Actual Results May Differ

Workout date: 3/29/16

Borden was in class with me on Monday night and he made a comment about all of the 20 minute workouts we'd been having recently.  He wasn't wrong.  There was the running/box jump/rope climb workout that actually went for 25 minutes.  There was 16.5, which took most people about 20 minutes or more.  And then there was Monday night's farmers carry-led triplet that lasted for 20 minutes.  Must have just been a weird coincidence.  Tuesday would likely bring us a short WOD or perhaps a strength session...

...or it would be another 20 minute workout.  Borden must have had a sixth sense that it was coming because he didn't come in for it.  This was a benchmark workout that we'd be testing for the first time this year and it did not play to my strengths.

Nicole
20 minute time cap
400 meter run
As many pull-ups as you can hang on to the bar for.  Once you let go, you have to go for another 400 meter run.
Score is number of pull-ups completed in 20 minutes.

My recent running exploits have left a lot to be desired.  Usually that has been because another part of the workout has taken the starch out of my legs and then I end up gimping along on my runs.  It really hasn't been as much of a cardio problem as it has been in the past for me.  Since this workout didn't seem to have an element to it that would crush my legs, I wasn't overly concerned about the runs.  The pull-ups though...that was a different issue.  Lack of practice has led to a decline in performance from last year.  I had pull-up goals last year: complete workouts like Badger and Wolverine that were chock full of them.  There really hasn't been anything to go after this year with regards to pull-ups.  I wanted to get better at chest-to-bar pull-ups, but I do those as singles, so that doesn't develop my ability to string pull-ups.  And my main pull-up related goal for the year is to get a bar muscle-up.  Stringing plain old pull-ups has faded from interest.  That could come back to haunt me in this workout as singles were not an option.  Also a problem: my lousy grip strength.  But I go to the gym to get better at things I suck at and this was a prime opportunity to do just that.

There were 5 of us at Dudes After Dark, with 2 ladies (Julie Foucher and Abby) joining 3 gentlemen (myself, Cline, and Chris Differ).  Chris noted that with daylight extending longer and longer, we might need to change the name of the Tuesday 7:30 class to Dudes After Dusk.  (Note: as long as we're recognizing that this is a dudes class, despite almost 50% female attendance each week, we're okay.)  I knew right off the bat that I would have a tough time keeping up with Cline and Chris, but probably for different reasons.  Cline can run for days, certainly an asset in a workout like this, while Chris is very good on the pull-up bar.  My goal: do my best to hang on to the pull-up bar for as long as possible each time I got to it and to just keep my own even pace whenever I had to go for the runs.  There was no point in trying to run faster than my body wanted me to because then I'd get very few pull-ups and have to go run again anyways.

Coach Rachel started us with a warmup that included alternating sets of slam balls and running 200 meters with a medicine ball in our hands.  More running without use of my arms?  I had enough of that yesterday.  Not surprisingly, I was a bit winded when we finished up the warmup.  Was it possible that I could do even worse on this workout than I originally thought?  (Note: I originally thought I would be terrible at this WOD, so I had set the bar pretty low for myself.)  As we went through some pull-up progressions, I did manage to calm my breathing back down to normal levels, so once the workout began I felt better about my chances.

The score I had in mind for the workout was 40.  I expected to run 6 or 7 times, meaning I would need about 6-7 pull-ups each time I got to my bar.  If I could manage a really large set my first time at the bar, then I'd have a very good shot at 40.  The most pull-ups I've ever done without dropping from the bar was 10, but I've managed to put together some longer sets of toes-to-bar before dropping from the bar.  It's not exactly the same thing, but it was an indication that my grip strength isn't always as bad as I believe it to be.  I could drop into a dead hang and keep adding to my score as long as I didn't come off of the bar.

We got started and I was a little surprised to see Cline take off on us.  I thought that would happen in later rounds, but not round one.  It was a pace he was comfortable with though and one he would maintain throughout the workout.  The other four of us would remain in relatively close proximity to one another on the runs.  Because Cline jumped out to a lead on us, he was often at his pull-up bar at completely different times than the rest of us.  And since the score in this workout was how many pull-ups you did (not how many times you got to the pull-up bar), I had no clue as to how he was doing during the WOD.  What I could tell with absolute clarity was that Mr. Differ was killing this workout.  He would get to his bar at about the same time as me (a little before me in later rounds).  When he jumped up to do a set, he would quickly rifle through a bunch of reps, then hang on for a few more before going back out on the run at about the same time as me.

How was I doing?  Not too bad actually.  I got 9 reps in my first set, then I got 7 reps in each of my next 3 sets, giving me a total of 30 reps.  At that point, it looked like I would only get two more sets in, so I needed 5 per set.  When I came in from my 5th run, I got on the bar and did two reps before needing to do the dead hang.  Then I got a 3rd rep.  A 4th rep.  But when I went to do my 5th rep, an ugly trait from my past returned.  As I tried to adjust my grip during the dead hang, I must have started going wider and wider.  When I went to do the 5th rep, I had that old problem where my right hand uncontrollably slides over to my left hand.  I did manage to squeeze out a close-grip strict pull-up from that position, but I would have to drop at that point.  Up to 35.  Uh oh.  I needed five more in the final round to get to my goal.

When I returned from the last run, I jumped up to the bar and took my time.  Got rep 36.  Got rep 37. Got rep 38.  Rep 39 took a lot of effort, but I got that one too.  I had my dead hang going, started my kip, pulled and failed.  Just couldn't get high enough.  No need to panic.  Still 30 seconds left to get that 40th rep.  When I was ready to go, I did 2 swings as part of my kip, then pulled.  Couldn't get high enough again.  Ok, now it was time to panic.  About 15 seconds remaining and I knew I only had one chance left.  I got ready to go, did the double swing again, and...not even close.  That sucked.  I dropped to the floor and watched the final seconds tick off the clock.  Final score: 39.

That stung a little bit more when Cline revealed that his score was 40.  He had done 7 runs and had averaged less pull-ups per round, but his ability to finish rounds quickly gave him one more set to reach the number I had in mind.  As for Chris, he put up a huge score of 72 reps.  Abby got 48 using the band and Julie Foucher got 30 with a band.  Since this is a benchmark workout, I'll have another opportunity to reach that mark of 40 again in three months.  Wouldn't say that I am looking forward to it.

Wednesday preview: an early morning strength session and a late night WOD including more strength.  Front squats and deadlifts highlight hump day.