I've been on a roll recently. (Don't worry, the ego check is coming soon enough.) The back squat PR. The clean and jerk PR. Completing Badger RX. A lot of things have started clicking at once and it has been very exciting for me. What else can I do? I want to do all the workouts RX! After doing 90 pull-ups on Friday, my mind started racing through all the workouts that I've had to scale previously because of my inability to do pull-ups. Let's do Angie! 100 pull-ups to kick off a workout sounds like a fantastic idea!
As you can see, hitting a hot streak in the gym can lead to some serious delusions of grandeur. That became apparent on Wednesday when we took on Isabel for the fourth and final time this year. Isabel is 30 snatches for time at 135/95. Isabel is to the snatch what Grace is to the clean and jerk. Like Grace, it is, as #keithie dubbed it last night, a one-song workout. (Note: I requested November Rain for the workout last night, but somehow it was not on anyone's playlist.) The idea is to choose a weight where you can finish the workout in five minutes or less.
I missed this workout back in April and July, but I was around when it came up in January. Being the tough guy that I am (ha!), I decided to go for it using RX weight. It went about as well as you can imagine. While everyone else was finishing in the time recommended, I slogged my way through 30 snatches in nine minutes flat. Towards the end, my failed attempts were outnumbering my successful attempts. That is a really simple way of determining that you have chosen an inappropriate weight for the workout. After I finished, I swore that I would use 125 pounds next time, as I had already done this workout once before with 115 pounds and finished in around 3:30.
So what did I do on Wednesday, the next time I took on Isabel? I loaded up my barbell with 135 pounds. Of course I did. After all, I'm Superman these days. Ain't a workout that I can't handle using RX standards! Why keep to my pledge of using 125 pounds? I mean, that's a measly 10 pounds less than RX. That's a weak scale. Go for the gusto!
There were several reasons to use 125 pounds that I ignored:
- I may have improved since January, but I would need to cut my time in half in order for the RX weight to be the appropriate choice for this workout. Had I improved that much? Not likely.
- My PR for the snatch is 175 pounds, but I did that once and it was when I was doing the Olympic lifting program. Could I do 175 pounds right now? Nope. If I tested it right now, my max snatch would likely be in the 160-165 pound neighborhood. Trying to do 30 snatches at 80% of your current 1RM weight is a bad idea.
- I had injured my left index finger on Tuesday. When I warmed up for Isabel, I noticed that it was very painful to hook grip the bar. This was not a workout where I could afford to have my grip fail on me. So an intelligent person would have gone lighter.
Despite all of these red flags, I proceeded to attempt Isabel with too much weight on the bar. If I'm being completely honest, I saw that Matt B had done it in the 5:30 class at RX weight and I'm always trying to keep up with him on these strength workouts. But that's a pretty lame excuse for not choosing the best weight for me.
As we got ready to go, I told myself that finishing in 5 minutes simply meant 6 snatches per minute. I could manage that. I could probably manage more than that early on in the workout, which would help me when everything inevitably went to shit. At least that was the game plan. Once we got going, I realized there was no possibility of stringing reps. I hadn't planned on stringing many anyways, but when I felt pain in my finger right off the bat, I decided against it completely. I was going to drop from the top of each rep and try to keep breaks to a minimum. When I finished my 6th rep, I took a quick look at the clock and saw I was under a minute. After 12 reps, I was under two minutes, but with only seconds to spare. Keeping this pace up was quickly becoming a dicey proposition.
As I closed in on the midway point of this workout, my grip became an issue. I was alternating between using a hook grip and not using one as I went along, but that non-hook grip was falling apart. Towards the end of the workout, #keithie offered me chalk. I passed on it, but I probably should have been more diligent about using it during the workout. I was so concerned with my finger that I ignored how sweaty my hands had become.
I didn't take a peek at the clock again until I was around rep 22. I was definitely slowing and as I became aware of it, it may have triggered a desire to see how much time had passed. The answer was around 4:15. So much for staying under 5 minutes. There was no way I was getting 8 more reps in 45 seconds. Making matter worse was that the pity circle was beginning to form. Don't get me wrong: I appreciate the support everyone gives me when I'm the last one working in a class. The problem is that when you notice everyone else is supporting you, it becomes crystal clear that you're the only one still going. And when you're not super close to being finished, it can be a bit deflating. Laura A had been facing me during this workout and I saw her stop and rest as I got to 15 reps. After a few more reps, I noticed she was still sitting next to her bar. And then it dawned on me that she was done. Crap. When I snuck this peek at the clock, I realized that everyone else in the class was done. I was tired, had 8 more reps to go, and the pity circle had formed. Double crap.
I made it to 24 reps before I felt the need to go into a squat snatch. The good news: I managed to squat snatch each of the next two reps, even though I was terrified that I was going to fail at that point. The bad news: I had no confidence I could pull off 6 in a row to get me to the finish. Somehow I did manage to execute one more power snatch before I failed. I knew it was coming. I was only three reps away from being finished and I thought there was a slight chance I could make it. But deep down, I knew I wasn't making it to 30 reps without blowing it. I refused to look at that clock, but I knew I was beyond 5 minutes. From there, I took my time and tried my best not to mess up again. Rep #28 was ugly. Rep #29 was ugly. Rep #30 was ugly. But I got them done. Final time: 6:13.
Was it a vast improvement on how I did in January? Absolutely. That doesn't mean I didn't let my ego get in the way of choosing the proper weight for the workout. Even though I "snatched" 30 reps, there were several reps late in the proceedings that were press outs and would not have counted in a legit Olympic lifting competition. So it was far from ideal. I also didn't keep the workout under five minutes like it was designed to be done. I let my newfound confidence get the best of me. As always, even in failure there is something valuable to be learned. Next time I do Isabel, there will be 125 pounds on the bar.
Afterwards, we did some bar muscle-up practice. This is another thing on my radar as far as near-term goals. However, after trying this on Wednesday night, I may have discovered this is further away than I thought. Despite improving on my kip, I am not getting high enough to make this happen. More importantly, I am not committing myself to throwing my body back then pulling myself over the bar in the manner that is necessary to complete this movement. In some ways, it is similar to doing handstand push-ups and being upside-down. Until you completely commit to flipping upside-down and being comfortable with it, you're never going to be successful executing that movement.
I decided on Thursday to take an off day. Maybe that would get my ego in check. Maybe it was just what I needed after a long week that concluded with a "break" that was far from relaxing. Maybe my minor injuries needed to heal. Whatever the case, I felt like a return to the gym was not worthwhile. It is one thing to gain confidence, but it should never cloud your judgment. So I'll get back after it on Friday.
Friday preview: 10RM back squat and a 2K row. Not sure if that's a workout that I would like to do, but we'll see how it plays out.
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