There are weeks at the gym when you get pummeled with one leg workout after another. Or one arm workout after another. I'm sure weeks like that serve their purpose, but I'm always appreciative when we switch gears over the course of the week. Having done a 47 minute metcon on Monday, I was really hoping that Tuesday's WOD would be some sort of strength workout where the only cardio I'd be doing would consist of walking back and forth from the pile of plates in the corner to whichever rack I was using. I got my wish. Tuesday's WOD was strength-focused, although we'd get a little cardio in during the cash-out.
Tuesday's WOD:
3RM Back Squat
Cash-out:
25 calories on the assault bike
50 GHD sit-ups
The Dudes After Dark crew was nearly all dude this week. The best athlete in our gym, Andrew, was there along with his girlfriend, Keara. She saved LC from having to deal with a complete bro sesh. The other guys in class were Bryan, Mr. Intensity, Neil, and Erik. Andrew and Keara arrived on the tardy side, so there were only five of us taking part in the warmup. It was meant to be done in pairs, so this wound up being the rare occasion when we employed a siamese twin during the warmup. One member of each pair would do a random exercise that LC would call out. The other person would, in the words of LC, take a "leisurely ride on the assault bike". I'm not sure how often I've heard "leisure" and "assault" get used in the same sentence, but it was definitely an interesting juxtaposition of words.
Once the warmup was complete, we were allowed to set up our racks for the back squat. With only seven people in class, there was plenty of room for everyone to have their own rack. My 3RM back squat coming into this evening was an even 300 pounds. In most classes, I would think that mark would be amongst the highest scores. (There aren't many advantages to being a heavy Crossfitter, but being able to squat heavy is one of them.) However, this class was filled with guys who could squat heavy. Andrew was almost certainly going to squat more than me, while Neil and Erik were also capable of going beyond the 300 pound mark. There might have only been 7 of us in class, but there wouldn't be very many 45 pound plates left in the corner by the time we all got to our last set.
My goal in any strength workout is to hit a PR, so I had my sights set on 305 for my final set. To get there, my intended progression would be 135-185-225-255-285-305. I wasn't feeling supremely confident about getting 305 because that 3RM of 300 took place when I was completing a squat program. It's been more than a year since I took on a squat program, so I wasn't entirely sure how heavy I might be able to go for 3 reps. I'd be disappointed if I didn't get the set at 285, but it wouldn't shock me if 305 ended up being too much on this night.
The early sets were not a problem at all. If I struggled at 225, then I had no prayer if getting 305 later on. The first three sets were more about making sure I had good form. I couldn't be sloppy on the lighter sets and then expect to do everything correctly once the weight got heavy. I needed to get my setup, my breathing, and my timing down from the very start. I slowed my pace down when I got to the set at 255. The 245-255 range tends to be the weight where I need to start pausing between reps. Everything was still feeling good when I got to the set at 285. This set would let me know how realistic 305 would be. The answer? It was very realistic. I didn't get stuck during any of my three reps at 285 and I heard a couple people yell "easy" as I placed my barbell back on the rack. I tried not to get ahead of myself after that set, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't already thinking about going beyond 305.
During most strength WODs, I have a bad habit of not allocating my time properly. I'll have two sets left in my progression and hear the coach say that we should be working on our final set. Then I have to rush to get the two sets in. If I was going to go beyond 305 for my 3RM, it would require doing an additional set that I hadn't planned for. I'm not sure if I was less chatty on this night than I usually am during strength WODs, but I actually had plenty of time to squeeze in a 7th set. I think that took some of the tension off of my PR attempt at 305.
When I took the barbell from the rack to attempt 305, I was running through my mental checklist like I always am in terms of my setup, but I was also telling myself that the weight wasn't that heavy. I had felt comfortable with 285 and this was only 20 pounds more. It didn't matter that this was a PR attempt. I had to make myself believe that this was a comfortable weight that I could back squat 3 times. On the first and second reps, my body believed. On the third rep, my body remembered that 305 pounds was really heavy. As I tried to come up out of the third squat, I hit my sticking point for the first time. I didn't come to a complete stop, but doubt crept into my mind when I didn't immediately rise up from the bottom. I fought through it though and managed to stand up that third rep. 305 was my new 3RM!
I think my classmates were referring to my first two reps when they called that set easy as well. That third rep was definitely not easy. They wanted me to try one more set, so I added 10 pounds to my barbell. I had a suspicion that if I got stuck on rep #3 at 305 that I'd hit that sticking point earlier in my set at 315. And with more weight on the barbell, there was a good chance that I might not be able to escape this time. But hey, I'd already hit a PR at 305, so why worry about what was going to happen on my last attempt at 315?
Most of the class was putting their plates away and getting ready for the cash-out when I went up for my attempt at 315. Once I took the barbell off the rack and stepped back from it, the class became my cheering section. Rep #1 went smoother than I expected. Rep #2 was not smooth at all. I hit the sticking point and had to fight much harder to get out of it than I had when I was finishing off my third rep at 305. Even though it felt like my momentum had been stopped, my legs kept pushing me upward ever so slightly until I got out of the sticking point. After standing up with that second rep, I needed a longer pause than usual to regroup. I'm not sure there's anything I hate at the gym more than falling one rep short. If I got the first two reps, then I believed I should be able to get the third one as well. I took a deep breath and went for it. I bounced out of the bottom and avoided the dreaded sticking point. Somehow the third rep was easier than the second one. My new PR from 5 minutes ago was now my old PR. 315 pounds was my 3RM.
I got some interesting feedback from Ms. January after that set. She was hanging out watching us back squat and she congratulated me on getting that last set. I told her I wasn't too thrilled about the second rep of that set, but she informed me that my form was actually better during that rep than it was during the final rep that I did. How could that be? I got stuck on rep #2 and had no such problems on rep #3. Ms. January told me that my speed to the bottom was much more controlled during that second rep, while I simply crashed to the bottom for the third rep. I was a bit lucky to bounce out of the bottom after my uncontrolled descent. The lesson: you shouldn't assume that your form was better on certain reps just because they felt better.
I was very pleased with my 15 pound PR, but that lift at 315 pounds would only get me the bronze medal in this class. Neil was able to get 3 reps at 325 pounds (and probably could have done more). That left him 30 pounds shy of Andrew, who had his barbell loaded with smaller plates until he ran out of room. He was able to handle 355 pounds before moving on to the cash-out.
We don't have 7 assault bikes or 7 GHD machines, so we ended up running the cash-out with a staggered start. Bryan and I would start 2 minutes and 30 seconds after the first wave began. This workout took place shortly after the Pacific Regionals had taken place and I told Andrew how there was one athlete there who did 30 calories on the assault bike in 19 seconds. I was expecting something similar from him. He claimed that he couldn't come close to that, but I let him know that I was setting the line on him completing 25 calories at 30 seconds. LC got the first wave started and right when the clock hit 30 seconds, Andrew hopped off his bike. This is why I gamble.
I was a little concerned that I might have to wait on a GHD machine when I completed my turn on the assault bike because I thought it would take me 60-90 seconds to finish my 25 calories, meaning that someone in the first wave needed to be done in less than 4 minutes or there would be no vacancies when I went to do my sit-ups. I got a bit lucky when Erik decided to only do 30 GHD sit-ups, freeing up a GHD machine for me. I went for a full out sprint on the bike, hoping that I could make it to 25 calories before wearing out. I was at 21 calories when my body told me that I couldn't sprint any longer, but those last 4 calories didn't take too much longer to finish. I was off my bike in a little over a minute.
While I was glad that I didn't have to wait for a GHD machine, I was a bit unlucky when it came to the settings of the GHD machine that I ended up on. Erik is quite a bit taller than me, so I had a hard time performing sit-ups on a machine that was set up for someone his size. I had so much trouble on that machine that I decided to get off of it and move over to a different one once I saw that most of the first wave was done. I was able to complete larger sets on the second machine I was on and that allowed me to finish the cash-out with a respectable time. Final time for the cash-out: 4:47.
All in all, it was a productive night for me. That was a little surprising given that I had my butt kicked pretty thoroughly less than 36 hours earlier, but that workout was filled with body weight movements while this one was more designed for bigger guys like myself. I wasn't expecting my luck to continue though. I headed home believing that Wednesday's workout would end up being more along the lines of what I encountered on Monday.
Wednesday preview: More pull-ups! Thankfully there aren't 100 in this workout. Only have to do a measly 36. It's a re-test of Helen, followed by a very Dave-friendly cash-out.
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