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:

• 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.