate.) Up ahead, I could see a right turn and then a prolonged downhill section. Downhills are supposed to be the fun part of these runs, but really they are the areas where everyone goes screaming by me. Then on the uphills, people love to walk and I slowly go by them like The Little Engine That Could. As I hit the long downhill, I tried to lean forward and let gravity do all the work. It didn't seem to help all that much. I could hear the stampede coming. A group of teenagers went sprinting by me. Then the guy in black left me in the dust. Maybe I should have stopped for that water.
The only thing I knew about the course was that there was some ominous hill awaiting us at the 2 mile mark. Someone posted online that you knew there was about a mile left when you got to "the big hill". After completing that downhill, we ran about a quarter-mile and then headed back in the direction we had come from. This was the big hill (or so I thought). I had run two miles in increasingly warm conditions and now I had to deal with this ascent ahead of me. I kept my arms and legs pumping. One by one, I slowly plodded by all those folks who had zipped on by me during the downhill. Yes, they were walking, but I caught them. Let me enjoy my small victories!
As I got to the top of the hill, I saw the guy in black walking. He was wearing earphones, but it sure didn't look like the tunes he was listening to were easing the pain of this hill any. As I passed him, I patted his left shoulder to get his attention. He looked at me and I gave the universal sign for "come on, start running again". The two of us went over the crest of the hill together.
Or did we? After going over what I thought was the top of the hill, we ran along a small curved road before coming to another hill. Another hill??? Or was this the same hill? Why hadn't the guy who left the comment on Facebook been more specific about the big hill at the end? My new pal had opened up a small lead on me during that brief flat portion, but I passed him again as I took on that last incline. When I hit the top of that hill, I began searching for the finish line in earnest. I must have gone another half-mile before I turned on to the road where the finish line was located. I could see it off in the distance, but it looked really far away. The hills and the heat had taken a lot out of me and now it was my turn to consider walking. As I started to slow down, I got a pat on my right shoulder. "Come on, let's finish strong!" The guy I helped get up the hill was returning the favor. It certainly wasn't speedy, but the two of us picked up the pace and passed a few runners as we closed in on the finish line. We crossed the line at basically the same time. 5K chip time: 27:49.
Based on how brutal that last mile was, I knew that I wasn't breaking 25 minutes. I didn't realize I was so far off of my goal, but as I chugged a couple bottles of water while sitting in the grass, it occurred to me that I probably didn't appreciate the effect the heat had on me during the run. In the end, I wasn't bummed about my performance. I kinda liked the fact that two old guys were able to push each other through some tough spots on the course. That made the experience worthwhile.
(Another medal would also have made this experience worthwhile, but I wasn't even close this time. I think I might have to wait two decades again before I win another medal.)
I took rest days on Sunday and Monday. My streak of laziness ended on Tuesday. Was it time for Dudes After Dark? Well no. A buddy of mine was getting married in a couple weeks and the two of us had agreed to attend a mutual friend's spin class before he got hitched. We thought she taught classes a few nights per week, but then we heard her schedule changed and she was only doing Tuesdays. I was headed on vacation at the end of the week, so 6/13 was the last Tuesday before the wedding where I could go to her spin class. I signed up. Did the groom go? Of course not. I will get my revenge on him by making him flip tires one day.
I drove out to Northeast Philly and found the gym where my friend Diana's spin class was taking place. While I was checking in at the front desk, they informed me that I needed to buy a seat cover for the class. (If they only knew what awaited, they would have made me buy a cover for the entire bike.) One of the ladies then escorted me back to the room where the class was. When she brought me in, she said the following to Diana: "Hi Diana, this is Dave, he says he knows you?" The hell? Apparently I looked creepy enough that she was concerned I had made up a story about being friends with the spin coach. Diana laughed and confirmed that she knew me.
The class took place in a small room with about 10-12 bikes in it. In the middle of the room were two bikes that everyone else seemed to be avoiding, so I did as well. I asked if anyone was using the middle bike along the left wall and I was told that it was free. I was the only guy in the group, although one more would show up right before class started. (Okay, I get it. Some guy randomly drops in for a nearly all-female class. The front desk lady was probably right to check on me.)
I was nervous as we got ready to begin. I had only taken one spin class before in my life and that was back in college. The coach of that class was this extremely high energy lady who kept shouting things like "position 1!", "position 2!", and "position 3!". I had no idea what those positions were and because we kept transitioning so fast, I was always one step behind everyone else. I had told Diana in advance about my fears and she assured me that I wouldn't experience the same trauma in her class.
The best part about this spin class? It was taking place in an air-conditioned room. Hell yeah! I had suffered through the ever-present thick humidity within the KOP gym for the last few weeks and this was a welcome reprieve. Diana told us to start pedaling as she darkened the room and uploaded the pop playlist we'd be riding along to over the next 45 minutes. Diana's directions made way more sense than the ones barked at me by that lady from my college days. She would tell us when to ride seated and when to ride standing. She would tell us when to turn the blue knob in front of us to either increase or decrease tension. She also let us know that we would be doing a series of sprints and climbs lasting 30 seconds each initially, before increasing to 45 seconds in the middle of the workout, and topping off at 60 seconds apiece in the last segment.
We pedaled our way through those 30 second segments while Ed Sheeran crooned to us about the Castle On The Hill. As that was happening, a weird thought entered my mind. What if I didn't sweat during this workout? I had warned Diana about how sweaty I was, but she gave me the standard response that it was normal and that she (as well as others in class) would also sweat during these workouts. But maybe I wouldn't have to worry about being so sweaty for once. I had no idea that I'd be getting the benefit of A/C. I began to dream of the end of class, thinking that I'd simply tell everyone thanks for letting me drop in and heading on my way instead of hanging around for 10 minutes to clean up some mess that I'd made. Why couldn't KOP have air conditioning? This was perfect!
Turns out that the air conditioning only delayed the inevitable. By the end of the 30 second section, I could feel droplets falling from my head. As I pedaled like crazy during the 45 second section, the sweating became more constant. When I went all-out during the 60 second section, I was the equivalent of a dog who had just gotten out of the pool. The class ended and the lights came back on. I looked down to see sweat all over the floor and all over my bike. Apparently it ended up on other people's bikes as well. The lady who was on the bike to my right informed me that I should really have shields surrounding me if I was going to take this class again. Thank you for that.
The reason why shields were requested
When I try to explain the level of spiciness that Jenn enjoys in her meals, I always hear people say "I like spicy food too". Then we'll go out and people realize that the inside of Jenn's mouth must be covered with that material that allows the space shuttle to re-enter the atmosphere safely. There's "spicy" and then there is "Jenn spicy". I'm starting to think there is "sweaty" and then there is "Dave sweaty". Diana's spin class understands this phenomenon now.
Wednesday preview: I sneak in one more class at KOP before heading to St. Lucia for a week. Just when I thought I was out, rope climbs pull me back in.
Wednesday, July 26, 2017
Snapped
Workout date: 6/8/17
Inside our gym, we have a giant whiteboard that shows the top 3 male and female performances in various workouts and lifts that are common to Crossfit. Want to know who is fastest at Fran or Grace? Want to know who has performed the heaviest back squat or has the highest box jump? Curious as to who has been the fastest rower or runner at KOP through the years? It's all up there. The longer I've been doing Crossfit, the more I've had to come to grips with the fact that my chances of getting on that whiteboard are fading. I used to think I might make it on there for the overhead squat, but I'm now almost 50 pounds behind the top 3 men despite being above average on that lift. My best shot now is to make it for rowing, but trimming 5 seconds off of your 500 meter time is harder than it sounds. If only one of the categories on that whiteboard was "sweat produced". I could probably hold on to the top spot in that category until the day KOP closes its doors.
Everyone likes to say that they sweat a lot, but the truth is that I've encountered very few people at KOP who come close to perspiring as effusively as I do. Scott was a big guy who used to go to our gym and that man could make it rain during a workout. More recently, I've discovered that Actuary Mike can soak his way through a shirt while completing a WOD. Those examples tend to be the exception rather than the rule, which is why I don't think most people can appreciate how difficult the summer weather can be for me. It's not just that the excessive humidity in our gym makes me dehydrated. Being a sweaty, slimy mess causes other problems. Holding on to the pull-up rig becomes very difficult. I'm terrified of losing my grip on the KB whenever I swing it. Catching a wall ball is no longer a given as it can slide right through my hands. The degree of difficulty with nearly everything in the gym gets ratcheted up when I'm flinging sweat everywhere and that can have an effect on me mentally. These WODs are tough enough to do when you are fresh and sweat-free. The combination of working with slippery objects while being extra fatigued can drive you nuts. Pretty soon everything in the gym is bothering you, sweat-related or not.
As the temperatures began to rise in late May and early June, I found myself becoming more frustrated in the gym. You might remember that I went through a similar phase last year. I was in the middle of Fight Gone Bad when I hit my breaking point. I left during the second round of the workout and didn't return for 5 weeks. I needed to get my head right. It's also not a coincidence that when I returned, it was Labor Day, the unofficial end of summer. Cooler temps were on the way. Conditions in the gym were about to become more hospitable to me. Last year I made it until August before I needed a break, but this year I could tell things were getting to me earlier in the calendar. Things came to a head with Thursday's workout.
There are several reasons that I don't work out in the annex anymore. It always feels crowded in there. Occasionally there were disputes about who signed up for class in there and who did not. Packing a large amount of people into a small space can make it feel even hotter than it is (and it could be pretty warm in there to begin with). Thursday's 6:30 class in the main gym felt like it was taking place in the annex. When I signed up for this class late Thursday afternoon, there was only 1 other person signed up at the time. Open Strength was scheduled for the same time in the main gym, but no one was signed up for that when I looked. Fast forward to 6:30 and the gym was packed. There were only 9 of us there for class with Coach Giulz, but there were lots of people there for Open Strength. Lifters were lined up on the "magic platform". They were lined up along the far end of the gym. Some of the racks were being used. As the 9 of us got out our equipment for the WOD, I couldn't help but feel like a member of Jon Snow's army in the Battle of the Bastards:
Part of the problem was that each of the athletes needed quite a bit of room to do this WOD. Here's a look at what we'd be doing:
Thursday's WOD:
100 double unders, then
21-15-9 of
Hang power cleans (115/75)
Chest-to-bar pull-ups, then
100 double unders
You needed room on the pull-up rig for everyone (made more difficult with lifters using racks connected to the pull-up rig). You needed room for barbells and you needed room to jump rope (made more difficult with lifters on the platform and along the back of the gym). I could feel claustrophobic anxiety setting in before we even began.
I thought I was already obsessing about worst case scenarios, but the warmup showed me that I was mistaken. Giulz wanted us to practice jumping rope by doing 30 seconds of single unders. Easy enough, right? Wrong! As I was in the middle of working on my single unders, my rope snapped. One of the handles came flying off of my rope. I looked around to see if I could find the screw that should have held the handle in place, but my search was in vain. That silver screw had seemingly melted into the gym mat and disappeared. I did not have a backup jump rope with me, so that meant I'd have to grab one of the ropes hanging over behind the ring area. I've had my struggles doing 200 double unders with my own rope and that one was specifically sized for me. I could only imagine how things were going to go with a random rope that I was hurriedly picking so that I could rejoin the warmup. When I found one that seemed suitable, I hopped back in with class. Giulz had asked everyone to do as many double unders as they could in 30 seconds to determine whether or not they should scale the 200 asked of them in this WOD. There was only about 10 seconds left when I came back with my rope, so I was lucky to get 13 reps in before time was called. Giulz didn't look impressed when I told her my score was 13, but I assured her I'd be okay doing all 200 double unders.
Next we went over the hang power cleans. I knew these were grip killers and that they would have an effect on my ability to do chest-to-bar pull-ups, so I decided to scale the weight, using 95 pounds instead of the RX weight of 115. I tend to go with the same weight as Rob C and Matt E (who were both in this class) when there are barbell movements in a WOD, so it was understandable that they both gave me the eyebrow when I said I was using 95 pounds rather than 115. All I could say was that the chest-to-bar pull-ups were a bigger priority for me in this workout. Giulz watched me warm up and gave me some advice on the hang power cleans. Usually I would let the barbell come all the way back down to my knee before moving into the next rep, but Giulz advised me to try and cycle through the reps from the high hang (barbell at upper thigh) to try and save some grip strength. Sounded like a plan to me.
The chest-to-bar pull-up warmup was no different than what we always do in preparation for work on the pull-up rig. There was some time spent in a dead hang, then some kipping progressions, followed by a request from Giulz that we show her a few reps of what we planned on doing in the workout.
The warmup was over. It was time to take on this WOD. I was down at the back of the gym along with Steph C and Mike C. There were two lifters stationed between us and the bathrooms. Bekah was using the rack at the far end of the gym. The class made two lines out of the barbells, one line near the pull-up rig, one across the way closer to the rings. For the double unders, we were going to be single file between the two rows of barbells. It was definitely tight quarters, but it was what we had to work with.
My plan for the double unders was to try and do as many as I could in a row without burning myself out. I've been trying for a while to do 100 in a row, but even if I pulled that off at the beginning of this WOD, I'd be too tired to continue on and do the rest of the workout. My first set was fairly large as I came up just short of 40 reps to start things off. I needed 3 more sets to reach 100 and I didn't feel like I took long breaks between sets (although I did keep checking to make sure I wasn't too close to the lifters at the beginning of a new set). Despite moving at what I thought was a solid pace, all of my 8 classmates were on to the hang power cleans before me. Frustration meter: rising.
Because I had gone light on the weight for the hang power clean, there was a real chance that I could do all 21 reps in a row and catch up with my classmates. But I wasn't used to cycling from the high hang. I made it through 12 reps and had to drop my barbell. Breaking up the 21 reps into two sets wasn't awful. How winded I was after only doing 12 reps was. I needed a good-sized breather before I continued on and finished off the remaining 9 reps. Frustration meter: continuing to rise.
The worst part of this workout took place at the pull-up rig. With Bekah using up the rack at the back of the gym, the remaining space needed to be shared by Mike and me. I had already decided that my time wasn't going to be very good on this workout, so I deferred to Mike on the pull-up bar for the most part. Still, it was aggravating that in a class of only 9 people, I had to wait on someone to do my chest-to-bar pull-ups. Don't get me wrong. Mike was very gracious about waiting on me as well. And Bekah did her best to move her plates out of the way so that I had a bit more room to operate. But with only 9 folks in class, we never should have been this cramped. The fact that I was messing up as I did the chest-to-bar pull-ups only made matters worse. I was trying to be efficient and save energy by only doing a mild kip for each rep, but I missed hitting my chest against the bar several times during that initial round of 21. Exhaustion + dehydration + no room + no reps = one very unhappy athlete. Frustration meter: boiling over.
I guess the good news about falling so far behind in class is that you get some separation from the other athletes. Mike had moved on to his barbell while I kept working on my 21 chest-to-bar pull-ups. When I was done there, he was ready to come back to the pull-up rig. For the most part, we didn't have to wait on each other in the rounds of 15 and 9. I did three sets of 5 reps for the hang power cleans. I should have been able to do larger chunks than that, but my head really was no longer in the workout. I was able to get all 9 reps during my last round at the barbell. For the chest-to-bar pull-ups, I used a lot of energy with my wild kip, but I was sick of no-repping myself and didn't want to take any chances. Yes, my chest was crashing against the bar each time, but that was better than missing it. I did small sets of singles to get through the rounds of 15 and 9.
There were only a couple of us still working when I got back to my rented jump rope for the day. The one positive I could take from this workout was that my double unders weren't completely awful given that I was using a random rope that was probably a bit too long for me. It took me 5 sets to complete my final 100 reps. No complaints here about averaging 20 reps per set. Final time: 18:17.
As I put back the jump rope I used, I couldn't help but be angry. For the last four years, the gym has generally served as a sanctuary for me. I go there to get away from my frustrations, to make myself feel better. But during the last couple of weeks, I had several instances where I was leaving the gym feeling worse than when I had walked in. A lot of that was due to the weather and the effect it has on my body. I can't make myself sweat less and I can't make the gym any less humid. My performances at the gym were bound to be worse than normal over the next few months and there was little I could do about it. That wasn't a pleasant thought for me, but that was the reality of the situation.
There was more to it than that though. Part of what used to drive me to go to the gym so much was having real goals that I wanted to achieve. I'm not talking about the 10 goals that I come up with at the beginning of the year (although it would be nice to check another one of those off of my list!). I'm talking about becoming consumed with something. After the Rebuilding Together Philadelphia outing, I talked with Shawna about her goals at the gym. At the brew pub on Wednesday night, I talked with Jenna about her goals. Other folks from the gym came up in conversation and we talked about what they were working towards. And when the question of "what are you working towards" was pointed back to me, I didn't have much of a response. I don't really have some big goal that I'm trying to achieve. I don't do individual competitions anymore. I wasn't doing King and Queen this year because it conflicted with opening weekend at Saratoga. I agreed to join Cline, Kris, and Raj for Brawl In The Burbs at the end of August, but that is more of a fun event than a serious one.
What am I working towards? What is driving me to keep coming back to the gym? I didn't know. I felt like it was time for another break from the gym. Not a 5 week break. I just wanted to do some stuff outside of the gym for a change.
Saturday/Tuesday preview: Could I possibly get another medal at a local 5K run? Would my second time taking a spin class be as traumatic as my first experience? (The first one was so bad that it kept me away for over 15 years!)
Inside our gym, we have a giant whiteboard that shows the top 3 male and female performances in various workouts and lifts that are common to Crossfit. Want to know who is fastest at Fran or Grace? Want to know who has performed the heaviest back squat or has the highest box jump? Curious as to who has been the fastest rower or runner at KOP through the years? It's all up there. The longer I've been doing Crossfit, the more I've had to come to grips with the fact that my chances of getting on that whiteboard are fading. I used to think I might make it on there for the overhead squat, but I'm now almost 50 pounds behind the top 3 men despite being above average on that lift. My best shot now is to make it for rowing, but trimming 5 seconds off of your 500 meter time is harder than it sounds. If only one of the categories on that whiteboard was "sweat produced". I could probably hold on to the top spot in that category until the day KOP closes its doors.
Everyone likes to say that they sweat a lot, but the truth is that I've encountered very few people at KOP who come close to perspiring as effusively as I do. Scott was a big guy who used to go to our gym and that man could make it rain during a workout. More recently, I've discovered that Actuary Mike can soak his way through a shirt while completing a WOD. Those examples tend to be the exception rather than the rule, which is why I don't think most people can appreciate how difficult the summer weather can be for me. It's not just that the excessive humidity in our gym makes me dehydrated. Being a sweaty, slimy mess causes other problems. Holding on to the pull-up rig becomes very difficult. I'm terrified of losing my grip on the KB whenever I swing it. Catching a wall ball is no longer a given as it can slide right through my hands. The degree of difficulty with nearly everything in the gym gets ratcheted up when I'm flinging sweat everywhere and that can have an effect on me mentally. These WODs are tough enough to do when you are fresh and sweat-free. The combination of working with slippery objects while being extra fatigued can drive you nuts. Pretty soon everything in the gym is bothering you, sweat-related or not.
As the temperatures began to rise in late May and early June, I found myself becoming more frustrated in the gym. You might remember that I went through a similar phase last year. I was in the middle of Fight Gone Bad when I hit my breaking point. I left during the second round of the workout and didn't return for 5 weeks. I needed to get my head right. It's also not a coincidence that when I returned, it was Labor Day, the unofficial end of summer. Cooler temps were on the way. Conditions in the gym were about to become more hospitable to me. Last year I made it until August before I needed a break, but this year I could tell things were getting to me earlier in the calendar. Things came to a head with Thursday's workout.
There are several reasons that I don't work out in the annex anymore. It always feels crowded in there. Occasionally there were disputes about who signed up for class in there and who did not. Packing a large amount of people into a small space can make it feel even hotter than it is (and it could be pretty warm in there to begin with). Thursday's 6:30 class in the main gym felt like it was taking place in the annex. When I signed up for this class late Thursday afternoon, there was only 1 other person signed up at the time. Open Strength was scheduled for the same time in the main gym, but no one was signed up for that when I looked. Fast forward to 6:30 and the gym was packed. There were only 9 of us there for class with Coach Giulz, but there were lots of people there for Open Strength. Lifters were lined up on the "magic platform". They were lined up along the far end of the gym. Some of the racks were being used. As the 9 of us got out our equipment for the WOD, I couldn't help but feel like a member of Jon Snow's army in the Battle of the Bastards:
We're going to have to climb over the mound of dead bodies to finish this workout
Part of the problem was that each of the athletes needed quite a bit of room to do this WOD. Here's a look at what we'd be doing:
Thursday's WOD:
100 double unders, then
21-15-9 of
Hang power cleans (115/75)
Chest-to-bar pull-ups, then
100 double unders
You needed room on the pull-up rig for everyone (made more difficult with lifters using racks connected to the pull-up rig). You needed room for barbells and you needed room to jump rope (made more difficult with lifters on the platform and along the back of the gym). I could feel claustrophobic anxiety setting in before we even began.
I thought I was already obsessing about worst case scenarios, but the warmup showed me that I was mistaken. Giulz wanted us to practice jumping rope by doing 30 seconds of single unders. Easy enough, right? Wrong! As I was in the middle of working on my single unders, my rope snapped. One of the handles came flying off of my rope. I looked around to see if I could find the screw that should have held the handle in place, but my search was in vain. That silver screw had seemingly melted into the gym mat and disappeared. I did not have a backup jump rope with me, so that meant I'd have to grab one of the ropes hanging over behind the ring area. I've had my struggles doing 200 double unders with my own rope and that one was specifically sized for me. I could only imagine how things were going to go with a random rope that I was hurriedly picking so that I could rejoin the warmup. When I found one that seemed suitable, I hopped back in with class. Giulz had asked everyone to do as many double unders as they could in 30 seconds to determine whether or not they should scale the 200 asked of them in this WOD. There was only about 10 seconds left when I came back with my rope, so I was lucky to get 13 reps in before time was called. Giulz didn't look impressed when I told her my score was 13, but I assured her I'd be okay doing all 200 double unders.
Next we went over the hang power cleans. I knew these were grip killers and that they would have an effect on my ability to do chest-to-bar pull-ups, so I decided to scale the weight, using 95 pounds instead of the RX weight of 115. I tend to go with the same weight as Rob C and Matt E (who were both in this class) when there are barbell movements in a WOD, so it was understandable that they both gave me the eyebrow when I said I was using 95 pounds rather than 115. All I could say was that the chest-to-bar pull-ups were a bigger priority for me in this workout. Giulz watched me warm up and gave me some advice on the hang power cleans. Usually I would let the barbell come all the way back down to my knee before moving into the next rep, but Giulz advised me to try and cycle through the reps from the high hang (barbell at upper thigh) to try and save some grip strength. Sounded like a plan to me.
The chest-to-bar pull-up warmup was no different than what we always do in preparation for work on the pull-up rig. There was some time spent in a dead hang, then some kipping progressions, followed by a request from Giulz that we show her a few reps of what we planned on doing in the workout.
The warmup was over. It was time to take on this WOD. I was down at the back of the gym along with Steph C and Mike C. There were two lifters stationed between us and the bathrooms. Bekah was using the rack at the far end of the gym. The class made two lines out of the barbells, one line near the pull-up rig, one across the way closer to the rings. For the double unders, we were going to be single file between the two rows of barbells. It was definitely tight quarters, but it was what we had to work with.
My plan for the double unders was to try and do as many as I could in a row without burning myself out. I've been trying for a while to do 100 in a row, but even if I pulled that off at the beginning of this WOD, I'd be too tired to continue on and do the rest of the workout. My first set was fairly large as I came up just short of 40 reps to start things off. I needed 3 more sets to reach 100 and I didn't feel like I took long breaks between sets (although I did keep checking to make sure I wasn't too close to the lifters at the beginning of a new set). Despite moving at what I thought was a solid pace, all of my 8 classmates were on to the hang power cleans before me. Frustration meter: rising.
Because I had gone light on the weight for the hang power clean, there was a real chance that I could do all 21 reps in a row and catch up with my classmates. But I wasn't used to cycling from the high hang. I made it through 12 reps and had to drop my barbell. Breaking up the 21 reps into two sets wasn't awful. How winded I was after only doing 12 reps was. I needed a good-sized breather before I continued on and finished off the remaining 9 reps. Frustration meter: continuing to rise.
The worst part of this workout took place at the pull-up rig. With Bekah using up the rack at the back of the gym, the remaining space needed to be shared by Mike and me. I had already decided that my time wasn't going to be very good on this workout, so I deferred to Mike on the pull-up bar for the most part. Still, it was aggravating that in a class of only 9 people, I had to wait on someone to do my chest-to-bar pull-ups. Don't get me wrong. Mike was very gracious about waiting on me as well. And Bekah did her best to move her plates out of the way so that I had a bit more room to operate. But with only 9 folks in class, we never should have been this cramped. The fact that I was messing up as I did the chest-to-bar pull-ups only made matters worse. I was trying to be efficient and save energy by only doing a mild kip for each rep, but I missed hitting my chest against the bar several times during that initial round of 21. Exhaustion + dehydration + no room + no reps = one very unhappy athlete. Frustration meter: boiling over.
I guess the good news about falling so far behind in class is that you get some separation from the other athletes. Mike had moved on to his barbell while I kept working on my 21 chest-to-bar pull-ups. When I was done there, he was ready to come back to the pull-up rig. For the most part, we didn't have to wait on each other in the rounds of 15 and 9. I did three sets of 5 reps for the hang power cleans. I should have been able to do larger chunks than that, but my head really was no longer in the workout. I was able to get all 9 reps during my last round at the barbell. For the chest-to-bar pull-ups, I used a lot of energy with my wild kip, but I was sick of no-repping myself and didn't want to take any chances. Yes, my chest was crashing against the bar each time, but that was better than missing it. I did small sets of singles to get through the rounds of 15 and 9.
There were only a couple of us still working when I got back to my rented jump rope for the day. The one positive I could take from this workout was that my double unders weren't completely awful given that I was using a random rope that was probably a bit too long for me. It took me 5 sets to complete my final 100 reps. No complaints here about averaging 20 reps per set. Final time: 18:17.
As I put back the jump rope I used, I couldn't help but be angry. For the last four years, the gym has generally served as a sanctuary for me. I go there to get away from my frustrations, to make myself feel better. But during the last couple of weeks, I had several instances where I was leaving the gym feeling worse than when I had walked in. A lot of that was due to the weather and the effect it has on my body. I can't make myself sweat less and I can't make the gym any less humid. My performances at the gym were bound to be worse than normal over the next few months and there was little I could do about it. That wasn't a pleasant thought for me, but that was the reality of the situation.
There was more to it than that though. Part of what used to drive me to go to the gym so much was having real goals that I wanted to achieve. I'm not talking about the 10 goals that I come up with at the beginning of the year (although it would be nice to check another one of those off of my list!). I'm talking about becoming consumed with something. After the Rebuilding Together Philadelphia outing, I talked with Shawna about her goals at the gym. At the brew pub on Wednesday night, I talked with Jenna about her goals. Other folks from the gym came up in conversation and we talked about what they were working towards. And when the question of "what are you working towards" was pointed back to me, I didn't have much of a response. I don't really have some big goal that I'm trying to achieve. I don't do individual competitions anymore. I wasn't doing King and Queen this year because it conflicted with opening weekend at Saratoga. I agreed to join Cline, Kris, and Raj for Brawl In The Burbs at the end of August, but that is more of a fun event than a serious one.
What am I working towards? What is driving me to keep coming back to the gym? I didn't know. I felt like it was time for another break from the gym. Not a 5 week break. I just wanted to do some stuff outside of the gym for a change.
Saturday/Tuesday preview: Could I possibly get another medal at a local 5K run? Would my second time taking a spin class be as traumatic as my first experience? (The first one was so bad that it kept me away for over 15 years!)
Dominant Hand
Workout date: 6/7/17
I've been stuck at 385 pounds for my top deadlift weight for such a long time that I don't wait for 1RM deadlifts to be scheduled anymore before I make attempts at my goal of hitting a deadlift of 405 pounds. 5RM, 3RM, 2RM...it's all the same to me. If I have a decent lifting day, I will finish off my sets with a single attempt at 405 pounds. There have been a couple of occasions where I've gotten the barbell off of the ground, but I've yet to get it past my knee. With Wednesday's WOD focused on having us determine a 3RM deadlift, I prepared myself for yet another attempt at my nemesis, 405.
Wednesday's workout was one part strength session (3RM deadlift) and one part skill session (15 ring muscle-ups). To say there's only a tiny subset of the gym that can perform 15 ring muscle-ups would be an understatement, so we were more than likely going to be doing some scaled version of the ring muscle-up or working only on a portion of the movement (for example, the transition). Bryan and I were chatting earlier in the day about what we were hoping to hit on the deadlift and Bryan mentioned that his goal was 250 pounds. I'm always hoping to hit a PR (which would mean 380), but my sights were really set on that one rep at 405. In terms of the ring muscle-ups, I was convinced that Bryan could get one. He moves very fluidly when doing bar muscle-ups and it seemed logical that he could convert that into a ring muscle-up as long as he believed he could do it. Having that belief was probably going to be the toughest part for him.
When I showed up for Coach Jenna's 7:30 class, I discovered that Bryan and I would be the only two participants in her class. As much as I enjoy the social aspects of taking classes at KOP, I also enjoy having plenty of space to operate in, especially during the summer when class sizes tend to be larger and the gym becomes much more humid. Jenna let us know that we'd go over the ring muscle-ups after we were done working on our deadlifts, so she briefly made sure our form was good on this simple lift before allowing us to get to work on our sets.
Like always, I had a plan mapped out in my head as to how I was going to progress through this workout. Usually I start with 135 pounds (two 45 pound plates on the barbell), but I decided to skip the easy opener and move to the next weight on my list, 185 pounds. Jumping to 185 allows me to have two 25 pound plates handy, which I end up using throughout the progression. I'd go 185-225-275-315-345-365-380. It might seem weird to jump 40 pounds, then 50 pounds, then 40 pounds again, but it's simply the result of transitioning through 25 pound plates and 45 pound plates. And because we were only doing 3 reps today, the sets weren't really going to become difficult until I got beyond 300 pounds.
Bryan and I moved right along through those lighter sets. I couldn't have spent more than 5 minutes getting through the sets at 185, 225, and 275 (and that's including the time needed to change out the plates). I don't think Bryan and I truly started alternating our sets until we get closer to the heavier end of our ranges. I wasn't sure how many sets Bryan had done, but he seemed to be making his way to 250 at a more gradual pace than I was en route to 380. I watched him do three very easy reps at 205 and decided to take matters into my own hands. I wasn't sure if he planned on going to 215 next, but I brought over two 45 pound plates and peer pressured him to move on to 225.
315 pounds is consistently the point where deadlifts feel heavy for me. More than anything, it probably says more about my lack of grip strength than anything else. At 315, I just don't want to hold on to that barbell forever. 5 reps at that weight is very tough, but 3 reps was doable. The set at 345 had a real chance of being my last successful one. The 3RM deadlift is one of our benchmark tests for the year and I wasn't able to get beyond 345 when we had done this back in March. Things went a little smoother this time around as I made my way through 3 reps at 345 with the belief I could handle more still intact. Bryan was going strong as well. When he went to do his set at 245, he put his hands on the barbell and then stopped. It looked like he was uncomfortable with his setup, so I told him he should stand up and start over. He decided to be stubborn (a trait I can definitely relate to) and move forward with his set despite being hunched over his barbell for what seemed like a long time. I was expecting him to have trouble once he began, but he did 3 more easy looking reps. He was definitely surpassing 250 today.
I got ready for my set at 365 feeling fairly optimistic that I could get it based on how the set at 345 had gone. I still wasn't buying into the idea that I could get the final set at 380, but 365 would still be an improvement on what I did back in March. And as long as I could get past this set and do one rep at 380, I'd hold on to the belief that I could cap off this workout with one rep at 405. The toughest part of the set was simply getting the barbell moving on that first rep. I had a lot of faith that I could hang on for two more reps as long as I got that first rep moving. That ended up not being completely true. Reps one and two were fine, but I could feel my right hand losing its grip as I pulled the third rep from the floor. I was able to hang on, but if a 4th rep was required, I would have been screwed.
Did I mention that Bryan was definitely surpassing 250 today? His set at 255 looked just like the set at 245 minus the lengthy delay during the setup. I started thinking that he might get to 275 before we had to move over to the rings.
While I was taking some time before my PR attempt at 380, I started talking to Faby, who was the only other soul in the gym. He was doing some strength training on his own. I see him deadlifting frequently, so I thought I should pick his brain for some tips. I needed some help with my grip. I use a mixed grip when I deadlift, with my right hand on top of the barbell and the left hand under the barbell. My two-part question to him was a) whether he used a mixed grip and b) whether he ever reversed his grip, especially if one hand seemed to be getting tired. He told me that he did use a mixed grip, but that he never changed it. Disappointed with those answers, I asked a follow-up question. I asked Faby which hand he used underneath and which hand he used on top when he held a mixed grip. He told me that he used his dominant hand (right hand) underneath. Crap, had I been doing the mixed grip wrong since I began Crossfit? I've always had my dominant hand on top. Maybe this was the reason I've never been able to get beyond 385. I was dying to test out the mixed grip the way Faby does it, but it was too late in the workout to try it this day. Attempting a set of three reps at 380 with a new grip was a bad idea.
I didn't have a lot of good thoughts in my head as I stepped up to try 380. I just found out that I might be gripping the barbell wrong. My right hand had barely held on through the 3rd rep at 365. And from what I recall, the day I did 3 reps at 375, my form wasn't wonderful. It was asking a lot to get three reps at 380 today. Of course, my selfish goal required only one rep at this weight, so that took a little pressure off of me.
I think I've always thought of the proper weight for an "x" rep max as the weight where you would have to struggle like hell to get rep "x". As had just happened with the mixed grip, my view was about to change. I grabbed the barbell and tried to pull it from the floor. It slowly came off the floor. I strained to get it over my knee and eventually got it to my waist. I got my one rep. I wanted to let go of the barbell at that point, but Jenna, Bryan, and Faby were yelling at me that I had this. Usually when I'm doing a set, I can use the momentum from the first rep to help me on the remaining reps. That didn't really happen here. I tapped the floor with the barbell and experienced the same struggle I had on the first rep. It took everything I had to keep the barbell moving, but somehow I got it to my waist again. Two reps down, one to go. Now I was as invested in this set as Jenna, Bryan, and Faby were. I was not going to be pleased if I fell one rep short. I tapped the floor again and strained as hard as I could to get the barbell back to my waist a third and final time. It was incredibly slow again, but I found a way to get it done. All three reps were insanely hard. Faby told me that was what a 3RM should look like. Final score: 380 (PR!).
My grip was completely gone after that set. It felt like the top layer of skin had come off of my hands. I wasn't sure that I could open up some of the apps on my phone because I was pretty certain that I no longer had fingerprints. I was excited that I had held on through all 3 reps at 380, but I might have used up all of my energy doing so. I was going to give 405 a shot, but this would really have to be my night if I was going to make that lift.
As I grabbed plates for my attempt at 405, I missed Bryan's final attempt at a 3RM. I'm not sure if he went with 260 or 265, but when I turned around, I saw him holding the barbell at his waist and then dropping it. I was hopeful that he had just completed rep #3, but when he turned in my direction, I could see the dejected look on his face. He must have bailed early. Still, he exceeded his goal and got a PR with his set at 255.
I loaded up my barbell and got ready for my attempt at 405. The speech I gave myself was simple. You weren't sure you could get the set at 365. You did it. You felt certain you wouldn't get three reps at 380. You did that. You might not think you can get 405. You're about to do it. The speech was good. The execution was bad. I put everything I had left into that lift, but I'm not sure you could have slid a piece of paper underneath the barbell. It felt anchored into the floor. 405 wasn't happening on this day, but after some practice with a new grip, maybe I can finally overcome my nemesis.
Jenna brought us over to the rings. Bryan and I explained that neither of us had the ability to complete 15 ring muscle-ups. I thought there was a good chance that Bryan could get his first one though. His skill session would involve actual attempts at ring muscle-ups, while I would work on jumping muscle-ups. Bryan came close several times to getting his first ring muscle-up, but he needed to be a little more aggressive in his transition. As is the case with the bar muscle-up, he seems to float up to the height he needs to get to. Now he just has to get quicker rotating over. As for me, I learned during my jumping muscle-ups that I needed to lean back more as I do them. Without leaning, it is easier to do the jumping muscle-ups. Of course, the reason they are easier is because I'm not truly mimicking the position my body would be in during a real muscle-up. It's better for me to get in that position while doing jumping muscle-ups if I ever want to have success on the rings one day.
When we were all done, I joined Jenna at the brew pub across the street for a beer. And some appetizers. And some unexpectedly free chocolate cake. It was like a mini-reward for the guy with no fingerprints.
Thursday preview: Last summer I took 5 weeks off from the gym to get my head right again. Is it time for another sabbatical from KOP?
I've been stuck at 385 pounds for my top deadlift weight for such a long time that I don't wait for 1RM deadlifts to be scheduled anymore before I make attempts at my goal of hitting a deadlift of 405 pounds. 5RM, 3RM, 2RM...it's all the same to me. If I have a decent lifting day, I will finish off my sets with a single attempt at 405 pounds. There have been a couple of occasions where I've gotten the barbell off of the ground, but I've yet to get it past my knee. With Wednesday's WOD focused on having us determine a 3RM deadlift, I prepared myself for yet another attempt at my nemesis, 405.
Wednesday's workout was one part strength session (3RM deadlift) and one part skill session (15 ring muscle-ups). To say there's only a tiny subset of the gym that can perform 15 ring muscle-ups would be an understatement, so we were more than likely going to be doing some scaled version of the ring muscle-up or working only on a portion of the movement (for example, the transition). Bryan and I were chatting earlier in the day about what we were hoping to hit on the deadlift and Bryan mentioned that his goal was 250 pounds. I'm always hoping to hit a PR (which would mean 380), but my sights were really set on that one rep at 405. In terms of the ring muscle-ups, I was convinced that Bryan could get one. He moves very fluidly when doing bar muscle-ups and it seemed logical that he could convert that into a ring muscle-up as long as he believed he could do it. Having that belief was probably going to be the toughest part for him.
When I showed up for Coach Jenna's 7:30 class, I discovered that Bryan and I would be the only two participants in her class. As much as I enjoy the social aspects of taking classes at KOP, I also enjoy having plenty of space to operate in, especially during the summer when class sizes tend to be larger and the gym becomes much more humid. Jenna let us know that we'd go over the ring muscle-ups after we were done working on our deadlifts, so she briefly made sure our form was good on this simple lift before allowing us to get to work on our sets.
Like always, I had a plan mapped out in my head as to how I was going to progress through this workout. Usually I start with 135 pounds (two 45 pound plates on the barbell), but I decided to skip the easy opener and move to the next weight on my list, 185 pounds. Jumping to 185 allows me to have two 25 pound plates handy, which I end up using throughout the progression. I'd go 185-225-275-315-345-365-380. It might seem weird to jump 40 pounds, then 50 pounds, then 40 pounds again, but it's simply the result of transitioning through 25 pound plates and 45 pound plates. And because we were only doing 3 reps today, the sets weren't really going to become difficult until I got beyond 300 pounds.
Bryan and I moved right along through those lighter sets. I couldn't have spent more than 5 minutes getting through the sets at 185, 225, and 275 (and that's including the time needed to change out the plates). I don't think Bryan and I truly started alternating our sets until we get closer to the heavier end of our ranges. I wasn't sure how many sets Bryan had done, but he seemed to be making his way to 250 at a more gradual pace than I was en route to 380. I watched him do three very easy reps at 205 and decided to take matters into my own hands. I wasn't sure if he planned on going to 215 next, but I brought over two 45 pound plates and peer pressured him to move on to 225.
315 pounds is consistently the point where deadlifts feel heavy for me. More than anything, it probably says more about my lack of grip strength than anything else. At 315, I just don't want to hold on to that barbell forever. 5 reps at that weight is very tough, but 3 reps was doable. The set at 345 had a real chance of being my last successful one. The 3RM deadlift is one of our benchmark tests for the year and I wasn't able to get beyond 345 when we had done this back in March. Things went a little smoother this time around as I made my way through 3 reps at 345 with the belief I could handle more still intact. Bryan was going strong as well. When he went to do his set at 245, he put his hands on the barbell and then stopped. It looked like he was uncomfortable with his setup, so I told him he should stand up and start over. He decided to be stubborn (a trait I can definitely relate to) and move forward with his set despite being hunched over his barbell for what seemed like a long time. I was expecting him to have trouble once he began, but he did 3 more easy looking reps. He was definitely surpassing 250 today.
I got ready for my set at 365 feeling fairly optimistic that I could get it based on how the set at 345 had gone. I still wasn't buying into the idea that I could get the final set at 380, but 365 would still be an improvement on what I did back in March. And as long as I could get past this set and do one rep at 380, I'd hold on to the belief that I could cap off this workout with one rep at 405. The toughest part of the set was simply getting the barbell moving on that first rep. I had a lot of faith that I could hang on for two more reps as long as I got that first rep moving. That ended up not being completely true. Reps one and two were fine, but I could feel my right hand losing its grip as I pulled the third rep from the floor. I was able to hang on, but if a 4th rep was required, I would have been screwed.
Did I mention that Bryan was definitely surpassing 250 today? His set at 255 looked just like the set at 245 minus the lengthy delay during the setup. I started thinking that he might get to 275 before we had to move over to the rings.
While I was taking some time before my PR attempt at 380, I started talking to Faby, who was the only other soul in the gym. He was doing some strength training on his own. I see him deadlifting frequently, so I thought I should pick his brain for some tips. I needed some help with my grip. I use a mixed grip when I deadlift, with my right hand on top of the barbell and the left hand under the barbell. My two-part question to him was a) whether he used a mixed grip and b) whether he ever reversed his grip, especially if one hand seemed to be getting tired. He told me that he did use a mixed grip, but that he never changed it. Disappointed with those answers, I asked a follow-up question. I asked Faby which hand he used underneath and which hand he used on top when he held a mixed grip. He told me that he used his dominant hand (right hand) underneath. Crap, had I been doing the mixed grip wrong since I began Crossfit? I've always had my dominant hand on top. Maybe this was the reason I've never been able to get beyond 385. I was dying to test out the mixed grip the way Faby does it, but it was too late in the workout to try it this day. Attempting a set of three reps at 380 with a new grip was a bad idea.
I didn't have a lot of good thoughts in my head as I stepped up to try 380. I just found out that I might be gripping the barbell wrong. My right hand had barely held on through the 3rd rep at 365. And from what I recall, the day I did 3 reps at 375, my form wasn't wonderful. It was asking a lot to get three reps at 380 today. Of course, my selfish goal required only one rep at this weight, so that took a little pressure off of me.
I think I've always thought of the proper weight for an "x" rep max as the weight where you would have to struggle like hell to get rep "x". As had just happened with the mixed grip, my view was about to change. I grabbed the barbell and tried to pull it from the floor. It slowly came off the floor. I strained to get it over my knee and eventually got it to my waist. I got my one rep. I wanted to let go of the barbell at that point, but Jenna, Bryan, and Faby were yelling at me that I had this. Usually when I'm doing a set, I can use the momentum from the first rep to help me on the remaining reps. That didn't really happen here. I tapped the floor with the barbell and experienced the same struggle I had on the first rep. It took everything I had to keep the barbell moving, but somehow I got it to my waist again. Two reps down, one to go. Now I was as invested in this set as Jenna, Bryan, and Faby were. I was not going to be pleased if I fell one rep short. I tapped the floor again and strained as hard as I could to get the barbell back to my waist a third and final time. It was incredibly slow again, but I found a way to get it done. All three reps were insanely hard. Faby told me that was what a 3RM should look like. Final score: 380 (PR!).
My grip was completely gone after that set. It felt like the top layer of skin had come off of my hands. I wasn't sure that I could open up some of the apps on my phone because I was pretty certain that I no longer had fingerprints. I was excited that I had held on through all 3 reps at 380, but I might have used up all of my energy doing so. I was going to give 405 a shot, but this would really have to be my night if I was going to make that lift.
As I grabbed plates for my attempt at 405, I missed Bryan's final attempt at a 3RM. I'm not sure if he went with 260 or 265, but when I turned around, I saw him holding the barbell at his waist and then dropping it. I was hopeful that he had just completed rep #3, but when he turned in my direction, I could see the dejected look on his face. He must have bailed early. Still, he exceeded his goal and got a PR with his set at 255.
I loaded up my barbell and got ready for my attempt at 405. The speech I gave myself was simple. You weren't sure you could get the set at 365. You did it. You felt certain you wouldn't get three reps at 380. You did that. You might not think you can get 405. You're about to do it. The speech was good. The execution was bad. I put everything I had left into that lift, but I'm not sure you could have slid a piece of paper underneath the barbell. It felt anchored into the floor. 405 wasn't happening on this day, but after some practice with a new grip, maybe I can finally overcome my nemesis.
Jenna brought us over to the rings. Bryan and I explained that neither of us had the ability to complete 15 ring muscle-ups. I thought there was a good chance that Bryan could get his first one though. His skill session would involve actual attempts at ring muscle-ups, while I would work on jumping muscle-ups. Bryan came close several times to getting his first ring muscle-up, but he needed to be a little more aggressive in his transition. As is the case with the bar muscle-up, he seems to float up to the height he needs to get to. Now he just has to get quicker rotating over. As for me, I learned during my jumping muscle-ups that I needed to lean back more as I do them. Without leaning, it is easier to do the jumping muscle-ups. Of course, the reason they are easier is because I'm not truly mimicking the position my body would be in during a real muscle-up. It's better for me to get in that position while doing jumping muscle-ups if I ever want to have success on the rings one day.
When we were all done, I joined Jenna at the brew pub across the street for a beer. And some appetizers. And some unexpectedly free chocolate cake. It was like a mini-reward for the guy with no fingerprints.
Thursday preview: Last summer I took 5 weeks off from the gym to get my head right again. Is it time for another sabbatical from KOP?
Wednesday, July 19, 2017
FGB Remix
Workout date: 6/6/17
Whenever I think of Crossfit chippers, I think of Fight Gone Bad. Crossfit purists will tell you FGB isn't technically a chipper because in a real chipper you only go through the different stations once. In Fight Gone Bad, you tackle each of the five stations three times, getting a one minute break at the end of each round. My first memory of watching the Crossfit Games on TV was an event similar to Fight Gone Bad. Okay, it was probably a million times harder than FGB is, but the women on my television screen were working through a bunch of stations (six, to be exact) like I would one day have to do in Fight Gone Bad. After finishing work at the sixth station, they turned around and had to go through the other five stations again to reach the finish line. The name of this WOD? "Chipper". (Talk to me now, purists!) The event reminded me of taking on an obstacle course. When I was a kid, I used to love watching TV shows that ended with an obstacle course (Double Dare, American Gladiators, etc.), so naturally I found this Crossfit Games thing captivating. Soon after, I'd find myself at an introductory class at KOP.
We weren't doing Fight Gone Bad at Dudes After Dark this week, but this chipper was a bit of an FGB remix. In Fight Gone Bad, you have the following five stations:
Whenever I think of Crossfit chippers, I think of Fight Gone Bad. Crossfit purists will tell you FGB isn't technically a chipper because in a real chipper you only go through the different stations once. In Fight Gone Bad, you tackle each of the five stations three times, getting a one minute break at the end of each round. My first memory of watching the Crossfit Games on TV was an event similar to Fight Gone Bad. Okay, it was probably a million times harder than FGB is, but the women on my television screen were working through a bunch of stations (six, to be exact) like I would one day have to do in Fight Gone Bad. After finishing work at the sixth station, they turned around and had to go through the other five stations again to reach the finish line. The name of this WOD? "Chipper". (Talk to me now, purists!) The event reminded me of taking on an obstacle course. When I was a kid, I used to love watching TV shows that ended with an obstacle course (Double Dare, American Gladiators, etc.), so naturally I found this Crossfit Games thing captivating. Soon after, I'd find myself at an introductory class at KOP.
We weren't doing Fight Gone Bad at Dudes After Dark this week, but this chipper was a bit of an FGB remix. In Fight Gone Bad, you have the following five stations:
- Wall balls (20#/14# to 10'/9')
- Sumo deadlift high pulls (75/55)
- Box jumps (20")
- Push press (75/55)
- Rowing for calories
The Tuesday night WOD ditched the wall balls and the box jumps. However, the folks that programmed this WOD didn't want to deny us 15 minutes of work, so we'd be going through 5 rounds at the other 3 stations. The one minute break between rounds was another carry over from Fight Gone Bad. That meant we'd get two minutes of extra rest compared to regular FGB. That was a good thing, right? Crossfit Rule #1: Always be wary of workouts with rest. The more rest, the scarier.
Dudes After Dark was an even split of dudes and non-dudes this week. Sharon, Jocelyn, and The Prodigy were representing the ladies, while Bryan, Neil, and myself made up the male contingent. There was plenty of room for all of us to work. While Fight Gone Bad basically requires each participant to take up an entire lane across the gym, for this workout we just needed enough space for a barbell and a rower. We all had a good idea of how to row, so LC really just needed to cover the two barbell movements with us. Each round started with sumo deadlift high pulls, easily the more awkward of the two lifts. I tend to find the sumo deadlift stance awkward in general, but with the high pull, you had to be mindful of staying level throughout the lift. If you didn't, you end up clanging one end of the barbell off the floor before the other end, creating what I call the "horse on cobblestones" effect. It is not uncommon to hear a lot of "clip-clopping" throughout the gym when sumo deadlift high pulls are programmed. The other concern with sumo deadlift high pulls is that your triceps get fatigued. I'm not sure the little nubs on the underside of my arms can truly be called triceps, but they were gonna be plenty active regardless.
When I do Fight Gone Bad, the push press is the station where I expect to accumulate the most reps. The weight is on the lighter side and I can cycle through the reps quickly. It's just a matter of breathing and resisting the urge to put the barbell down. The one thing we all had to be mindful of with the push press is that we weren't allowed to re-bend our knees as we thrust the barbell overhead. If we did, that would be a push jerk, and that didn't fly in this workout.
I had my back to most of the class because I thought we were all going to face the back of the gym during the warmup and I was closer to that end of the gym. The only person I could see was The Prodigy. She ended up turning around and facing me because she couldn't see LC during the warmup. She continued to face me during the workout, which was unfortunate for her because she had to deal with a lot of unpleasant grunting for 5 rounds. (I'm hoping that I didn't fling sweat on her as well, but it's possible I did. Sorry Prodigy!)
The top scores in the gym were around 300 reps, very similar to what we see with FGB. Even though I've surpassed 300 on Fight Gone Bad, I wasn't convinced I could score as well in this workout. I tend to do very well on the box jumps as it is a rare workout where the guys get to use the smaller 20" box. There were no low box jumps on tap today. I would be getting more rounds of the push press (hooray!), but that was likely to get balanced out by more rounds on the rower. It wasn't that I struggled a lot on the rower. It's simply difficult to accumulate the same number of reps (calories) on that station as you can at the other stations.
LC gave us the green light for round 1 and we got underway. Being fresh, I was able to move quickly on the sumo deadlift high pulls and keep the barbell level. I did two large sets during this first minute. It was easy to want to give in and let go of the barbell after 8 or 9 reps, but if I started doing that in round one, it would become a big problem for me later on. When LC told us to rotate, I had 26 reps completed.
In Fight Gone Bad, you have to physically move to the next station because the two barbell movements aren't back-to-back. In this workout, the first rotation simply required a change in stance and a change in grip. I cleaned my barbell, then started pumping through push presses. I did two more large sets before sneaking in a few last reps before the minute was up. 30 more reps added to my score.
Even if you're moving from a different station to your barbell, only a couple of seconds come off the clock before you have the barbell moving. That is not the case with the rower. You walk over to the rower, get your feet strapped in, make sure your monitor is set, and then pull a few times before your first calorie appears on the monitor. I've found that 20 seconds elapse before I get that first calorie. The faster folks in class might only use up 15 seconds. But as you can see, a solid chunk of your time at this station is gone before you know it. That helps explain why it is so hard to match the reps you get at other stations. I only managed 13 calories during my first turn on the rower. Round 1 score: 69 reps.
On pace for 345 reps! I'm a rock star! Ok, maybe not. As I enjoyed my 60 seconds of rest, I knew immediately that I had gone out too hard in that round. There was no chance of me keeping up that pace the rest of the way. It would be a miracle if I could keep up that pace in round two. I had given myself a decent chance at 300 though. I needed two rounds of 60 reps and two rounds in the 55-56 range to get there. Seemed possible as long as I didn't plummet from that aggressive 1st round pace.
Here's how the rest of the rounds went:
- Round 2: I couldn't manage those same large sets that I had held on through in round 1. I did 5 less sumo deadlift high pulls (not unexpected). I did 8 less push presses (unexpected). I thought I could keep putting up high scores on the push press for at least 3 rounds, but it didn't work out that way. I ended the round the same way I did in round 1 with 13 calories on the rower. My round 2 score was what I was hoping for in rounds 4 and 5. I knew I was in trouble. Round 2 score: 56.
- Round 3: My lack of triceps became a problem in this round as I began doing some sumo deadlift not-so-high pulls. I had to work very hard to get the barbell up to my chin. That meant shorter sets, more rest, and less reps. I got a little redemption on the push press, squeaking out one more rep there than I had in round 2. The redemption tour continued on the rower, where I improved by two calories from rounds 1 and 2. Round 3 score: 55.
- Round 4: No change in the sumo deadlift high pull struggles. Had my first no rep at that station (it would happen again in round 5). My arm fatigue carried over to the push press, where I had 6 less reps than I did in round 3. Things were definitely falling apart. My row regressed back to where it was in rounds 1 and 2 as I could only manage 13 calories again. Round 4 score: 46. Blech.
- Round 5: Last round! Time to give it all you got! I matched my sumo deadlift high pull total from round 4. I matched my push press total from round 4. I matched my rowing total from round...3! I pulled like a madman on that last row knowing that I was almost done. That helped me get back to 15 calories one more time. Round 5 score: 48. Final score: 274.
My score of 274 split up by round and station
That was a little disappointing after such a strong round 1, but if you asked me before the workout what score I would be happy with, I would have said around 280. So I wasn't that far off. I thought that Neil might crush me on this one, but he wasn't able to crack 300 either, finishing with a score of 290. That helped me put my score of 274 into better perspective. I was hoping for a higher score, but I probably underestimated how much upper body strength was required to flirt with 300 on this workout.
Wednesday preview: Heavy deadlifts with Jenna and Bryan. Faby gives me a tip that might get me a 400 pound deadlift one day.
Thursday, July 13, 2017
Regional Strongest Man
Workout date: 6/5/17
The good people at KOP get together for a charity outing at least once per year. I haven't been able to make it out for these events in the past, but when Cline alerted us that KOP would be helping the Philadelphia chapter of Rebuilding Together on Saturday, June 3rd, I made sure to clear my calendar so that I could take part. Rebuilding Together is an organization that relies on volunteers to give some of their time to help improve homes in low-income communities. You don't have to be super-handy to participate, which is good because had there been any skill threshold that I needed to surpass, they would have sent me home immediately. Team KOP was represented by 8 people: group organizer Cline, Shawna, Tia, Mariana, Kris, Kris's husband Joshua, Ms. January and myself. We were divided into 4 pairs and given an assortment of tasks to complete. Ms. January was my partner and she did all of the real work. She led the way in installing the smoke and radon detectors. We painted the living room ceiling together. Then she got out the power drill and installed a new shower head upstairs. Rather than mess up some stranger's house, I tried to contribute mostly by running back and forth to the supply truck one block over throughout the day. I may not have done an actual WOD, but I certainly got plenty of exercise on Saturday morning. Here are some pics of Team KOP:
I spent a good part of Sunday watching the last day of Crossfit Regionals for 2017. Watching the Crossfit Regionals can give you equipment envy. We have lots of cool toys at KOP, but it's not like we have Rogue Fitness on speed dial to provide us with anything we'd like. As someone who frequently trips and rams his shins during box jumps, I would love for KOP to have those foam boxes that they use in competition. They were on display in the final event at this year's Regionals. Athletes had to perform burpee box jumps on tall boxes (30" for the men, 24" for the women) after burning out their legs on an assault bike sprint. In the interest of safety (yes, I'm giving Crossfit HQ a lot of credit with that assumption), athletes were allowed to place their hands on top of the box to assist them in getting over it. It was an unusual thing to see in a Crossfit competition, but it helped athletes move faster and the whole point of the last workout is to have it be an all-out dash to see who will go to the Crossfit Games. Once all of the burpee box jumps were done, athletes had to perform 10 heavy sandbag cleans (dropping the sandbag over their shoulder after each clean) and then carry their sandbag to the finish line. Personally I thought it was the best event of the weekend. A lot of fun to watch and I had a sense of how painful that event must have been.
Just in case I wasn't sure how painful that event was, I would get to experience it firsthand on Monday evening. Our scheduled WOD was as similar in structure to that event as our coaches could make it. Here's what they came up with:
Monday's WOD:
40 calories on the assault bike
30 box jump overs (30"/24")
20 sandbag (or atlas stone) cleans from the ground to over your shoulder
This was a bit of a unique WOD in that there was no real RX standard. It was dealer's choice when it came to the sandbag or atlas stone that we'd be heaving over our shoulder at the end of the workout. We were simply told to choose a weight that was challenging for us. We could scale down the suggested box height if we wanted to, but we were getting to use our hands to help us over the box, so that made the taller box less intimidating. Assault bikes weren't mandatory, but if you wanted to feel the burn that those Regionals athletes felt at the beginning of their final event, you didn't want to use the easier Airdyne.
There were an awful lot of people that wanted that Regionals experience because 17 people were in attendance for the 6:30 class with Coach Giulz. You need a lot of space when doing box jump overs and you definitely don't want to be in close quarters if you're tossing heavy objects over your shoulder, so it was going to be tricky accommodating such a large group. Giulz had us line up behind the bikes that were set up near the middle of the gym and told us that these would be the ones we'd use in the workout. Matt B and I were a little slow during this game of musical bikes, so we ended up stuck with an Airdyne rather than an assault bike. That was no fun. Later on we would remedy this situation.
Giulz covered the box jump overs with us. I think I speak for everyone when I say that getting over the box with the assistance of one's hands was a new experience. It certainly made the box jump much easier. The biggest difficulty was getting your feet and hands on the box at the same time. The tops of our boxes don't have as much surface area as those nice foam ones that the Regionals athletes used, so you had to be careful not to step on your own fingers as you did the box jump overs.
I'm not sure if we were allowed to keep our hands on the box between reps, but if you did that, you could jump over the box and back very quickly. I thought that was a little bit too much of an advantage, so I basically did a hand-release box jump over for my reps. The biggest break we were getting in this workout was that we weren't doing burpees in conjunction with the box jumps. That truly would have tested our leg strength. Instead, this piece of the workout became the bridge between the two hardest movements.
The last segment of the WOD was the part that I was most excited about. We were allowed to use atlas stones for the ground to over the shoulder movement and that meant I got to once again pretend that I was on an old episode of World's Strongest Man. Choosing the atlas stones was a no brainer for me. I loved using them and I hated doing sandbag cleans. I didn't realize until the workout began that we weren't doing typical sandbag cleans for the final segment, but I don't think that would have affected my choice of equipment. (Note: When sandbag cleans usually come up in WODs, you have to grab the sandbag by its handles and swing it up to your shoulders. In this workout, the sandbag would be stacked vertically. You would grab it like a bag of groceries, hoist it up, and then toss it over your shoulder.)
The good people at KOP get together for a charity outing at least once per year. I haven't been able to make it out for these events in the past, but when Cline alerted us that KOP would be helping the Philadelphia chapter of Rebuilding Together on Saturday, June 3rd, I made sure to clear my calendar so that I could take part. Rebuilding Together is an organization that relies on volunteers to give some of their time to help improve homes in low-income communities. You don't have to be super-handy to participate, which is good because had there been any skill threshold that I needed to surpass, they would have sent me home immediately. Team KOP was represented by 8 people: group organizer Cline, Shawna, Tia, Mariana, Kris, Kris's husband Joshua, Ms. January and myself. We were divided into 4 pairs and given an assortment of tasks to complete. Ms. January was my partner and she did all of the real work. She led the way in installing the smoke and radon detectors. We painted the living room ceiling together. Then she got out the power drill and installed a new shower head upstairs. Rather than mess up some stranger's house, I tried to contribute mostly by running back and forth to the supply truck one block over throughout the day. I may not have done an actual WOD, but I certainly got plenty of exercise on Saturday morning. Here are some pics of Team KOP:
Everyone smiles when it's lunch time!
A group shot with our team leader, Harold. Poor guy had to put up with us all day long.
Just in case I wasn't sure how painful that event was, I would get to experience it firsthand on Monday evening. Our scheduled WOD was as similar in structure to that event as our coaches could make it. Here's what they came up with:
Monday's WOD:
40 calories on the assault bike
30 box jump overs (30"/24")
20 sandbag (or atlas stone) cleans from the ground to over your shoulder
This was a bit of a unique WOD in that there was no real RX standard. It was dealer's choice when it came to the sandbag or atlas stone that we'd be heaving over our shoulder at the end of the workout. We were simply told to choose a weight that was challenging for us. We could scale down the suggested box height if we wanted to, but we were getting to use our hands to help us over the box, so that made the taller box less intimidating. Assault bikes weren't mandatory, but if you wanted to feel the burn that those Regionals athletes felt at the beginning of their final event, you didn't want to use the easier Airdyne.
There were an awful lot of people that wanted that Regionals experience because 17 people were in attendance for the 6:30 class with Coach Giulz. You need a lot of space when doing box jump overs and you definitely don't want to be in close quarters if you're tossing heavy objects over your shoulder, so it was going to be tricky accommodating such a large group. Giulz had us line up behind the bikes that were set up near the middle of the gym and told us that these would be the ones we'd use in the workout. Matt B and I were a little slow during this game of musical bikes, so we ended up stuck with an Airdyne rather than an assault bike. That was no fun. Later on we would remedy this situation.
Giulz covered the box jump overs with us. I think I speak for everyone when I say that getting over the box with the assistance of one's hands was a new experience. It certainly made the box jump much easier. The biggest difficulty was getting your feet and hands on the box at the same time. The tops of our boxes don't have as much surface area as those nice foam ones that the Regionals athletes used, so you had to be careful not to step on your own fingers as you did the box jump overs.
Rob C perfecting the new box jump over technique
I'm not sure if we were allowed to keep our hands on the box between reps, but if you did that, you could jump over the box and back very quickly. I thought that was a little bit too much of an advantage, so I basically did a hand-release box jump over for my reps. The biggest break we were getting in this workout was that we weren't doing burpees in conjunction with the box jumps. That truly would have tested our leg strength. Instead, this piece of the workout became the bridge between the two hardest movements.
The last segment of the WOD was the part that I was most excited about. We were allowed to use atlas stones for the ground to over the shoulder movement and that meant I got to once again pretend that I was on an old episode of World's Strongest Man. Choosing the atlas stones was a no brainer for me. I loved using them and I hated doing sandbag cleans. I didn't realize until the workout began that we weren't doing typical sandbag cleans for the final segment, but I don't think that would have affected my choice of equipment. (Note: When sandbag cleans usually come up in WODs, you have to grab the sandbag by its handles and swing it up to your shoulders. In this workout, the sandbag would be stacked vertically. You would grab it like a bag of groceries, hoist it up, and then toss it over your shoulder.)
Kris and her 75 pound bag of groceries
Five of us decided to go with the atlas stones. Dana used one of the 70 pound atlas stones, while Chris S, Neil, Matt, and I gathered up every 110 pound atlas stone available in the gym. We tried out the 140 pound atlas stone, but it seemed too heavy to all of us. I did two reps with the 140 pound stone in the warmup and I couldn't imagine how long it would take me to get through 20 reps at that weight. This was still supposed to be a sprint and I didn't want to hold up the class trying to be macho with the 140 pound stone. Neil, on the other hand, probably could have handled 140 pounds. Giulz called him out for going too light after he tossed around the 110 pound stone like a nerf ball at the end of his workout. Guy just doesn't know how strong he is.
With 5 assault bikes and several Airdynes available, the line of athletes behind each of the bikes ran 2-3 athletes deep. We were sharing equipment at all of the stations, so we were staggering the start by a good 3-4 minutes between waves. We actually didn't have a formal start time for each of the waves. It was up to the next athlete to use their discretion as to how far they wanted to let the person in front of them get ahead before they started on their bike ride. Matt and I were lined up behind an Airdyne originally, but then we noticed that a couple of the assault bikes only had two people in line for them. If we split up, we could each be the 3rd person on those assault bikes. Some of the other bikes already had people lined up three deep, so we'd be in the 3rd wave with them. We got into different lines and awaited our turn.
By the time the 3rd wave of athletes got started, the 1st wave was almost finished, so we had the opportunity to see how everyone was handling the box jump overs and the sandbag cleans. At first it seemed like no one was using their hands for the box jump overs. Maybe it was still too new to everyone, so they were sticking with regular box jump overs. Then 1 or 2 people started using their hands and everyone else eventually followed suit. The sandbag cleans looked brutal. I could have been underestimating how much energy the bike and the box jump overs took out of you, but it looked like everyone was struggling to get through the sandbag cleans.
Danielle going all out on the sandbag clean
Matt and I were the only two people in the final wave using atlas stones. That worked out well because there weren't all that many mats set up underneath the pull-up rig for the folks tossing atlas stones over their shoulders. (Mats weren't needed for the sandbags, but they were necessary to soften the blow of the atlas stones dropping to the gym floor.) Chris, Neil, and Dana were already working with their stones while Matt and I were still on the assault bikes.
Dana proving that the atlas stones were no picnic either
To me, that initial 40 calorie bike ride wasn't too bad. I kept a fairly even pace and was able to complete that segment in under 3 minutes. Most importantly, my legs weren't completely sapped at that point. If I had gone all out on the bike, I wouldn't be able to pick up my stone later on. It took me some time to develop a rhythm over at the box jump overs. I want to say that I was slow on the first 10 or so reps because I didn't have confidence that I could move fast and not step on my fingers. Once I had some faith that I wouldn't injure myself, I was able to move quicker.
I thought I was on my way to putting up a very fast time when I got to my atlas stone. I did 4 reps in my first set before needing to catch my breath. That felt like the right amount to do before stopping for a break, so I was determined to do 4 more sets like that to finish off this workout. I thought I was keeping my breaks relatively short, but when I saw my final time, it became clear that I took longer than I thought. Each set of 4 was the same. The first 2 reps felt good. The third rep required more energy. The 4th rep was simply give it everything you had.
I'm hoping this picture was taken during the 4th rep of one of my sets
Because I was part of the last wave, nearly everyone in class was already done as I worked through my ground to over the shoulder reps. Perhaps it's just perspective, but the encouragement I was hearing from them didn't carry that same "pity circle" tone that I know all too well. The group definitely helped me keep my last break short. I didn't waste a lot of time before digging into that final set. When the atlas stone went rolling over my right shoulder for the 20th time, I was relieved to be done. Final time: 9:15.
I didn't keep a close eye on the clock once I got off the bike, but I thought my final time was going to be closer to 8 minutes. 9:15 was a little disappointing. It wasn't way off of the times of the rest of the class, but I was under the impression that I was moving pretty fast. 9:15 was a little bit of a letdown if I'm being honest. Guess I need to get better at cutting down those rest periods.
I stuck around for Open Strength as I do on most Mondays. Not loving my time of 9:15 on the WOD, I turned my sights towards hitting a PR on my clean and jerk. I brought out a barbell, threw on some 45 pound plates, and began with a lift at 135 pounds. Usually this is a fairly easy weight for me to squat clean, but when I attempted it here, it felt heavier than expected. Uh oh. I stood up with it and was able to complete the jerk, but unless I caught a second wind, I knew I wasn't hitting a clean and jerk of 230 pounds by the end of the night. I proceeded to do clean and jerks at 165 and 185, but they also felt very heavy. I wasn't surprised when I missed the next clean at 205.
I thought about stopping then, but falling 45 pounds short of my goal was going to leave a bad taste in my mouth. On my next attempt, I was able to squat clean 205, but then I did a pathetic jerk where my arms didn't come close to extending fully. One more try. I was able to get the clean again. Then I used my anger to complete the jerk. How do I know it was the anger? Because my form was atrocious. Instead of doing a split jerk like you should when the weight feels heavy, I did some weird jerk where my right foot ended up about an inch in front of my left one. I looked like a ballerina about to perform a pirouette. The good news was that I didn't have to move my feet very much to bring them together and complete the lift. Michal laughed at how disgusted I looked as I dropped the barbell to the floor. It was a "successful" lift, but it was probably the worst one I've done in a long time.
I took one shot at 220 pounds, but my squat clean was a mess. I knew I was done. I probably should have stopped at 185. I still felt like I needed to accomplish something more before I headed home, so I got out my jump rope. I wanted one big set before I left the gym. My first set of 27 reps didn't qualify. My second set of 65 in a row did. It was the positive note I needed to cap off my night.
Tuesday preview: Last Friday's WOD reminded me of Fight Gone Bad. Tuesday's WOD is a complete rip-off of FGB.
Wednesday, July 12, 2017
Speed Crawls
Workout date: 6/2/17
I was very sore when I woke up Thursday morning. How sore? I knew that the Thursday WOD prominently featured overhead squats and I still had no desire to drop into KOP later that evening. My body was screaming to me that it needed a rest day and I'd be doing nothing but risking injury if I had come in and done that workout. I'm an incredibly stubborn person, but I think I do a pretty solid job of listening to my body. I like to remind myself how miserable I would be if I didn't listen to my body, got injured, and had to stop working out for a prolonged period of time. Not only would I go stir crazy, I'd probably pack on the pounds as well. When I had my heart problem in college and couldn't exercise, I put on a lot of weight. Most of that still hasn't come off. Better to sit out a day and remain injury-free than morph into this:
I was very sore when I woke up Thursday morning. How sore? I knew that the Thursday WOD prominently featured overhead squats and I still had no desire to drop into KOP later that evening. My body was screaming to me that it needed a rest day and I'd be doing nothing but risking injury if I had come in and done that workout. I'm an incredibly stubborn person, but I think I do a pretty solid job of listening to my body. I like to remind myself how miserable I would be if I didn't listen to my body, got injured, and had to stop working out for a prolonged period of time. Not only would I go stir crazy, I'd probably pack on the pounds as well. When I had my heart problem in college and couldn't exercise, I put on a lot of weight. Most of that still hasn't come off. Better to sit out a day and remain injury-free than morph into this:
The upside to taking a day off on Thursday was that I'd be attending Friday class with Coach Keithie for the second week in a row. The workout we'd be taking on looked serious. It was 5 rounds long, had a variety of movements, and included the always-ominous mandatory rest period between rounds. Yikes. Here is Friday's WOD:
Friday's WOD:
5 rounds of a 4 minute AMRAP:
12 strict handstand push-ups
12 wall balls (20#/14# to 10'/9')
15/12 calories on the rower
12 burpees to a 10# plate
*Rest 3 minutes between rounds
Fight Gone Bad is a pretty brutal WOD and you only get a minute rest between rounds. I've participated in some horrible workouts where you get two minutes rest between rounds. 3 minutes rest? This was probably going to be worse than I could imagine.
There was a silver lining to the workout though. When I used to practice handstand push-ups, I always did them strict because my kip is somehow worse when I am upside-down. (The right-side up version, which I use for pull-ups, is undeniably ugly.) With the assistance of 2 ab-mats, I could steadily work through a large set of strict handstand push-ups. The only problem with going strict was that I became dependent on those 2 ab-mats. I wasn't strong enough to use only 1 ab-mat. Trying a strict handstand push-up without any ab-mats was totally out of the question. If I wanted to do real handstand push-ups, I needed to practice kipping. Whenever a WOD has come up with handstand push-ups in it, I've tried to kip all my reps. As a result, it's been months since I've done strict handstand push-ups. I'm not sure how much everyone else was looking forward to doing the strict version, but I was happy to go back to ol' reliable.
Keithie had 8 of us in his 6:30 class. With the workout lasting 32 minutes on its own, there wasn't a lot of extra time available for fun and games, so we got into the different movements that we'd be repeating over and over again in the WOD. First up were the strict handstand push-ups. Could we do a kipping handstand push-up as a scale? Nay, said Keithie. The workout was written this way for a reason. We could use up to 3 ab-mats to assist us with our strict handstand push-ups, but kipping was out of the question. If strict handstand push-ups were not in our wheelhouse even with 3 ab-mats, then the next scaling option would be a seated DB press. Everything else in the workout was fairly self-explanatory. We were used to doing wall balls. Everyone knew how to row. We don't do burpees on to a plate all that often, but the 10 pound plate is so thin that jumping up on to it was not all that different from the tiny jump we normally do to complete a burpee.
This WOD required a full lane for each athlete, so we were cutting it close with 8 athletes in class. There was enough room for all of us to work without getting claustrophobic. I was towards the front of the gym with Ryan A to my left (if I was facing the wall) and Lindsey and Steph C to my right. Down towards the far end of the gym were Michal (a rare Crossfit appearance from her!), Cline, Conn, and Tia. I didn't have a good sense on my own of what a good score would be, so I looked at the earlier scores on the whiteboard. Scores tended to vary based on how much you scaled the strict handstand push-ups. Those that went RX (no ab-mats) had slightly lower scores because that movement is so draining. The scores got higher as people added ab-mats. There were very few scores over 300, so anything approaching that would be very good. For the guys, there were 51 reps per full round (48 for the ladies because they only had to do 12 calories on the rower). To be on pace for a score of 300, you had to complete a full round and an additional chunk of the strict handstand push-ups during each AMRAP. Sounded reasonable.
Remember the 3 minute rest period, dummy. Oh yes, I almost forgot. Things were probably going to fall apart quickly. I asked Keithie if this would be like Fight Gone Bad where I might put up a big score in round 1 and then see that score plummet thereafter. He gave a very noncommittal answer to my question, something along the lines of "ehhh, that might happen". I took that as a yes, so I began to mentally prepare for a lower score in rounds two through five. As far as each station was concerned, this is how I looked at the four obstacles in front of me:
- Strict handstand push-ups: should do better than average here
- Wall balls: average early on, below average as I got tired
- Rowing: better than average early on, average as I got tired
- Burpees: below average from start to finish
I honestly believed that I would be the first one moving on to the wall balls during each of these AMRAPs, but I quickly learned that I wasn't the only one proficient with strict handstand push-ups. Keithie got us started on our first AMRAP and I belted out 12 consecutive strict handstand push-ups over my 2 ab-mats. I came back down on to my feet and grabbed my wall ball. So did Ryan and so did Lindsey. They had no problems blazing through 12 strict handstand push-ups either. Uh oh. If I wasn't ahead after the station I was best at, there wasn't much chance I'd be keeping up with these folks as the round drew on. At the wall balls, I strung all 12 of my reps, but that was necessary to stay even with my neighbors. We all walked over to our rowers together. This was where Ryan pulled ahead. I'm not sure anyone accumulates calories on the rower as fast as he does. The guys had to row 3 extra calories, but Ryan was easily ahead of Lindsey in getting to the burpee station. I managed to have a fairly strong row. For the third straight station, I was neck and neck with Lindsey.
That's when the unexpected happened. I knew Ryan hated burpees and that I could probably close the gap on him at this station, but I never thought I'd be able to keep up with Lindsey. I wasn't hitting my chest to the floor, popping up on my feet, and jumping to the plate with a boatload of energy. I was already crawling through my burpees. It wasn't a slow crawl, but I figured others in class would put some distance between themselves and me because of it. I didn't anticipate that everyone else would need to crawl as well. Who was the fastest crawler of them all? Yours truly. I completed my 12th burpee before Ryan and Lindsey. There was over a minute remaining in this 1st AMRAP and I was headed back to the wall.
I was breathing heavily as I got ready to go upside-down again, but I was having visions of a big score for AMRAP #1. With over a minute left, I might be able to string 12 more handstand push-ups and 12 more wall balls. A score of 75 would put me in the running for a total of 300 even if the anticipated drop-off happened in the later AMRAPs. I kicked up on to the wall and began doing my handstand push-ups. It didn't go like it did about 3 minutes ago. It took everything I had to make it through 5 reps. When I came off the wall, I needed some time to shake out my arms. I kicked up again and was unable to do another rep. It was frightening to think that my arms were fried already because there were still 4 AMRAPs remaining. I spent a good 20 seconds or so shaking out my arms before kicking up again. I snuck in 3 more reps before time was called. 1st AMRAP score: 59.
For a score of 300, I needed to average 60 reps per AMRAP and I couldn't get that done in the very first AMRAP. The second time through the handstand push-ups was a wake up call in terms of how tough this workout was. I wasn't sure I'd get any more post-burpee handstand push-ups going forward. I was definitely concerned as to whether I could get through 12 in a row at the beginning of the remaining AMRAPs. As I "enjoyed" my 3 minute rest period, I revised my goal for the workout. I wasn't focused on my total score any more. All I wanted to do was prevent my score from declining wildly over the next 4 AMRAPs.
I learned at the end of the 1st AMRAP that my arms might no longer work when I returned for a second shot at the handstand push-ups. At the beginning of the 2nd AMRAP, I learned that the three minute rest period that had freaked me out was included in this workout to provide your arms with enough recovery time so that you could perform handstand push-ups when the next AMRAP began. Once again, I was able to string 12 strict handstand push-ups. It appeared that Ryan and Lindsey were able to do the same. The three of us did 12 straight wall balls and headed to our rowers. We exited the rowers the same way we did during the 1st AMRAP, but my speedy crawling skills came through for me again. I was the first one back to the wall. Unfortunately, I was only able to do 1 handstand push-up. Based on what I learned from the mandatory rest break, I decided not to hurry back on to the wall. I was only going to get more reps if I let my arms have some recovery time. I had over a minute left when I got done with the burpees. I waited until 20 seconds remained before getting upside-down again. The strategy worked as I was able to get 8 quick handstand push-ups before time was called. 2nd AMRAP score: 60.
I was able to put up scores of 59 and 60 in the first two AMRAPs because I finished off the burpees with more than a minute remaining. I wouldn't be able to pull off that trick in the last three AMRAPs. I was able to string all 12 of my handstand push-ups at the beginning of the AMRAP (although my hands began sliding outward during the 4th AMRAP and I was really lucky to hold on long enough to get through 12 reps before I fell off the wall). I strung all of my wall balls. I started to slow up on the row as Lindsey kept joining Ryan on the burpees before I could complete 15 calories. Yet somehow, I was able to pass them both on the burpees every round. Having caught them during the first two AMRAPs, I was going to be upset with myself if I didn't catch them during the last three AMRAPs as well, so I kept crawling as fast as I could. I tacked on 4 handstand push-ups at the end of the 3rd AMRAP. I did slightly better on the 4th and 5th AMRAPs, finishing them both with 5 handstand push-ups. 3rd AMRAP score: 55. 4th and 5th AMRAP scores: 56. Total score: 286.
If you asked me what I thought my final score would likely be as I took my three minute rest between the 1st and 2nd AMRAP, I would have guessed somewhere in the range of 260-265. I was really pleased to end up with a score of 286. Burpees have always been one of my least favorite Crossfit movements, but they bailed me out on this day. It just goes to show that if you keep moving, you can crawl your way to a decent score.
Monday preview: The final event from this year's Regional competition comes to KOP. Except we don't have all of that fancy equipment from Rogue Fitness. We still make it work though.
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