If I was going to sign up for Coach Jenna's class on Wednesday night, the WOD had to meet two criteria:
- It could not be a workout with any shoulder-focused movements.
- It could not be a long metcon.
Aimee might have shown some mercy on all of us when she programmed Wednesday's WOD. I'm not sure anyone who came in on Tuesday would have been able to do anything that required a lot of shoulder strength. Instead we got a workout that would focus on our legs. The first segment would have us find our 5RM back squat. We would follow that up with this short cash-out:
Cash-out
7 minute AMRAP
20 medball cleans (20/14)
20 ab-mat sit-ups
There weren't any burgers or fries in the gym, but the 7:30 class featured five guys. It was me, John McHugh, Actuary Mike, Neil, and a guy named Calvin who was dropping in. Calvin was the strong, silent type. When we went out for our opening 400 meter run, we tried some small talk with him, but he didn't say much. During the back squats and the cash-out, he didn't say much. The only time I got a reaction out of him came when I made an off-color joke at Neil's expense that I forgot Calvin had no context for. (Note: There's an ongoing joke about Neil watching the 14 and 15 year old girls competition from the recently completed Crossfit Games. It's a harmless joke. But be honest: When you read the phrase "Neil watching the 14 and 15 year old girls competition", your reaction was probably "gross!" Welcome to Calvin's world.)
My best 5RM on the back squat came in April, when I got five reps at 290 pounds. This is one of our benchmark workouts for January/April/July/October, so I had attempted this on multiple occasions earlier in the year. I'm not sure why it was programmed again in August. I guess this WOD didn't count as a benchmark workout for some reason. I had gotten greedy in July after completing a set at 285 pounds and ended up failing while going for glory at 300 pounds. Tonight I was going to try for 295 pounds, but I wasn't going to beat myself up too much if I fell short of that mark. I was getting some work in this evening, but not at the expense of wearing myself out (or...gasp...injuring myself) a few days away from the Brawl.
Neil's plan was a bit different. With the Brawl on the horizon, he was "going light" this evening. What did that mean? He had seen that Remer had gotten up to 275 pounds for his 5RM in an earlier class, so he was going to match that and then stop there. I had planned on using 275 for my second-to-last set, so if I didn't hit a PR this evening, my best set would match what Neil calls "going light". (To be fair to Neil, he did 5 reps at 315 back in July, so 275 wasn't much of a challenge for him. Guy simply doesn't know how strong he really is.)
I wasn't in the mood to do a lot of sets, so I skipped past my usual warmup set at 135 pounds and went right to 185 pounds. That is a weight that I can move fluidly with, so I wasn't concerned about getting stuck there having jumped past 135 pounds. I had to pause once or twice during the set at 225, but I didn't get stuck at all. I was simply being cautious and taking my time with a weight that I knew I could handle. The third set was at 255 and I slowed down even more. Didn't run into any trouble, just wanted to make sure I didn't rush it and do something foolish like get up on my toes.
It wasn't until I got to Neil's light weight that I experienced any adversity. The early reps of the set were strong, but I could tell late in the set that my form was getting a bit shaky. On rep #5, I got stuck for a split-second as I came out of the bottom of my squat, but I pushed through and completed the set.
Having been a math guy since I was a wee lad, I tend to subconsciously calculate things based on my experiences. If I struggled to get that 5th rep at 275, then I was probably going to struggle on the 3rd or 4th rep at 295. That was in my head before I even added the 20 pounds to my barbell. I wasn't necessarily preparing to fail, it was just tough to envision a scenario where I got through the next 5 reps without having to fight through my sticking point multiple times.
After taking a few minutes to clear my head, I stepped up for my attempt at 295. It felt heavy as expected, but the first rep was strong. The second rep? Not so much. I thought I'd get a little further along before encountering trouble, but here I was on rep #2 having to fight hard to get out of the sticking point. When I finally stood the barbell up, I took a few extra moments to change my point of view on the remaining three reps. I convinced myself that I could stand there with 295 pounds on my shoulders all day if I needed to. I was going to take my time and attack each of the remaining three reps as though I was doing a 1RM. If I stood the next rep back up, I was going to repeat the process. I wasn't going to worry about tiring out from holding the heavy barbell for a long time.
Somehow that near failure on the second rep sent a jolt through me. Maybe it was the more confident mindset I had as I was getting ready for rep #3. Or maybe I was mad that part of me had accepted failure in the midst of a set that could still be a success. Whatever it was, things turned around for me. The third rep was just as solid as my first rep was. Same deal for the 4th rep. I may have gotten stuck on the fifth rep at 275, but it didn't happen on the last rep at 295. I bounced right up out of the bottom and racked my barbell. I had hit a PR at 295 pounds.
I had time to go and do another set if I wanted to, but there was no reason for me to push the envelope. I would be satisfied completing the cash-out and then heading home to rest up for the Brawl. The five of us got a medball and an ab-mat and prepared for a 7 minute sprint. Mike was to my left and Calvin was on my right. The three of us would be neck and neck for most of the cash-out, with Calvin being the fastest on the medball cleans and Mike being the fastest on the sit-ups. Within our trio, I was second best at both movements, so each round Calvin would get a short lead on me and a bigger lead on Mike. Then when we got to the sit-ups, I'd close in a bit on Calvin while Mike made up a lot of time. The three of us would get up from our ab-mats nearly dead even at the end of each round.
The medball cleans can wear you out quicker than you might believe, so I fully intended to break them up right from the start. I went 10-10 in round one and 8-7-5 in rounds two and three. I didn't need to stop at all during the rounds of 20 ab-mat sit-ups, but I wasn't rocking back and forth as quickly as Mike was. There was less than a minute to go when we all began round 4. Mike had completed his third round with a slim lead on us, but Calvin was able to catch him before time was called. I got a little worn down towards the end, only managing sets of 7, 4, and 4 in the fourth round before the cash-out ended. Final score: 3+15. (Calvin's score: 3+19. Mike's score: 3+18.)
That was the conclusion to a short week at the gym. There would be no working out on Thursday or Friday with a competition looming on Saturday.
Saturday preview: The Brawl is here. All three scaled KOP teams wind up in the same heat, making it impossible to show off my cheerleading skills. Cline and I rock man tanks. How will Run The Giulz fare on the tire flip event without Alison, the tire flip queen? And can I really do 250 double unders in competition without screwing up?
Neil's plan was a bit different. With the Brawl on the horizon, he was "going light" this evening. What did that mean? He had seen that Remer had gotten up to 275 pounds for his 5RM in an earlier class, so he was going to match that and then stop there. I had planned on using 275 for my second-to-last set, so if I didn't hit a PR this evening, my best set would match what Neil calls "going light". (To be fair to Neil, he did 5 reps at 315 back in July, so 275 wasn't much of a challenge for him. Guy simply doesn't know how strong he really is.)
I wasn't in the mood to do a lot of sets, so I skipped past my usual warmup set at 135 pounds and went right to 185 pounds. That is a weight that I can move fluidly with, so I wasn't concerned about getting stuck there having jumped past 135 pounds. I had to pause once or twice during the set at 225, but I didn't get stuck at all. I was simply being cautious and taking my time with a weight that I knew I could handle. The third set was at 255 and I slowed down even more. Didn't run into any trouble, just wanted to make sure I didn't rush it and do something foolish like get up on my toes.
It wasn't until I got to Neil's light weight that I experienced any adversity. The early reps of the set were strong, but I could tell late in the set that my form was getting a bit shaky. On rep #5, I got stuck for a split-second as I came out of the bottom of my squat, but I pushed through and completed the set.
Having been a math guy since I was a wee lad, I tend to subconsciously calculate things based on my experiences. If I struggled to get that 5th rep at 275, then I was probably going to struggle on the 3rd or 4th rep at 295. That was in my head before I even added the 20 pounds to my barbell. I wasn't necessarily preparing to fail, it was just tough to envision a scenario where I got through the next 5 reps without having to fight through my sticking point multiple times.
After taking a few minutes to clear my head, I stepped up for my attempt at 295. It felt heavy as expected, but the first rep was strong. The second rep? Not so much. I thought I'd get a little further along before encountering trouble, but here I was on rep #2 having to fight hard to get out of the sticking point. When I finally stood the barbell up, I took a few extra moments to change my point of view on the remaining three reps. I convinced myself that I could stand there with 295 pounds on my shoulders all day if I needed to. I was going to take my time and attack each of the remaining three reps as though I was doing a 1RM. If I stood the next rep back up, I was going to repeat the process. I wasn't going to worry about tiring out from holding the heavy barbell for a long time.
Somehow that near failure on the second rep sent a jolt through me. Maybe it was the more confident mindset I had as I was getting ready for rep #3. Or maybe I was mad that part of me had accepted failure in the midst of a set that could still be a success. Whatever it was, things turned around for me. The third rep was just as solid as my first rep was. Same deal for the 4th rep. I may have gotten stuck on the fifth rep at 275, but it didn't happen on the last rep at 295. I bounced right up out of the bottom and racked my barbell. I had hit a PR at 295 pounds.
I had time to go and do another set if I wanted to, but there was no reason for me to push the envelope. I would be satisfied completing the cash-out and then heading home to rest up for the Brawl. The five of us got a medball and an ab-mat and prepared for a 7 minute sprint. Mike was to my left and Calvin was on my right. The three of us would be neck and neck for most of the cash-out, with Calvin being the fastest on the medball cleans and Mike being the fastest on the sit-ups. Within our trio, I was second best at both movements, so each round Calvin would get a short lead on me and a bigger lead on Mike. Then when we got to the sit-ups, I'd close in a bit on Calvin while Mike made up a lot of time. The three of us would get up from our ab-mats nearly dead even at the end of each round.
The medball cleans can wear you out quicker than you might believe, so I fully intended to break them up right from the start. I went 10-10 in round one and 8-7-5 in rounds two and three. I didn't need to stop at all during the rounds of 20 ab-mat sit-ups, but I wasn't rocking back and forth as quickly as Mike was. There was less than a minute to go when we all began round 4. Mike had completed his third round with a slim lead on us, but Calvin was able to catch him before time was called. I got a little worn down towards the end, only managing sets of 7, 4, and 4 in the fourth round before the cash-out ended. Final score: 3+15. (Calvin's score: 3+19. Mike's score: 3+18.)
That was the conclusion to a short week at the gym. There would be no working out on Thursday or Friday with a competition looming on Saturday.
Saturday preview: The Brawl is here. All three scaled KOP teams wind up in the same heat, making it impossible to show off my cheerleading skills. Cline and I rock man tanks. How will Run The Giulz fare on the tire flip event without Alison, the tire flip queen? And can I really do 250 double unders in competition without screwing up?
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