Quad Assault

Workout date: 10/13/15

Monday's workout was one where it felt like 28 minutes flew by without much rest.  Apparently the Crossfit gods wanted to rectify that situation with Tuesday's workout.  It was a 20 minute workout that included a whopping 8 minutes of rest.  Yet it felt so much longer than the 28 minute partner WOD we did the day before.  Perhaps I made it worse by having a heavy squat session beforehand.  After all, this brutal WOD was very leg-intensive.  Or it could just be that my cardio sucks.  Spoiler: I'm leaning in that direction.

Let's start things off with the back squat session.  The second heavy session of the program calls for 6 sets of 4 reps at 80% of your 1RM.  Eventually I will get to 6 sets of 6 reps at this weight.  I guess the progression from 6x2 to 6x6 is meant to get your body acclimated to the weight you are using, but I can't help but think that my body is acclimating much more slowly to 265 pounds than it did to 235 pounds.  It is possible that other factors are at play.  I am not nearly as motivated to get 350 pounds on my back squat as I was to get 300 pounds.  Maybe I'm not focusing as much during these sessions as I had during the last program I did.  Maybe my body is sick of squatting for a while.  I'm not sure what it is.  The only thing I know for certain is that my footwork has become shaky again and I am not pleased about it.

Usual warmup routine: 5 reps at 135, 4 reps at 185, 3 reps at 225.  First set of 4 reps at 265: not wonderful.  Got up on my toes for reps 2 and 3, was very slow coming out of the bottom for the fourth rep.  Second set of 4 reps: almost had to dump the barbell during my second rep as I did that weird stumble forward thing, a habit that is becoming much too common.  Recovered and got through the second set, but I began to have serious doubts that I could finish all 6 sets.  On sets three through five, I had at least one rep where I came way up on my toes and each set concluded with a slow struggle from the bottom to complete rep #4.  I was actively trying to stay in my heels, but I kept rocking forward.  It wasn't until the sixth and final set that I made it through 4 reps with good form.  Not sure what changed, but it was nice doing at least one set properly.

Having survived that, it was time to head over to the main gym to take the 6:30 class.  Here is what the Tuesday WOD looked like:

3 Rounds:
4 Minute AMRAP
9 Calories on Airdyne or Assault Bike
15 Box Jumps (24"/20")
21 KB Swings (70/53)
*4 Minutes Rest Between Rounds

4 minutes between rounds?  What kind of madness was that?  This was going to be a truly horrendous workout.  That was confirmed when I watched the tail end of the 5:30 class, which ended with complete carnage: Bodies on the floor everywhere with athletes' chests heaving like they had been holding their breath underwater for a couple of minutes.  Silver Fox once again gave me the warning that this workout was so much worse than it looks.  Alrighty then!

Having botched a recent workout by thinking I could handle swinging a 70 lb KB for a bunch of reps, I decided to go with the wiser decision of using that weight but only for Russian swings.  Making that choice is a big blow to the ego for me.  After all, I am doing everything else RX (including choice of KB weight) except for the length of the swing.  Why go scale when I can get that nice RX next to my name by swinging that KB just a little higher?  The answer: because I lack the proper control when swinging that much weight over my head.  I'm trying to be a little more mindful of form and little less mindful of score/time/RX status when completing workouts these days.  Could I have done this workout RX?  Absolutely.  But I figured it would be better to try and get more reps in while maintaining decent form.

Since we only have 2 Airdynes and 2 Assault Bikes, we partnered up for class.  One person would work while the other person was on their break.  My partner was Mike C, a newer member who I had worked out with one time before.  Each of our groups was told to grab a bike to use.  I hadn't used the Assault Bikes yet, so I didn't know if there was much of a difference between them and the Airdynes.  When Mike chose an Airdyne, it ended up being a moot point.  I told Mike he could go first if he wanted to, so he led things off.

Mike and everyone else in the first wave completed a round through the bike, box jumps, and KB swings in just over 2 minutes, so it looked like knocking out 2 full rounds in 4 minutes was borderline impossible.  So after Mike finished his second trip on the bike, I got on it and cheered Mike through the end of his 4 minutes.  Then it was my turn to go.  I may have been a little too gung ho on the bike as I blitzed through 9 calories super fast.  I paused before starting the box jumps as Marisa had warned me earlier in the day that I would need to shake out my legs and take a second before going into the box jumps post-bike ride.  When I started on the box jumps, I tried my best to pogo the reps.  That went okay, but I still don't have the stamina to do 15 in a row.  If I needed to stop, I did so at the top of the box.  Done with those, I moved on to the KB.  I focused and was able to hold on for all 21 reps, even though it felt terrible.  I was under 2 minutes for round one.  Maybe I could finish 2 rounds!

Once I started pedaling on the bike again, I knew that finishing 2 rounds was a pipe dream.  I was much slower on the bike the second time around.  I got through 9 calories and returned to the box jumps.  The pogo was much more difficult.  At one point, I tripped over the box, which never makes you look like an uncoordinated doofus.  When I finished the box jumps, I ran over to the KB, knowing time was running out.  I managed to get 12 reps in before time was called, giving me a first round score of 81.  I was feeling a wee bit tired.

Four minutes later and it was time to get pedaling again.  The calorie counter on the bike doesn't go up 1 at a time like it does on the rower.  The downside to that is you could end up overshooting 9 calories quite easily.  I reached 8 calories on the bike and was still pedaling like a madman when I noticed it wouldn't click over to 12.  I slowed down, hoping the monitor would just tick over to 9 calories.  When the counter finally did update, I was at 12 calories.  That felt like a waste.  Box jumps were similar to how they were during my first four minutes.  The difference was at the KB.  I could not hold on for 21 straight reps like I had done during the initial four minutes.  I broke it up into 12 and 9 reps.  I was beyond 2 minutes.  I was miserable when I returned to the bike.  Michal was part of the first wave and therefore was on break.  She used her break to come scream in my face while I was struggling on the bike.  I put my head down and focused on pushing the handles with my arms as fast as I could.  With 10 calories completed (it would never land on 9 the rest of the workout), I got to my box.  I did a little bit of pogo, but it was slow going at this point.  More than anything, I wanted to get back to the KB, but it wasn't looking good.  Still had a couple box jumps to go when I heard 10 seconds left.  That was enough motivation to finish the box jumps, but there was no time left to get to the KB.  Second round score: 69.

Two rounds was plenty.  No need to do three rounds.  I mean, Mike had started his third round, but I was already feeling the burn.  Mercy please.  Nope, I was going to have to go through this obstacle course of pain one last time.  I sat on the bike after Mike's second ride of round three and prepared myself for the final four minutes.  Just get to the KB Dave!

Round three was very similar to round two, although with the finish line in sight, I was able to dig for a little more.  First bike ride was okay.  First set of box jumps was not bad, but had some delays.  First KB swings were shaky, but I got through them in a couple of sets.  When I reached the bike again, I resumed the position I had taken when Michal yelled at me last round (I received no such verbal abuse this round).  Pump those arms and get 9 calories!  I had less time remaining in this round than I had in round two when I finished my second bike ride.  However, I was able to string the first 9 reps on the box jump this time.  Then I did two sets of three.  With less than 5 seconds to go, I raced over to my KB.  I got 2 swings in before time was called.  Third round score: 71.  Final total: 221.

Wasn't the greatest score, but it was respectable.  My initial performance on the bike made me want to do the new one minute calorie challenge on the Assault Bike.  Doubt I can last the whole minute at the pace I was going, but we'll see how long I can keep it together.  For the box jumps, I need more stamina, but my pogo wasn't too bad.  I need a lot of practice on my KB swings as they have become a weak point for me.  But that's the thing with Crossfit: there's always something that you need more work on.

Speaking of more work, Steph had us do a two minute cash-out involving light dumbbells that you would alternate shoulder pressing for 15 seconds before holding them over your head the next 15 seconds.  It was not fun.  I had to put down my 20 lb dumbbells between the 1:15-1:30 mark.  Just couldn't handle it for two full minutes.

Later, I decided to do some pull-up practice after rolling out because my new grips had finally arrived.  I worked on stringing as many reps as I could rather than "motorcycling" because I had just done that the day before and I wanted to ensure that I got some volume in.  How did I do?  Got 7 consecutive in my first set, 7 consecutive in my second set, and 6 consecutive in my last set (hit my chin on the bar on the 6th rep).  No dead hangs during those sets.  My swing has become a little more reliable and I felt comfortable pushing away at the top.  As I fatigue, I think my swing stops being in sync the way it needs to be, so I need some work there.  But I am feeling slightly more confident with my pull-ups these days.

Wednesday preview: Wall balls galore.  How far can I go in the workout before needing to drop my ball?