Never Kip Your Bench Press

Workout date: 6/27/17

I always find myself surprised at how little things can completely turn my mood around.  I was miserable in the latter stages of Bull.  Then me and Rob worked together for the last 400 meters of the run and I left the gym feeling good.  As I headed back to the gym on Tuesday night for Dudes After Dark, I was hopeful that more opportunities like that would present themselves during the WOD.  Look, I'm not headed to Regionals ever.  I haven't even been able to crack the top 10 at our annual King and Queen competition.  So losing a few seconds or reps during a workout to help someone else out is not going to be detrimental to me.  That was my approach on Monday and it would play out that way once again the following night.

There were seven of us attending Dudes After Dark with LC and we were looking at a WOD that was broken up into two distinct 15 minute segments.  During the first 15 minute segment, we would be trying to find a 1RM on the bench press.  The second 15 minute segment was more metcon than cash-out.  We would be performing a 5 minute AMRAP three times with a 5 minute break in between each AMRAP.  Here's a look at what we'd be doing during those AMRAPs:

Tuesday's metcon segment:

Three rounds:

AMRAP in 5 minutes

15 power cleans (155/105)

25/20 calorie row

15 bench press (135/95)

*5 minutes rest between AMRAPs

My initial reaction to seeing the weights for the metcon was that they were heavy, but within my abilities, especially since we'd be getting a long 5 minute break between rounds.  I was hoping to make it deep into a second round of power cleans during each of the AMRAPs.

Before we got to that though, we all had to see how much we could bench.  This seemed like a very fitting activity at a class dubbed Dudes After Dark.  (Although to be fair, we were only 5/7 dude this evening with Esra and The Prodigy joining Bryan, Actuary Mike, John McHugh, Ryan A, and myself.)  LC told us that we should partner up during the bench press portion of the workout and keep those same pairings for the metcon later on.  With the AMRAPs and the rest both 5 minutes in length, the partners could alternate between working and resting/counting for their buddy.  Esra and The Prodigy partnered up, as did Bryan and Actuary Mike.  That left me, John, and Ryan to work as a trio through the WOD.  We set up two benches: one for me and John, one for Ryan.  John was likely going to bench less than me, but neither of us were going to be in the same zip code as Ryan.  My best bench press was likely to be a warmup weight for him.  I would take turns spotting each of them.  It really wasn't that different from having three people use the same bench.  However, with all of the loading and unloading we would have to do to accommodate Ryan's attempts, it made more sense to use two benches given that we only had 15 minutes to complete this part of the workout.

John has been dealing with shoulder issues for quite some time, so I try not to amp him up too much when we're working with barbells.  The last thing I want is for him to re-aggravate his injury.  That being said, I kind of scoffed when he said his 1RM for the bench press was 155.  I've done a lot of workouts with John and he usually hangs pretty close to me when it comes to barbell weight.  My top bench press was 210, so 155 seemed lighter than I would have guessed for him.  I let him know right away that I thought a PR was likely for him before our 15 minutes was up.

I thought John would want to start at a lighter weight than what I was beginning with, but he said he was a-okay with 115 to kick things off.  We each did three reps at that weight.  John didn't struggle at all, making me feel more confident in my prediction that he would soon have a new PR.  I stood near Ryan's barbell as he did some warmup reps at 135, but he definitely didn't need a spot with that weight.

John and I moved up to 135 for our next attempt and we both did two reps at that weight.  We were just 20 pounds shy of his 1RM, but John was still doing multiple reps.  I was originally thinking he'd finish with something in the 160-165 range, but now I was revising that to 165-170.  How easy was 135 for Ryan?  He threw on to more 45 pound plates and made his next easy-looking attempt at 225.  It didn't take long for him to go beyond anything me and John could do.

From that point forward, it was nothing but singles for all of us.  I did 155 and so did John.  He definitely moved slower with 155 than he had at 135, but I figured he simply had his PR number in his head and was overthinking a bit.  I don't remember what Ryan's progression was from here (probably 245), but he still had no need for a spotter.  John and I would part ways from here.  I continued to go with my 20 pound jumps, going to 175 for my next lift.  This would be the last lift I'd do on the day that felt comfortable.  If I had to do multiple reps with 175, it might not have gone so well.  When I was done, I got John set up for his PR attempt at 165.  That's right.  He wasn't going to try and eek by with a 5 pound PR at 160.  He was jumping right up to 165.  I have to admit, there was little doubt in my mind that he was going to come through at 165.  His lift at 155 was slower than the sets he had done at 115 and 135, but he didn't look like he was really in trouble at any point.  I helped take the barbell off the rack with John and he brought 165 down to his chest.  He began to press it up, but then he got stuck.  I let him fight it for a couple of seconds before I intervened and helped him bring it back up to the rack.  He might not have gotten it on his first try, but there was still plenty of time on the clock for him to get it on a later attempt.

I fully expected my next attempt at 195 to be heavy as we were starting to get close to my 1RM of 210 pounds.  It was considerably more difficult pushing it up off of my chest, but John told me that the rep looked easy like my previous attempts.  I guess the best parallel I could draw is that it was similar to John's lift at 155: looked easy, but the speed of the lift decreased and it felt much tougher than it looked.  John decided to give 165 another try, but his first attempt might have placed some doubts in his mind.  When he made this attempt, he nearly came to a stop as he tried to tap his chest with the barbell.  He had no momentum to push the barbell back up and he was barely able to get it off of his chest.  165 wasn't happening today for him, but I thought if he regrouped, he could still get 160.

Another 20 pound increase seemed unwise for me, so I only added 10 pounds for my next lift at 205. I hadn't benched 210 pounds since back when I did Barbulls in early 2014, so it was entirely possible that 205 could be too much for me on this night.  After all, 210 came on the heels of completing a strength program.  I haven't done any sort of strength program in a while, so just assuming that I would PR now (or come close to doing so) might have been wishful thinking.  (Full disclosure: I go into the gym every night hoping to PR. Most nights it doesn't happen, but I tend to have the mindset that it could happen, no matter how improbable the circumstances.)  John helped me take 205 pounds off of the rack and I did my lift.  I wouldn't say that I got stuck on the way back up, but it was a very slow and strenuous push getting the barbell from my chest back to the rack.  I had made it through 205, earning me a PR attempt at 215 for my next lift.

John moved back down to 160, which was still a PR attempt for him.  If he had tried 160 right after his first attempt at 165, I would have felt very good about his chances at this lift.  That second attempt at 165 made me less optimistic.  I have all of the faith in the world in John though.  He somehow summons all of the energy in his body and puts it into the lift he's doing.  Right when you think he's crazy for attempting something at the gym, he shows that he can handle it.  So despite the ugly 2nd attempt at 165, I was still expecting to hear John roar "YES SIR" while pressing 160 up from his chest.  His speed was better on this attempt and he did get it about halfway back up to the rack, but then he stalled out.  I let him try to keep going for a second or two, but once I saw the barbell start to go down towards his chest, I grabbed the barbell from him.  I would have lost a lot of money betting that John was getting a PR today.  He would make one more attempt at 160, but much like his 2nd try at 165, he didn't seem to have the same fire behind it as he did on the 1st try at that weight.

I continued to walk over to spot Ryan between lifts, but he wouldn't need me until his last attempt.  Towards the end of his attempts, I did help him take the barbell off the rack, but that was the extent of my help on bench #2.  He continued to make benching big weight look easy, so much so that I didn't even realize he had gotten a PR when he pressed out 285 pounds.  I think his last attempt was at 305 and I was genuinely shocked when his barbell stopped rising towards the rack.  I grabbed a hold of it and we put it back on the rack together (there was no chance I could manage that by myself!).

There was about 2 minutes left on the clock when I took my shot at 215.  I remembered that when I got 210, I had to dig really deep to get the barbell back to the rack.  It seemed like I was stuck, but I kept inching it upwards, desperately hoping my spotter didn't grab the barbell to help me out.  My attempt at 205 didn't feel nearly that bad, so there was still hope that I might get 215.  John helped me take the barbell from the rack and then it was all on me to get a new PR.  I tapped the barbell against my chest and pushed up as hard as I could.  Unfortunately, I committed a cardinal sin while pushing up.  You never want to lift your feet off the ground when you bench press.  They should be pressing into the floor while you push the barbell upwards.  I got caught up in giving everything that I had to get the barbell back to the rack that I accidentally lifted both feet off the floor.  I knew immediately that I had messed up, so I tried to shoot my feet back down, almost like what I do when I'm trying to kip a gymnastics movement.  Kipping doesn't work with the bench press.  While I was kipping my feet back to the floor, the barbell came to a halt.  I was in a world of trouble.  John gave me the courtesy of a second or two to fight through it before helping me out once I said I was done.  I could have snuck in another attempt, but I felt a twinge in my back from that failed kipping attempt.  205 would have to be good enough this night.

I probably could have injured myself seriously doing what I had done, so I considered myself lucky to get off with some light back pain.  Then I made the decision to scale down my weights for the cash-out.  I knew I could power clean 155 and bench press 135, but my back was tingly from that messed-up PR attempt.  I dropped 20 pounds from each of those movements, trying to maintain a balance between using a challenging weight and not aggravating a minor injury into something worse.

I was still pulling double duty as LC asked if I could make sure that the monitors on the rowers for John and Ryan were both turned on right as they neared the end of their power cleans.  That was simple enough because they were side-by-side at the front of the gym.  The tricky part was getting my own equipment set up.  I wasn't using the same weight as John or Ryan on the power cleans, so I needed my own barbell with 135 pounds on it.  And I needed someplace to put it.  The other 6 people in class were all next to one another, so I took the next closest spot available, back towards where the rings are.  I'd get some extra cardio running from there to the rower I'd be sharing with John.  Then I'd run back to where my bench was set up.  I thought John and Ryan were both using a different weight than me, so I set up a bench down near the barbell where I'd be doing power cleans.  (It turns out that John ended up using the same bench press weight as me.  Wish I realized that before the cash-out began!)  My score was going to be a few reps lower than it could have been if I was sharing equipment, but I was more than happy to sacrifice a couple reps to help out my classmates.

John and Ryan went first while I waited for their rest period to start the cash-out.  I was responsible for counting for John, although I kept an eye on Ryan's progress so that I could turn on his rower right before he completed the power cleans.  Once they both got to their rower, I got a break.  Ryan was the first to the bench press, so I followed him over while continuing to cheer John on.  Ryan didn't really need me to spot him on the bench though, as 135 pounds was light for him.  John soon came over to the bench and I did keep an eye on him as he did a few sets to get to 15 reps.  John made it back to the power cleans before his first 5 minutes were up.  I had to ask him to count his own reps at this point because I was going to have run over to my barbell when the clock hit 5 minutes.  I also needed to turn the monitor on Ryan's rower on again as he was going to get to his rower a second time.  With 3 seconds left, I ran over to my barbell for the power cleans.

It was my turn to go!  I plowed my way through 15 single reps of power cleans, then jogged to the front of the gym to get on my rower.  The 25 calorie row wasn't too bad.  I was more concerned about how the bench press was going to feel with my back not 100%.  Turns out that 115 pounds was a good choice for me.  I did a set of 10 and a set of 5 before heading back to the power cleans.  I was able to finish off a second set of 15 power cleans just before my 5 minutes was up.  Sprinted down the gym to my rower and managed to get 2 calories before it was time to rest/count/spot again.  First round score: 72.

The second round wasn't all that different from the first except for the fact that everyone was moving slower.  The power cleans were slower, the row was slower, and the bench press was slower.  It wasn't like we were taking a minute longer on each of these elements, but it was just enough to ensure that none of us were getting back to the rower a second time.  As I had done during round 1, I took off a few seconds early on John to get back down to my barbell.  When I got there, I had a surprise waiting for me.  LC smartly recognized that my life would be easier if another rower was set up at the far end of the gym for me.  Less cardio is always beneficial to me.  So for rounds two and three, I didn't need to run up and down the gym like I had done in round one.  I did 15 singles on the power cleans, rowed 25 calories, then went 9 and 6 on the bench press.  I completed the bench press about 4 minutes into the AMRAP.  LC got a little confused on the clock and began the countdown for the two heats to switch, but I brusquely muttered "no, we have another minute" as I walked by her to get back to my barbell for the power cleans.  I'm not sure if the people in my heat were happy about having to work another minute, but I'm sure the people resting appreciated the extra 60 seconds.  I made it through 10 more power cleans before time was called.  Second round score: 65.

The third round was definitely slower and heavier.  Ryan may have gotten back to the power cleans for a second time in this round, but John did not.  Because he was still on the bench press when it was time for me to start my third round, I yelled over to LC and asked if she could spot him for his last few reps.  When it was my turn to go, I did my 15 power cleans, rowed 25 calories, then began to struggle on the bench press.  I started off with a set of 9 again, but I was too tired to get the remaining 6 in my next set.  I did 4, took a break, then got the last 2 reps.  Time was ticking down, so I just kept ripping the barbell off the floor for power cleans as quickly as I could.  I got 6 of them before time was called.  Third round score: 61.  Total score: 198.

You would think after all of that work that I would have called it an evening at that point, but foolishly I did not.  All of us spent some time rolling out afterwards and then I got talking to Jim C as I was packing up my bag.  We started talking about the new short ropes that were hanging from the ceiling.  I told him that I wanted to try it out at some point and Jim's response was along the lines of "why not now?"  The correct answer should have been "because I'm tired and I tweaked my back during the WOD", but instead I said I'd try it out.  I jumped up and began to pull myself up the rope with a legless climb, but I discovered that these new ropes were on the slippery side due to lack of use.  I couldn't get high enough to clamp my legs on, so I let go of the rope and dropped to the floor.  The new rope was going to take some practice.  That practice would have to take place on another evening as one failed climb was plenty for me to cap off the evening.

Wednesday preview: I hate EMOMs!  (Though this one isn't so bad.)  The cash-out gives me an opportunity to land on the 100 double unders board.  Will I finally get there?

Rocky And Bull (Hold The Winkle)

Workout date: 6/26/17

When Aimee released the benchmark workouts for 2017, I saw several WODs on the list that I had never heard of before.  The Google searching began.  What the heck is Gwen?  What is involved in Holbrook?  As I did my due diligence on the new workouts we'd be taking on this year, I found one that really tickled my fancy.  It was called Bull.  I was fairly certain that I would be one of the few people in the gym looking forward to this workout.  Here's why:

"Bull"
2 rounds:
200 double unders
50 overhead squats (135/95)
50 pull-ups
1 mile run

That seemed like an insane amount of work to do within an hour timeframe.  A little more research let me know that even top athletes (translation: not me) needed over an hour in most instances to complete this monster.  The longest hero WODs that we do in class tend not to go beyond 40-45 minutes, so I was a bit confused as to how we were supposed to finish this workout, assuming scaling wasn't mandatory.  (Note: There are workouts that we do which usually take over an hour, such as Murph and Wolverine.  However, those aren't done within the confines of a normal one-hour class.  They generally take place on a holiday in an open class setting where athletes can work for 90-120 minutes.)

Why was I looking forward to doing this workout?  Because this seemed like a workout where stubbornness might triumph over athleticism.  I was getting better at double unders and felt like I could peck away at the large number required with medium-sized sets.  Overhead squats are one of my favorite things to do at the gym.  Pull-ups certainly are not, but I had recently had some mild improvement with those.  I'm definitely not one of the top runners in the gym (especially having skipped Endurance this year), but I rarely ever stop running in a workout.  Plus I had already done two miles during Murph, so this wouldn't be a new experience for me.  This workout was piecing together four items that people tend to complain about frequently at the gym.  I felt like I could grind through all of them.

I missed out on Bull when it was scheduled in March, so Monday night marked my first encounter with this WOD.  Maybe if I had tried it back then, I might have had loftier goals.  Perhaps the class I took it in would have been smaller and the gym might have been much less humid.  (It would be impossible for it to be more humid than it was on this night.  Or any other night during the summer.)  All I knew walking into the gym on Monday evening was that I wasn't taking on Bull in its full form. It was oppressively warm inside KOP.  Just a thick air that was unpleasant to breathe while you were sitting down, never mind doing an intense workout like this one.  There were also 15 people attending the 6:30 class.  That meant crowded conditions while jumping rope and performing overhead squats.  As for the pull-up rig, you'd simply have to keep your fingers crossed and hope there was space available when you got to that part of the workout.  At least there would be plenty of room during the run.

I decided to make two adjustments based on the conditions in the gym when I showed up:

1. I would do half Bull: 2 rounds of 100 double unders, 25 overhead squats, 25 pull-ups, and an 800 meter run.
2. I would scale the overhead squat weight to 115 pounds.  I could probably handle 135 pounds, but I wanted to make sure I wasn't dead when I got to the pull-ups in this workout.

Coach Giulz made life better for all of us when she let us know that we'd be running this workout in two heats, with the second heat starting two minutes after the first wave began.  I was designated to be a member of the second heat which made my inner procrastinator very happy.  Giulz had us get our equipment out (jump rope, barbell) and we all stalked out space for the WOD.  The plan was to have athletes perform their double unders in the space between the barbells.  If you're good enough to stay in place while doing a lot of double unders, you'd be fine.  If you were the type that hops around in various directions as your set of double unders progresses, then you were in danger of clipping a barbell while you had a good set going.  Take a wild guess which type I am.  Giulz had us do some single unders and double unders as part of the warmup and I felt like I was destined to hit one of the barbells at some point in this workout.  There was a small uninhabited strip in the middle of the gym that looked usable, so I made plans to sneak in there once the second wave got started.

Because I was part of the second group, I didn't have a lot of concern that I'd clash with someone doing double unders as I did my overhead squats.  If that happened, then I was really far behind the class.  (There was no chance that I was going to start two minutes after the first group and somehow complete 100 double unders before them.)  I felt confident about my choice of 115 pounds for this workout.  I envisioned completing the 25 overheads in 3 sets.  Over at the pull-up rig, I had some concerns about congestion.  If I did my double unders efficiently and moved through the overhead squats as quickly as I thought I could, there was a real chance I could arrive at the pull-up rig at the same time the first wave was finishing up their pull-ups.  That would mean a likely wait.  I tried to avoid this traffic by coordinating with Adam, a drop-in who was warming up on the bar next to me.  (We got some extra fitness to begin class when Giulz had us all do 15 burpees for not learning the drop-in guy's name during the 400 meter run.  With 15 people out on the run, I honestly had no idea that there was a new face in the crowd.)  The bar on my right wasn't really a pull-up bar.  It was a thicker bar that basically connects the usable parts of the rig.  Adam told me he was fine with using that one though.  Problem solved!  Should be no wait on the pull-up rig.

Heat one began and I used my two minute wait as an opportunity to run to the restroom.  The coaches always tell us how important it is to hydrate before class, but the combination of a long warmup and a full bladder usually mean I have to run and pee before every workout during the summer.  I got back in plenty of time to join my comrades in heat #2.  I took up residence in the center of the barbells and I got ready to begin my double unders.  The clock hit two minutes and I twirled my rope.  No rep.  My rope hit something along the way.  I stayed calm, got ready to go, and for the second straight time, it felt like my rope snagged as I twirled it.  I was confused for a second, but then I looked up and realized why this area was empty.  While I had been in St. Lucia, the gym added two ropes for climbing in the middle of the gym.  These ropes didn't hang all the way to the floor like the others.  Instead they were similar to the ones that have been used at Regionals the last couple of years.  They force the athlete to climb legless for a few pulls.  If you get high enough, you can then use your legs the rest of the way.  I had seen them at the beginning of the day and was interested in trying them out, but now they were a major thorn in my side.  My jump rope was hitting one of these new ropes as I stood in the area that everyone else was bright enough to avoid.  I was forced to move back between the barbells.

My goal for the 100 double unders was to do four sets of 25 reps.  While I wasn't able to do 25 reps exactly in each set, I was able to do a couple bigger sets to make up for the smaller sets, allowing me to complete the first hundred dubs in 4 sets.  I dropped my jump rope in the center of the gym (I knew it wouldn't be in the way there) and headed to my barbell.  After a short break, I started my overheads.  I completed 9 reps in my first set.  Now I just had to do two sets of 8 and I would have met my goal here of 3 sets.  I'm not sure whether I rushed into the second set or whether I underestimated the effect that those 100 double unders would have on my legs, but my next set ended earlier than planned.  I made it through 4 reps before dropping the barbell.  I took a longer break, wanting to make sure that I could get at least 6 reps in the next set.  I had 12 reps left and having to break this first round of overhead squats into 5 sets would have been deflating.  I managed 8 reps in my next set, leaving only 4 for my final set.  I finished those and headed to the pull-up rig.

I had been efficient on the double unders.  I had been relatively quick on the overhead squats.  And naturally I ran into the problem that I tried to avoid via negotiation earlier.  Adam was in the first group and got to the pull-up rig before me.  Seeing that my bar was free, he got to work using that one rather than the thick bar that I didn't think anyone really wanted to use.  I could either use the thick bar or wait on him to be done (or keep my eye out for another open spot somewhere on the rig).  I had no idea how close he was to being done, so I did a few singles on the thick bar.  As I took a break from doing singles, I saw Adam head out the door.  I could move back to my bar.  Once I was on the regular bar, I tried to do sets of 3-4 quick singles before stopping to catch my breath.  Those breaks would end up being longer than I would have liked, but the combination of stifling humidity and a killer workout were breaking me down.  And this was only round 1 of "half Bull"!

Eventually I completed my 25 pull-ups and headed out on my first run.  I definitely wasn't moving fast.  It was the speed that I run when I hit rounds 3-5 of Nancy.  Plod along and just get through it.  Cline and Rob P headed out on the run at the same time as me, with Cline getting back to the gym before me and Rob getting back after me.  The first round took me slightly under 15 minutes to complete.  Giulz had wanted us to finish our workout in about 30 minutes and the deliriously optimistic side of me thought I could still make that happen.  Repeat what you just did.  That's all.  Riiiiight.

When I got back to my jump rope, I noticed that there was an area in the front of the gym near the GHD machines where some heat 1 athletes had been jumping rope and doing overhead squats.  Those folks had already moved on to round two of their pull-ups, so that area was free.  Not detecting any ropes hanging from the ceiling over that area, it felt safe to do my double unders over there.  It took me four sets again to reach 100 reps, although the breaks between sets were significantly longer this time around.

As soon as I began my first set of overhead squats in round two, I knew I wasn't going to be able to complete 25 of them over three sets.  I was wobbly after rep #3.  I hung on for two more reps before letting the barbell fall to the floor.  I had officially become aggravated with this WOD.  Soaked in sweat, struggling to breathe, I was now having a hard time with the part of the workout that was supposed to be my strength.  I had even scaled down the weight, but here I was unable to do large sets like I thought I would.  I took some extended breaks before the next two sets and that helped me hang on for 7 and 8 reps, respectively.  Only 5 more to go.  I decided to shorten my break and try to plow through my final set.  I attempted to squat snatch the barbell, but as I dropped into my squat, my body rocked backwards as the barbell tipped forward.  Both athlete and barbell hit the floor a second later.  I was not pleased.  I started to think back to the workouts prior to my St. Lucia trip.  They had frustrated me to the point that I wondered why I was still coming to the gym 4-5 times per week.  This WOD was raising that question in my mind again.

I took some time to calm down and that helped me get through my final set of 5 overhead squats.  I moved over to the pull-up rig, which was desolate now.  I slowly made my way through the 25 pull-ups, but it had become a real struggle to breathe.  I did a lot of leaning against the rig between sets, trying to resist the desire to sit in my resting squat.  Most of the first heat was now finished and they tried to encourage me on, but I didn't have any reserves left to tap into.  As I got closer to the end of the pull-ups, I looked down the gym to see if I was the only one working.  Cline and Rob were still on the pull-up rig with me.  While I was taking my last break, I saw both of them head out the door.  Why in the world did I think I would like this workout?

With my pull-ups complete, I jogged out the door for my final half-mile run.  Way up ahead, I could see Cline and Rob.  There was no chance of me catching up to Cline on a run, but Rob looked like he was hurting.  I put my head down and tried to run faster than my body wanted to.  If I pushed, I might be able to catch Rob.  As I made the bend around Frosty Falls, I saw that Rob was walking past the 200 meter mark.  I could definitely catch him if he was walking.  I continued to close the gap as we headed out towards the turnaround point.

Rob was just beyond the 300 meter mark when he stopped and turned around.  I wasn't sure if he had decided that he had enough or if he forgot where the turnaround point was.  When I got to him, I yelled over that the turnaround point was further up ahead.  He realized his mistake, turned back around, and jogged after me.  I knew I was going to finish ahead of Rob now.

There was something about seeing a dazed, struggling classmate that struck a chord with me.  A couple weeks earlier, I saw a fellow runner having a hard time at the end of a 5K and I helped him push through to the end.  My time for that race wasn't wonderful, but I felt good about the fact that I was able to get that guy running again when he thought he needed to walk.  This was like deja vu.  I didn't care about my time anymore.  I didn't care about finishing ahead of Rob.  And best of all, I no longer felt angry or frustrated about the WOD.  I might not have been immensely productive during the last 35 minutes, but I was about to be for the next minute or so.

As Rob and I headed back on the final quarter-mile run to the gym, I slowed down and started running sideways.  I kept telling Rob he was done walking.  I told him that he couldn't let the old, pudgy guy beat him on the final run.  I kept chatting away as we came back down the hill to the 200 meter mark and then up the incline to the final turn at Frosty Falls.  When we cleared that turn, we could see the gym again.  Everyone from class was standing outside to cheer us on.  They even had some theme music for us.  The Rocky theme was audible from over 100 meters away.  I told Rob that we had to pick it up for this final stretch.  Our jog morphed into a sprint that would end with the two of us collapsing on the gym floor.  Final time: 35:06.

No, I did not keep my workout under 30 minutes.  I didn't have my finest day with overhead squats and no one should take that long completing 25 pull-ups.  But I think I figured out what makes it worthwhile to go the gym 4-5 times per week.  I've always said I was a better cheerleader than an athlete.  Maybe I need to embrace that a little more.  Completing this WOD in 35:06 and helping Rob finish strong was way more rewarding than it would have been to complete it in 34:30 and leave Rob behind.  I might just be happier dialing back the competitiveness at the gym and seizing the opportunity to help out my classmates when I can.

Tuesday preview: I get to help out two of my classmates during the WOD!  I also nearly injure myself by stupidly doing something I know I shouldn't.  Don't be like me: keep your feet on the floor when you bench press.

He Knows It's 15 Calories, Right?

Workout date: 6/23/17

I came home from St. Lucia with one day of down time before my buddy's wedding on Saturday afternoon.  I'm not even going to pretend that I did any exercise while I was on vacation.  I went through my normal routine of bringing my jump rope with me because it's easy enough to pack and surely I'd find the time to work on double unders while I was in paradise.  Or not.  My jump rope never left the large ziploc bag that I carry it around in.  Instead I ate and drank a lot, went on a couple of fun tours, and had my second successful run playing charity poker in the last 6 weeks.

We got home at 3am on Friday morning because every trip through the Miami airport is a nightmare and the disorganized spectacle that greeted us in Philly wasn't much better.  Our Uber driver home decided to have a horror movie playing in the back of the car for his customers.  I didn't pay a whole lot of attention to it because I was ready to fall asleep.  After a good night's rest, I drove to NE Philly to get my tux for Saturday's festivities and then came home feeling like I really needed to get a workout in.  So I signed up for Coach Keithie's 6:30 class that evening.

I had only been in St. Lucia for a week, but rumor had it that I was on vacation the last two weeks.  I was getting my fair share of ribbing during the warmup because I had supposedly been away this long.  I laughed and remarked how stories at KOP can balloon out of control, but in retrospect, I can understand why it might have seemed like I was away longer than I was even when I had been in class a week earlier.  The trip to St. Lucia made me forget that I hadn't been in class all that much the week before I hit the beach.  When someone who goes to the gym 4-5 times per week only shows up twice in 2 weeks, it probably gives the impression that they have been away longer than they were.  In fact, you might be under the impression that I was in St. Lucia for a month based on how far behind I am on this blog.

In most 6:30 classes, I would have been able to avoid this ribbing by fading into the background of a very large class, but there were only four of us in attendance for the Thursday WOD.  It was me, Conn, Alicia-Marie, and Neil.  Here's the workout this quartet would be doing:

Thursday's WOD:
3 rounds:
15 calories on the assault bike
12 lateral burpees over the barbell
9 unbroken clean and jerks (135/95)

That last piece was the most interesting part of this workout.  It was very Flight Simulator-esque.  You didn't want to choose a barbell weight that was too heavy and have to go through a bunch of extra clean and jerks.  You also didn't want to move right into the clean and jerks after doing those burpees because you would almost certainly be too tired to complete 9 unbroken reps.  This was definitely a "know your body/limits" kind of workout.  I was at a bit of a disadvantage because I had missed a benchmark workout (Gwen) that was programmed earlier in the year which would have given me some guidance on how tough it would be to string together 9 clean and jerks at 135 pounds.  Gwen is a workout completely focused on big sets of unbroken clean and jerks.  You choose a weight and then you have to perform a set of 15 unbroken clean and jerks.  Your next set is 12 reps long, with the final set a merciful 9 reps.  You get to take as much rest as you want between sets, as long as you don't run beyond the 60 minutes scheduled for class.  I missed my chance at Gwen in both January and April.  Had I been there for either of those classes, I'd have a much better sense of whether 135 was feasible for this WOD.

But what if there was an easier way to figure it out?  There really is no substitute for good ol' peer pressure.  As we got warmed up, Neil came over to me and said "you're using 135, right?"  Ummm...of course I am!  I vaguely remembered doing a cash-out with Matt B where we had to do 15 clean and jerks at 135 pounds as fast as we could and we both strung all of the reps.  So even if I was a bit tired when I got to the clean and jerks, I figured I'd still be able to fight my way through 9 reps.  Let's go with 135!  (Note: "Vaguely remember" = "Misremembered".  We strung 10 clean and jerks in that cash-out, not 15.  So my margin for error was much less than I believed it to be.)

During the warmup, Keithie explained the importance of efficiently moving directly from the clean into the jerk.  This was a technique he had drilled into my head some time ago, so I was used to doing it.  It wasn't that we couldn't do the clean, pause, and then do the jerk, but the likelihood of holding on through 9 reps would start to dwindle the more often we deliberately separated the two movements.  There wasn't a whole lot to go over in terms of warmup on the assault bike and the burpees.  My plan was to try and go hard initially on the assault bike because momentum on the bike can buy you some extra calories when you start to slow down.  Pacing on the bike was not the way to go.  I was going to intentionally move slowly on the burpees, using it somewhat as recovery before having to do the clean and jerks.  I tend to be insanely slow on burpees anyways, so it really wasn't going to be much different than normal for me.

The four of us hopped on our bikes and Keithie started the clock.  I pumped my arms and legs, watching the calories accumulate on my monitor.  I didn't feel like I was going all out, but the number on my monitor was zipping towards 15 very quickly.  As soon as it hit 15, I hopped off my bike and walked over to my barbell.  I tried to calm myself down as I did my first burpee.  Then I did a second.  And a third and a fourth.  I was the only one doing burpees still.  It seemed weird to me that Neil and Conn weren't done yet.  Later on, I'd found out that they thought it was weird that I was done so quickly.  Neil told me he saw me get to the burpees and thought "he knows it's 15 calories, right?"  As I moved through my burpees, I started to have my doubts as to whether I really had completed 15 calories on the bike.

I was on my 5th burpee when the rest of the gang started to filter over to begin their burpees.  Because I was so slow on this section of the workout, they began to catch up to me.  After hopping over my barbell for the 12th time, I took a break to catch my breath.  I needed to feel certain I could get all 9 clean and jerks on the first try.  By the time I was ready to go, Conn and Neil were moving towards their barbell to start their clean and jerks.  The first round went well for me.  I made it through 8 reps before I started to feel the burn, but I had enough left to get through the last rep.  Conn and Neil made it through their first set unblemished, so the three of us walked over to our bikes in unison.

The first thing that I did when I got back to my bike was check to make sure I really did 15 calories in round one.  It was better than that.  I was still moving at a decent speed right before I hopped off my bike, so momentum brought the total up to 17 calories.  I was relieved to know that I hadn't blacked out during that initial round and gotten off the bike early.  Unfortunately, I couldn't come close to replicating that performance in round two.  I was trying to get the handlebars and the pedals moving rapidly, but I wasn't racking up the calories at the rate I was about 4 minutes ago.  And once I realized that my assault odometer wasn't ticking upwards very quickly, I stopped pushing as hard and settled into a steady pace instead.  (Yes, it took one round for me to revert to tactics that I knew did not work.)  I wouldn't have a head start on the burpees this time around.  The three guys got off their bikes at about the same  time.

Just because I went slower on the bike didn't mean I was going to pick up the pace on my burpees.  If anything, I might have gone even slower during round two.  This workout was already taking its toll on my legs and my lungs.  I knew the burpees were simply busy work, so there was no point in speeding up there.  The real road block in this workout was the unbroken clean and jerk section, so I had to do my best to get through the burpees in a timely fashion without using up the energy I needed for the barbell.  Conn was the first one done with the burpees and he didn't need a long break before he completed his clean and jerks.  I was a little bit behind Neil and that gap grew when I took a slightly longer break than him.  He did all 9 of his clean and jerks unbroken.  I made it through 6 before I started to grow worried that I might not complete the entire set, but I held on through the last 3 reps.

There wasn't a lot of difference between rounds two and three for me.  I could only manage a slow steady pace on the bike.  I crawled through my 12 burpees, managing a tiny hop over the barbell after each completed rep.  Then I took a decent-sized break before going after the clean and jerks.  Conn was done already.  While I tried to get my breath back, I watched Neil finish his last 9 clean and jerks.    I still didn't feel completely ready for my final set, but then I heard Faby yell "come on, you can finish under 14 minutes".  I hadn't been paying a lot of attention to the clock, but there was something about hearing that I could beat a certain time that drove me back to my barbell.  I took one last deep breath and got to work.  As was the case in round #2, I got through 6 reps before my arms started to quiver during the jerk.  It was time to turn to my best friend when it comes to barbell movements.  That would be anger.  I started to think about how mad I would be if I put the barbell down before I completed the 3 remaining reps.  A little extra rage helped straighten out my arms during those last 3 jerks.  Final time: 14:05.

Apparently rage supplies power, but not speed.  I didn't sneak under the 14 minute threshold like I wanted to, but it would have been so much worse had I fallen short of 9 reps on that last set and had to start all over again.  I imagine I would have needed about 2 minutes of rest before I could start again.  Even then, there would be no guarantees I could get through all 9 had a failed on the prior set. So thank you, anger.  Once again, you helped me in my time of need.

Monday preview: My first shot at a really psychotic benchmark workout programmed for the first time this year.  I develop a really healthy appreciation for how difficult Bull is based on how long it takes me to complete the mini-version.

Fearless, If Not Legless

Workout date: 6/14/17

Jenn and I planned our June trip to St. Lucia nearly a year in advance.  Jenn's sister had her heart set on a specific resort there and we agreed to go with her and her husband.  I'm not sure I can remember booking a vacation as far in advance as we did this one and we discovered pretty quickly why this wasn't the norm for us.  Soon after we booked our stay at the resort, I found out that one of my close friends would be getting married the weekend that we were due to come home.  He asked me to be in the wedding, so we needed to shift the dates of our trip.  (Thankfully we hadn't booked our flight yet!)  That explains why we were leaving and returning on a Thursday rather than on a weekend.

Before boarding my plane on Thursday morning, I made the decision to drop by the 7:30 class on Wednesday night with Coach Jenna.  It was a replay of the week before as Bryan would be the only other person joining me for class.  What made me interested in one last WOD before vacay?  Well, this workout had some rope climb options that intrigued me.  Here's a look at what we'd be doing on Wednesday night:

Wednesday's WOD:
21 thrusters (135/95)
2 rope climbs (legless to 15')
15 thrusters
2 rope climbs
9 thrusters
2 rope climbs

I'd only done 1 legless rope climb in my life, but part of that was because legless rope climbs don't get programmed in workouts all that often.  I believed it was possible that I could get through 6 legless rope climbs in this WOD.  After all, I only had 1 bar muscle-up under my belt before I somehow did 9 of them in a WOD.  Why couldn't I duplicate that magic with legless rope climbs?  (The answer: Because even though I only had one bar muscle-up at that point, I had dozens of recent near misses.  I hadn't so much as attempted a legless rope climb in 6 months, if not longer.  Sometimes I don't fully think these things through.)

Jenna had Bryan and I start off our warmup over at the ropes where she showed us the S-hook and the K-hook.  (Update: Keithie wasn't all that enamored that I had dubbed his rope climbing style the X-hook.  So I told him I would call it the K-hook going forward.  The new name honors the guy who showed it to me.  And X's and K's don't look all that different from one another, especially when you're forming those letters with your feet.)  I urged Jenna to perform a legless rope climb for us, but she resisted the peer pressure.  She let us know that we were more than welcome to try the legless version if we so desired.  I actually was quite interested in trying it, thank you very much.

The one time I successfully completed a legless rope climb to the 15' mark occurred in the annex.  Jill A and I kept getting very close to the mark before losing our grip and having to slide back down the rope.  We each must have missed three to four attempts, but then we both got to the mark on back-to-back tries.  Neither of us had any desire to make any additional attempts once we got a taste of success.  My takeaway from that day was that you needed to go as quickly as possible up the rope because your grip went away fast.  With regular rope climbs, you can take your time.  If your feet are clasping the rope properly, you can even hang out on the rope while letting your arms recover.  But with legless climbs, once your grip was done, you were done, making climbing speed much more essential.  As I got ready for my practice run alongside of Bryan, I reminded myself to go as fast as possible.

I made sure to get myself a nice head start by jumping as high as I could.  Then I began pulling myself up the rope with urgency.  I was closing in on the 15' mark when I felt my arms starting to tire.  Just a few more pulls, come on!  It really didn't look like there was much further to go, but I was beginning to doubt that I would make it.  If I had good technique, I would have kipped myself up for those last few pulls, but I don't have good technique.  I lunged upwards a couple times to get within swatting distance of the 15' mark.  Just when it seemed like I was all done, I was able to get one more pull in.  It was enough to let me slap the 15' mark.  Once I did that, I locked my legs on to the rope and slid back down.  (Note: You only have to complete the climb up without your legs.  You can use them on the way down.)

While I was excited to say that I had completed my second legless rope climb ever, I wasn't so swept up in my achievement that I was going to make a stupid mistake.  There was no way I could make 6 legless climbs in this workout.  I'm not entirely certain I could handle 2 in the same day.  I was switching to an alternative.  The blog stated that if we could not do the legless climbs, we could climb (using our legs) to the 20' mark instead.  I was definitely onboard for that.  The climbs to the 20' mark require nearly twice the amount of climbing that you do when heading to the 15' mark and I was up for a challenge today.

(You might be wondering how the 20' climb is twice as long as the 15' climb.  Is that new math or something?  Well no.  Someone my size can touch about 9' up on the rope when they jump and extend their arm upwards to begin the climb.  So you're only doing about 6' of climbing.  To go to the  20' mark, you climb an extra 5'.  One foot higher and you would be doubling the climb.  At least that's how I see it.)

If I exhausted myself on the thrusters, I wasn't getting up to the ceiling and tapping the 20' mark six times in this workout.  Thus, I decided to scale back the weight on my thrusters.  115 pounds would be plenty for me.  Jenna wanted us to try and keep this workout under 15 minutes and I thought it was very realistic for me to do that with 115 pounds on my barbell.  Jenna watched Bryan and I perform some practice thrusters with the weight we had settled on and then she got the workout underway.

This was the rare WOD where I paced myself very well.  I should probably always have my back to the clock during workouts because it seems like I pace myself better when the clock is not in my line of sight.  I don't think I looked at the clock at all during this WOD, at least not until I completed my final rope climb.  I felt like my breaks were reasonable and that I kept my breathing under control as I moved through the thrusters and the rope climbs.

In round 1, I went 9-7-5 over three sets to get through 21 thrusters.  I took a moment to chalk my hands before I did my first climb to 20'.  The K-hook served me well as I methodically made my way up to the ceiling and then slid back down to the floor.  I didn't rush getting into the second climb, but I made sure not to waste a lot of time either.  I wasn't breathing heavy yet, so I knew I should keep moving.  I've developed some confidence in climbing the rope even when I'm tired, so if I was okay enough to jump up on to the rope, I'd be okay enough to get to 20'.

Back at the barbell, I went 5-5-5 to complete the round of 15 thrusters.  Five reps felt like the perfect amount per set.  I was getting solid work done without exhausting myself.  The breaks between sets were probably longer than they were in the round of 21, but it wasn't like I had to take a knee or go into my resting squat position.  When it was time to climb the rope again, I used the chalk bucket as an excuse for productive rest.  I wanted a breather and I could justify it by spending my break time chalking up my hands.  I think I was equally efficient on these two rope climbs as I had been during round one, but I could definitely feel that my grip was waning.  It was almost like the sensation I experienced at the end of the legless rope climb during our warmup.  My grip wasn't completely gone, but I didn't have much left.  Hopefully I had just enough left for 9 more thrusters and 2 long rope climbs.

There was no point in breaking the tradition of stopping after 5 thrusters, so I did a set of 5 before finishing work at the barbell with a set of 4 thrusters.  I shook out my arms and headed to the rope.  The second to last climb was much more of a struggle than the first four climbs had been.  Keithie would not have been proud of the K-hook I was using.  I wasn't drawing my knees as high as I should have been, partly because I was concerned about my fading grip.  I didn't want to hold myself on the rope very long using nothing but my arms.  I was in a hurry to lock my feet back on to the rope after every pull.  I completed my 5th climb and slid back down to the floor.  At this point, my arms and hands had a very clear message for me: hey, we're tired, stop climbing this stupid rope!  I got the message, but I decided to ignore it.  There are just way too many times where I get to the last rep of something in the gym and fail.  It drives me nuts.  In this instance, I knew I could climb the rope tired.  I knew that if I locked my feet in, I could remain stable on the rope even if my arms were starting to fail me.  I was going to complete this workout.  I just needed to overcome the fear that I would lose my grip 17' above the floor, fall, land on my back, and end up paralyzed for the rest of my life.  That's all.

I chalked my hands one final time and jumped on to the rope.  With proper K-hook technique, I should have had my top hand at the 15' mark after two pulls.  I was barely at that mark three pulls in. I couldn't afford to go for big pulls anymore.  I was using short ones and then making sure my feet were securely clasping the rope.  It was slow, but effective.  I inched past the 15' mark and drew closer to the ceiling.  My forearms were really burning now, but I was almost there.  A couple short pulls later and I was able to slap the black metal hanging just below the ceiling.  Final time: 13:03.

I'm not known for making great choices when it comes to the barbell weight I use in workouts, but I think I did alright on this one.  I might have been able to go up to 125 pounds while keeping my final time under 15 minutes, but then again, maybe I fail on that final climb if I used a higher weight on the thrusters.  I wasn't going to beat myself up too much about it.  It was nice finishing under the threshold that Jenna gave us with time to spare.

It was time to pack my bags and head to the beach!  I'd be back at KOP in a week.

Post-vacation preview: I was only gone for a week, but rumor has it that I was on the beach for two weeks.  Sitting in the sun may have affected my ability to determine pace.  My classmates are dubious that I know how to read the monitor on my assault bike.

Spinning Samaritan

Workout dates: 6/10/17 and 6/13/17

Some of the goals that I put on my top 10 list for 2017 were ones that don't sound particularly Crossfit-related.  I have a goal of rowing 2,000 meters in 7:15 or less.  And I have a goal of running a 5K in 25 minutes or less.  If I was finding life in the gym frustrating, that didn't mean I had to stop pursuing some of these small benchmarks that I had set for myself.  I could easily go after them outside of KOP.  So when I got home on Thursday night, I started looking through some of the e-mails that the Bryn Mawr Racing Company had sent me.  I'm on their mailing list because I've participated in the Midsummer Night 5K series in years past.  As I looked at the upcoming races they had listed, I saw that there was one in Malvern on Saturday morning called the Good Samaritan 5K.  I wasn't all that familiar with where the run was taking place, but it wasn't too long of a drive from my house.  I decided to sign up for it and see if I could improve on the 5K I did at the end of April.

I didn't know that this was the inaugural running of the Good Samaritan 5K, but I have to say that they did a really excellent job with this event.  It was very well organized.  When I arrived at the race location, I saw a bunch of smiling faces.  There was lots of upbeat music playing.  Everyone looked like they were having fun.  I walked over to the registration table and gave my name to one of the volunteers.  Usually you have a number assigned to you already, but the lady at the table simply picked up the next numbered bib in the pile (9602), scanned the bar code with a device, and told me I was all set.  I also received a pretty nice t-shirt.  Sometimes you'll get the t-shirt for these local 5K's and think "when will I ever wear this again?", but I've had good luck with the t-shirts I've gotten at my two races this year.  Two for two in the clothing department.

When I showed up for the 5K in April, my back was sore and I had spent a good portion of the day before consuming alcoholic beverages.  Somehow I still managed a respectable time and ended up with a medal.  There was no sore back to deal with this time around and I had laid off the booze the day before.  The only thing not in my favor on this day was that it was considerably warmer, but all other signs were pointing towards an improved time.  If I was really lucky, I might just end up with another medal.  I was quickly becoming the Michael Phelps of neighborhood fun runs.

After the national anthem was played, it was time to line up for the race.  I took my customary position towards the back of the field.  I had no idea how fast any of these people were, but I didn't want to be blocking the path of someone who could run much faster than me.  We received some final directions about the course and then a horn was blown.  A bunch of weekend warriors began to slowly chase the police car in front of them.

Only 4,998 meters to go!

At my last 5K, it felt like I went out too fast because the last mile (or what I assume was the last mile given that there were no checkpoints indicating the end of miles 1 and 2) was agonizing.  I was sluggishly trotting along, hoping that I'd see the finish line around the next corner, only to find out that I was trapped in some cruel suburban labyrinth.  My plan was to be a little more conservative at the beginning of this run.  There were more middle school/high school aged runners in this field and it would have been easy to chase after them as they tore off on the first half mile or so of this race, but I tried to focus on the pace that felt most comfortable to me.

There were no mile markers on this course either, so I didn't have clarity on how far we had gone when I started to reel in those who had pushed a little too hard at the beginning, but I assumed it was right around the mile mark.  When you are that far into the race, you start to get an idea of who you will be running with for the next 2 miles or so.  There was a gentleman dressed in black who appeared to be around my age that I locked on to.  He had been up ahead of me, but I was slowly catching up to him as we ran through the streets of Malvern.  Eventually I caught up to him, but he didn't seem keen on letting me go by.  We ended up running next to each other for a while before he slowed down to hydrate at a water station on the side of the road.

Right as we passed the water station, a lady yelled out that we were about halfway done.  That was helpful, assuming that it was accurate.  (I don't think it was accurate.)  Up ahead, I could see a right turn and then a prolonged downhill section.  Downhills are supposed to be the fun part of these runs, but really they are the areas where everyone goes screaming by me.  Then on the uphills, people love to walk and I slowly go by them like The Little Engine That Could.  As I hit the long downhill, I tried to lean forward and let gravity do all the work.  It didn't seem to help all that much.  I could hear the stampede coming.  A group of teenagers went sprinting by me.  Then the guy in black left me in the dust.  Maybe I should have stopped for that water.

The only thing I knew about the course was that there was some ominous hill awaiting us at the 2 mile mark.  Someone posted online that you knew there was about a mile left when you got to "the big hill".  After completing that downhill, we ran about a quarter-mile and then headed back in the direction we had come from.  This was the big hill (or so I thought).  I had run two miles in increasingly warm conditions and now I had to deal with this ascent ahead of me.  I kept my arms and legs pumping.  One by one, I slowly plodded by all those folks who had zipped on by me during the downhill.  Yes, they were walking, but I caught them.  Let me enjoy my small victories!

As I got to the top of the hill, I saw the guy in black walking.  He was wearing earphones, but it sure didn't look like the tunes he was listening to were easing the pain of this hill any.  As I passed him, I patted his left shoulder to get his attention.  He looked at me and I gave the universal sign for "come on, start running again".  The two of us went over the crest of the hill together.

Or did we?  After going over what I thought was the top of the hill, we ran along a small curved road before coming to another hill.  Another hill???  Or was this the same hill?  Why hadn't the guy who left the comment on Facebook been more specific about the big hill at the end?  My new pal had opened up a small lead on me during that brief flat portion, but I passed him again as I took on that last incline.  When I hit the top of that hill, I began searching for the finish line in earnest.  I must have gone another half-mile before I turned on to the road where the finish line was located.  I could see it off in the distance, but it looked really far away.  The hills and the heat had taken a lot out of me and now it was my turn to consider walking.  As I started to slow down, I got a pat on my right shoulder.  "Come on, let's finish strong!"  The guy I helped get up the hill was returning the favor.  It certainly wasn't speedy, but the two of us picked up the pace and passed a few runners as we closed in on the finish line.  We crossed the line at basically the same time.  5K chip time: 27:49.

Based on how brutal that last mile was, I knew that I wasn't breaking 25 minutes.  I didn't realize I was so far off of my goal, but as I chugged a couple bottles of water while sitting in the grass, it occurred to me that I probably didn't appreciate the effect the heat had on me during the run.  In the end, I wasn't bummed about my performance.  I kinda liked the fact that two old guys were able to push each other through some tough spots on the course.  That made the experience worthwhile.

(Another medal would also have made this experience worthwhile, but I wasn't even close this time.  I think I might have to wait two decades again before I win another medal.)

I took rest days on Sunday and Monday.  My streak of laziness ended on Tuesday.  Was it time for Dudes After Dark?  Well no.  A buddy of mine was getting married in a couple weeks and the two of us had agreed to attend a mutual friend's spin class before he got hitched.  We thought she taught classes a few nights per week, but then we heard her schedule changed and she was only doing Tuesdays.  I was headed on vacation at the end of the week, so 6/13 was the last Tuesday before the wedding where I could go to her spin class.  I signed up.  Did the groom go?  Of course not.  I will get my revenge on him by making him flip tires one day.

I drove out to Northeast Philly and found the gym where my friend Diana's spin class was taking place.  While I was checking in at the front desk, they informed me that I needed to buy a seat cover for the class.  (If they only knew what awaited, they would have made me buy a cover for the entire bike.)  One of the ladies then escorted me back to the room where the class was.  When she brought me in, she said the following to Diana: "Hi Diana, this is Dave, he says he knows you?"  The hell?  Apparently I looked creepy enough that she was concerned I had made up a story about being friends with the spin coach.  Diana laughed and confirmed that she knew me.

The class took place in a small room with about 10-12 bikes in it.  In the middle of the room were two bikes that everyone else seemed to be avoiding, so I did as well.  I asked if anyone was using the middle bike along the left wall and I was told that it was free.  I was the only guy in the group, although one more would show up right before class started.  (Okay, I get it.  Some guy randomly drops in for a nearly all-female class.  The front desk lady was probably right to check on me.)

I was nervous as we got ready to begin.  I had only taken one spin class before in my life and that was back in college.  The coach of that class was this extremely high energy lady who kept shouting things like "position 1!", "position 2!", and "position 3!".  I had no idea what those positions were and because we kept transitioning so fast, I was always one step behind everyone else.  I had told Diana in advance about my fears and she assured me that I wouldn't experience the same trauma in her class.

The best part about this spin class?  It was taking place in an air-conditioned room.  Hell yeah!  I had suffered through the ever-present thick humidity within the KOP gym for the last few weeks and this was a welcome reprieve.  Diana told us to start pedaling as she darkened the room and uploaded the pop playlist we'd be riding along to over the next 45 minutes.  Diana's directions made way more sense than the ones barked at me by that lady from my college days.  She would tell us when to ride seated and when to ride standing.  She would tell us when to turn the blue knob in front of us to either increase or decrease tension.  She also let us know that we would be doing a series of sprints and climbs lasting 30 seconds each initially, before increasing to 45 seconds in the middle of the workout, and topping off at 60 seconds apiece in the last segment.

We pedaled our way through those 30 second segments while Ed Sheeran crooned to us about the Castle On The Hill.  As that was happening, a weird thought entered my mind.  What if I didn't sweat during this workout?  I had warned Diana about how sweaty I was, but she gave me the standard response that it was normal and that she (as well as others in class) would also sweat during these workouts.  But maybe I wouldn't have to worry about being so sweaty for once.  I had no idea that I'd be getting the benefit of A/C.  I began to dream of the end of class, thinking that I'd simply tell everyone thanks for letting me drop in and heading on my way instead of hanging around for 10 minutes to clean up some mess that I'd made.  Why couldn't KOP have air conditioning?  This was perfect!

Turns out that the air conditioning only delayed the inevitable.  By the end of the 30 second section, I could feel droplets falling from my head.  As I pedaled like crazy during the 45 second section, the sweating became more constant.  When I went all-out during the 60 second section, I was the equivalent of a dog who had just gotten out of the pool.  The class ended and the lights came back on.  I looked down to see sweat all over the floor and all over my bike.  Apparently it ended up on other people's bikes as well.  The lady who was on the bike to my right informed me that I should really have shields surrounding me if I was going to take this class again.  Thank you for that.

The reason why shields were requested

When I try to explain the level of spiciness that Jenn enjoys in her meals, I always hear people say "I like spicy food too".  Then we'll go out and people realize that the inside of Jenn's mouth must be covered with that material that allows the space shuttle to re-enter the atmosphere safely.  There's "spicy" and then there is "Jenn spicy".  I'm starting to think there is "sweaty" and then there is "Dave sweaty".  Diana's spin class understands this phenomenon now.

Wednesday preview: I sneak in one more class at KOP before heading to St. Lucia for a week.  Just when I thought I was out, rope climbs pull me back in.

Snapped

Workout date: 6/8/17

Inside our gym, we have a giant whiteboard that shows the top 3 male and female performances in various workouts and lifts that are common to Crossfit.  Want to know who is fastest at Fran or Grace?  Want to know who has performed the heaviest back squat or has the highest box jump?  Curious as to who has been the fastest rower or runner at KOP through the years?  It's all up there.  The longer I've been doing Crossfit, the more I've had to come to grips with the fact that my chances of getting on that whiteboard are fading.  I used to think I might make it on there for the overhead squat, but I'm now almost 50 pounds behind the top 3 men despite being above average on that lift.  My best shot now is to make it for rowing, but trimming 5 seconds off of your 500 meter time is harder than it sounds.  If only one of the categories on that whiteboard was "sweat produced".  I could probably hold on to the top spot in that category until the day KOP closes its doors.

Everyone likes to say that they sweat a lot, but the truth is that I've encountered very few people at KOP who come close to perspiring as effusively as I do.  Scott was a big guy who used to go to our gym and that man could make it rain during a workout.  More recently, I've discovered that Actuary Mike can soak his way through a shirt while completing a WOD.  Those examples tend to be the exception rather than the rule, which is why I don't think most people can appreciate how difficult the summer weather can be for me.  It's not just that the excessive humidity in our gym makes me dehydrated.  Being a sweaty, slimy mess causes other problems.  Holding on to the pull-up rig becomes very difficult.  I'm terrified of losing my grip on the KB whenever I swing it.  Catching a wall ball is no longer a given as it can slide right through my hands.  The degree of difficulty with nearly everything in the gym gets ratcheted up when I'm flinging sweat everywhere and that can have an effect on me mentally.  These WODs are tough enough to do when you are fresh and sweat-free.  The combination of working with slippery objects while being extra fatigued can drive you nuts.  Pretty soon everything in the gym is bothering you, sweat-related or not.

As the temperatures began to rise in late May and early June, I found myself becoming more frustrated in the gym.  You might remember that I went through a similar phase last year.  I was in the middle of Fight Gone Bad when I hit my breaking point.  I left during the second round of the workout and didn't return for 5 weeks.  I needed to get my head right.  It's also not a coincidence that when I returned, it was Labor Day, the unofficial end of summer.  Cooler temps were on the way.  Conditions in the gym were about to become more hospitable to me.  Last year I made it until August before I needed a break, but this year I could tell things were getting to me earlier in the calendar.  Things came to a head with Thursday's workout.

There are several reasons that I don't work out in the annex anymore.  It always feels crowded in there.  Occasionally there were disputes about who signed up for class in there and who did not.  Packing a large amount of people into a small space can make it feel even hotter than it is (and it could be pretty warm in there to begin with).  Thursday's 6:30 class in the main gym felt like it was taking place in the annex.  When I signed up for this class late Thursday afternoon, there was only 1 other person signed up at the time.  Open Strength was scheduled for the same time in the main gym, but no one was signed up for that when I looked.  Fast forward to 6:30 and the gym was packed.  There were only 9 of us there for class with Coach Giulz, but there were lots of people there for Open Strength.  Lifters were lined up on the "magic platform".  They were lined up along the far end of the gym.  Some of the racks were being used.  As the 9 of us got out our equipment for the WOD, I couldn't help but feel like a member of Jon Snow's army in the Battle of the Bastards:

We're going to have to climb over the mound of dead bodies to finish this workout

Part of the problem was that each of the athletes needed quite a bit of room to do this WOD.  Here's a look at what we'd be doing:

Thursday's WOD:

100 double unders, then
21-15-9 of
Hang power cleans (115/75)
Chest-to-bar pull-ups, then
100 double unders

You needed room on the pull-up rig for everyone (made more difficult with lifters using racks connected to the pull-up rig).  You needed room for barbells and you needed room to jump rope (made more difficult with lifters on the platform and along the back of the gym).  I could feel claustrophobic anxiety setting in before we even began.

I thought I was already obsessing about worst case scenarios, but the warmup showed me that I was mistaken.  Giulz wanted us to practice jumping rope by doing 30 seconds of single unders.  Easy enough, right?  Wrong!  As I was in the middle of working on my single unders, my rope snapped.  One of the handles came flying off of my rope.  I looked around to see if I could find the screw that should have held the handle in place, but my search was in vain.  That silver screw had seemingly melted into the gym mat and disappeared.  I did not have a backup jump rope with me, so that meant I'd have to grab one of the ropes hanging over behind the ring area.  I've had my struggles doing 200 double unders with my own rope and that one was specifically sized for me.  I could only imagine how things were going to go with a random rope that I was hurriedly picking so that I could rejoin the warmup.  When I found one that seemed suitable, I hopped back in with class.  Giulz had asked everyone to do as many double unders as they could in 30 seconds to determine whether or not they should scale the 200 asked of them in this WOD.  There was only about 10 seconds left when I came back with my rope, so I was lucky to get 13 reps in before time was called.  Giulz didn't look impressed when I told her my score was 13, but I assured her I'd be okay doing all 200 double unders.

Next we went over the hang power cleans.  I knew these were grip killers and that they would have an effect on my ability to do chest-to-bar pull-ups, so I decided to scale the weight, using 95 pounds instead of the RX weight of 115.  I tend to go with the same weight as Rob C and Matt E (who were both in this class) when there are barbell movements in a WOD, so it was understandable that they both gave me the eyebrow when I said I was using 95 pounds rather than 115.  All I could say was that the chest-to-bar pull-ups were a bigger priority for me in this workout.  Giulz watched me warm up and gave me some advice on the hang power cleans.  Usually I would let the barbell come all the way back down to my knee before moving into the next rep, but Giulz advised me to try and cycle through the reps from the high hang (barbell at upper thigh) to try and save some grip strength.  Sounded like a plan to me.

The chest-to-bar pull-up warmup was no different than what we always do in preparation for work on the pull-up rig.  There was some time spent in a dead hang, then some kipping progressions, followed by a request from Giulz that we show her a few reps of what we planned on doing in the workout.

The warmup was over.  It was time to take on this WOD.  I was down at the back of the gym along with Steph C and Mike C.  There were two lifters stationed between us and the bathrooms.  Bekah was using the rack at the far end of the gym.  The class made two lines out of the barbells, one line near the pull-up rig, one across the way closer to the rings.  For the double unders, we were going to be single file between the two rows of barbells.  It was definitely tight quarters, but it was what we had to work with.

My plan for the double unders was to try and do as many as I could in a row without burning myself out.  I've been trying for a while to do 100 in a row, but even if I pulled that off at the beginning of this WOD, I'd be too tired to continue on and do the rest of the workout.  My first set was fairly large as I came up just short of 40 reps to start things off.  I needed 3 more sets to reach 100 and I didn't feel like I took long breaks between sets (although I did keep checking to make sure I wasn't too close to the lifters at the beginning of a new set).  Despite moving at what I thought was a solid pace, all of my 8 classmates were on to the hang power cleans before me.  Frustration meter: rising.

Because I had gone light on the weight for the hang power clean, there was a real chance that I could do all 21 reps in a row and catch up with my classmates.  But I wasn't used to cycling from the high hang.  I made it through 12 reps and had to drop my barbell.  Breaking up the 21 reps into two sets wasn't awful.  How winded I was after only doing 12 reps was.  I needed a good-sized breather before I continued on and finished off the remaining 9 reps.  Frustration meter: continuing to rise.

The worst part of this workout took place at the pull-up rig.  With Bekah using up the rack at the back of the gym, the remaining space needed to be shared by Mike and me.  I had already decided that my time wasn't going to be very good on this workout, so I deferred to Mike on the pull-up bar for the most part.  Still, it was aggravating that in a class of only 9 people, I had to wait on someone to do my chest-to-bar pull-ups.  Don't get me wrong.  Mike was very gracious about waiting on me as well.  And Bekah did her best to move her plates out of the way so that I had a bit more room to operate.  But with only 9 folks in class, we never should have been this cramped.  The fact that I was messing up as I did the chest-to-bar pull-ups only made matters worse.  I was trying to be efficient and save energy by only doing a mild kip for each rep, but I missed hitting my chest against the bar several times during that initial round of 21.  Exhaustion + dehydration + no room + no reps = one very unhappy athlete.  Frustration meter: boiling over.

I guess the good news about falling so far behind in class is that you get some separation from the other athletes.  Mike had moved on to his barbell while I kept working on my 21 chest-to-bar pull-ups.  When I was done there, he was ready to come back to the pull-up rig.  For the most part, we didn't have to wait on each other in the rounds of 15 and 9.  I did three sets of 5 reps for the hang power cleans.  I should have been able to do larger chunks than that, but my head really was no longer in the workout.  I was able to get all 9 reps during my last round at the barbell.  For the chest-to-bar pull-ups, I used a lot of energy with my wild kip, but I was sick of no-repping myself and didn't want to take any chances.  Yes, my chest was crashing against the bar each time, but that was better than missing it.  I did small sets of singles to get through the rounds of 15 and 9.

There were only a couple of us still working when I got back to my rented jump rope for the day.  The one positive I could take from this workout was that my double unders weren't completely awful given that I was using a random rope that was probably a bit too long for me.  It took me 5 sets to complete my final 100 reps.  No complaints here about averaging 20 reps per set.  Final time: 18:17.

As I put back the jump rope I used, I couldn't help but be angry.  For the last four years, the gym has generally served as a sanctuary for me.  I go there to get away from my frustrations, to make myself feel better.  But during the last couple of weeks, I had several instances where I was leaving the gym feeling worse than when I had walked in.  A lot of that was due to the weather and the effect it has on my body.  I can't make myself sweat less and I can't make the gym any less humid.  My performances at the gym were bound to be worse than normal over the next few months and there was little I could do about it.  That wasn't a pleasant thought for me, but that was the reality of the situation.

There was more to it than that though.  Part of what used to drive me to go to the gym so much was having real goals that I wanted to achieve.  I'm not talking about the 10 goals that I come up with at the beginning of the year (although it would be nice to check another one of those off of my list!).  I'm talking about becoming consumed with something.  After the Rebuilding Together Philadelphia outing, I talked with Shawna about her goals at the gym.  At the brew pub on Wednesday night, I talked with Jenna about her goals.  Other folks from the gym came up in conversation and we talked about what they were working towards.  And when the question of "what are you working towards" was pointed back to me, I didn't have much of a response.  I don't really have some big goal that I'm trying to achieve.  I don't do individual competitions anymore.  I wasn't doing King and Queen this year because it conflicted with opening weekend at Saratoga.  I agreed to join Cline, Kris, and Raj for Brawl In The Burbs at the end of August, but that is more of a fun event than a serious one.

What am I working towards?  What is driving me to keep coming back to the gym?  I didn't know.  I felt like it was time for another break from the gym.  Not a 5 week break.  I just wanted to do some stuff outside of the gym for a change.

Saturday/Tuesday preview: Could I possibly get another medal at a local 5K run?  Would my second time taking a spin class be as traumatic as my first experience?  (The first one was so bad that it kept me away for over 15 years!)

Dominant Hand

Workout date: 6/7/17

I've been stuck at 385 pounds for my top deadlift weight for such a long time that I don't wait for 1RM deadlifts to be scheduled anymore before I make attempts at my goal of hitting a deadlift of 405 pounds.  5RM, 3RM, 2RM...it's all the same to me.  If I have a decent lifting day, I will finish off my sets with a single attempt at 405 pounds.  There have been a couple of occasions where I've gotten the barbell off of the ground, but I've yet to get it past my knee.  With Wednesday's WOD focused on having us determine a 3RM deadlift, I prepared myself for yet another attempt at my nemesis, 405.

Wednesday's workout was one part strength session (3RM deadlift) and one part skill session (15 ring muscle-ups).  To say there's only a tiny subset of the gym that can perform 15 ring muscle-ups would be an understatement, so we were more than likely going to be doing some scaled version of the ring muscle-up or working only on a portion of the movement (for example, the transition).  Bryan and I were chatting earlier in the day about what we were hoping to hit on the deadlift and Bryan mentioned that his goal was 250 pounds.  I'm always hoping to hit a PR (which would mean 380), but my sights were really set on that one rep at 405.  In terms of the ring muscle-ups, I was convinced that Bryan could get one.  He moves very fluidly when doing bar muscle-ups and it seemed logical that he could convert that into a ring muscle-up as long as he believed he could do it.  Having that belief was probably going to be the toughest part for him.

When I showed up for Coach Jenna's 7:30 class, I discovered that Bryan and I would be the only two participants in her class.  As much as I enjoy the social aspects of taking classes at KOP, I also enjoy having plenty of space to operate in, especially during the summer when class sizes tend to be larger and the gym becomes much more humid.  Jenna let us know that we'd go over the ring muscle-ups after we were done working on our deadlifts, so she briefly made sure our form was good on this simple lift before allowing us to get to work on our sets.

Like always, I had a plan mapped out in my head as to how I was going to progress through this workout.  Usually I start with 135 pounds (two 45 pound plates on the barbell), but I decided to skip the easy opener and move to the next weight on my list, 185 pounds.  Jumping to 185 allows me to have two 25 pound plates handy, which I end up using throughout the progression.  I'd go 185-225-275-315-345-365-380.  It might seem weird to jump 40 pounds, then 50 pounds, then 40 pounds again, but it's simply the result of transitioning through 25 pound plates and 45 pound plates.  And because we were only doing 3 reps today, the sets weren't really going to become difficult until I got beyond 300 pounds.

Bryan and I moved right along through those lighter sets.  I couldn't have spent more than 5 minutes getting through the sets at 185, 225, and 275 (and that's including the time needed to change out the plates).  I don't think Bryan and I truly started alternating our sets until we get closer to the heavier end of our ranges.  I wasn't sure how many sets Bryan had done, but he seemed to be making his way to 250 at a more gradual pace than I was en route to 380.  I watched him do three very easy reps at 205 and decided to take matters into my own hands.  I wasn't sure if he planned on going to 215 next, but I brought over two 45 pound plates and peer pressured him to move on to 225.

315 pounds is consistently the point where deadlifts feel heavy for me.  More than anything, it probably says more about my lack of grip strength than anything else.  At 315, I just don't want to hold on to that barbell forever.  5 reps at that weight is very tough, but 3 reps was doable.  The set at 345 had a real chance of being my last successful one.  The 3RM deadlift is one of our benchmark tests for the year and I wasn't able to get beyond 345 when we had done this back in March.  Things went a little smoother this time around as I made my way through 3 reps at 345 with the belief I could handle more still intact.  Bryan was going strong as well.  When he went to do his set at 245, he put his hands on the barbell and then stopped.  It looked like he was uncomfortable with his setup, so I told him he should stand up and start over.  He decided to be stubborn (a trait I can definitely relate to) and move forward with his set despite being hunched over his barbell for what seemed like a long time.  I was expecting him to have trouble once he began, but he did 3 more easy looking reps.  He was definitely surpassing 250 today.

I got ready for my set at 365 feeling fairly optimistic that I could get it based on how the set at 345 had gone.  I still wasn't buying into the idea that I could get the final set at 380, but 365 would still be an improvement on what I did back in March.  And as long as I could get past this set and do one rep at 380, I'd hold on to the belief that I could cap off this workout with one rep at 405.  The toughest part of the set was simply getting the barbell moving on that first rep.  I had a lot of faith that I could hang on for two more reps as long as I got that first rep moving.  That ended up not being completely true.  Reps one and two were fine, but I could feel my right hand losing its grip as I pulled the third rep from the floor.  I was able to hang on, but if a 4th rep was required, I would have been screwed.

Did I mention that Bryan was definitely surpassing 250 today?  His set at 255 looked just like the set at 245 minus the lengthy delay during the setup.  I started thinking that he might get to 275 before we had to move over to the rings.

While I was taking some time before my PR attempt at 380, I started talking to Faby, who was the only other soul in the gym.  He was doing some strength training on his own.  I see him deadlifting frequently, so I thought I should pick his brain for some tips.  I needed some help with my grip.  I use a mixed grip when I deadlift, with my right hand on top of the barbell and the left hand under the barbell.  My two-part question to him was a) whether he used a mixed grip and b) whether he ever reversed his grip, especially if one hand seemed to be getting tired.  He told me that he did use a mixed grip, but that he never changed it.  Disappointed with those answers, I asked a follow-up question.  I asked Faby which hand he used underneath and which hand he used on top when he held a mixed grip.  He told me that he used his dominant hand (right hand) underneath.  Crap, had I been doing the mixed grip wrong since I began Crossfit?  I've always had my dominant hand on top.  Maybe this was the reason I've never been able to get beyond 385.  I was dying to test out the mixed grip the way Faby does it, but it was too late in the workout to try it this day.  Attempting a set of three reps at 380 with a new grip was a bad idea.

I didn't have a lot of good thoughts in my head as I stepped up to try 380.  I just found out that I might be gripping the barbell wrong.  My right hand had barely held on through the 3rd rep at 365.  And from what I recall, the day I did 3 reps at 375, my form wasn't wonderful.  It was asking a lot to get three reps at 380 today.  Of course, my selfish goal required only one rep at this weight, so that took a little pressure off of me.

I think I've always thought of the proper weight for an "x" rep max as the weight where you would have to struggle like hell to get rep "x".  As had just happened with the mixed grip, my view was about to change.  I grabbed the barbell and tried to pull it from the floor.  It slowly came off the floor.  I strained to get it over my knee and eventually got it to my waist.  I got my one rep.  I wanted to let go of the barbell at that point, but Jenna, Bryan, and Faby were yelling at me that I had this.  Usually when I'm doing a set, I can use the momentum from the first rep to help me on the remaining reps.  That didn't really happen here.  I tapped the floor with the barbell and experienced the same struggle I had on the first rep.  It took everything I had to keep the barbell moving, but somehow I got it to my waist again.  Two reps down, one to go.  Now I was as invested in this set as Jenna, Bryan, and Faby were.  I was not going to be pleased if I fell one rep short.  I tapped the floor again and strained as hard as I could to get the barbell back to my waist a third and final time.  It was incredibly slow again, but I found a way to get it done.  All three reps were insanely hard.  Faby told me that was what a 3RM should look like.  Final score: 380 (PR!).

My grip was completely gone after that set.  It felt like the top layer of skin had come off of my hands.  I wasn't sure that I could open up some of the apps on my phone because I was pretty certain that I no longer had fingerprints.  I was excited that I had held on through all 3 reps at 380, but I might have used up all of my energy doing so.  I was going to give 405 a shot, but this would really have to be my night if I was going to make that lift.

As I grabbed plates for my attempt at 405, I missed Bryan's final attempt at a 3RM.  I'm not sure if he went with 260 or 265, but when I turned around, I saw him holding the barbell at his waist and then dropping it.  I was hopeful that he had just completed rep #3, but when he turned in my direction, I could see the dejected look on his face.  He must have bailed early.  Still, he exceeded his goal and got a PR with his set at 255.

I loaded up my barbell and got ready for my attempt at 405.  The speech I gave myself was simple.  You weren't sure you could get the set at 365.  You did it.  You felt certain you wouldn't get three reps at 380.  You did that.  You might not think you can get 405.  You're about to do it.  The speech was good.  The execution was bad.  I put everything I had left into that lift, but I'm not sure you could have slid a piece of paper underneath the barbell.  It felt anchored into the floor.  405 wasn't happening on this day, but after some practice with a new grip, maybe I can finally overcome my nemesis.

Jenna brought us over to the rings.  Bryan and I explained that neither of us had the ability to complete 15 ring muscle-ups.  I thought there was a good chance that Bryan could get his first one though.  His skill session would involve actual attempts at ring muscle-ups, while I would work on jumping muscle-ups.  Bryan came close several times to getting his first ring muscle-up, but he needed to be a little more aggressive in his transition.  As is the case with the bar muscle-up, he seems to float up to the height he needs to get to.  Now he just has to get quicker rotating over.  As for me, I learned during my jumping muscle-ups that I needed to lean back more as I do them.  Without leaning, it is easier to do the jumping muscle-ups.  Of course, the reason they are easier is because I'm not truly mimicking the position my body would be in during a real muscle-up.  It's better for me to get in that position while doing jumping muscle-ups if I ever want to have success on the rings one day.

When we were all done, I joined Jenna at the brew pub across the street for a beer.  And some appetizers.  And some unexpectedly free chocolate cake.  It was like a mini-reward for the guy with no fingerprints.

Thursday preview: Last summer I took 5 weeks off from the gym to get my head right again.  Is it time for another sabbatical from KOP?